Maisse was very late. Emmy had been sick the whole night and she had had to rush her to the nearest hospital. She was sleepy and tired but she could not fail to report to work. It was better to be late than to miss work. She knew Ms. Simmons was already clocked and she was ready for the tongue lash she was about to get.
Fortunately Ms. Simmons was not yet there. The store still had the 'closed' sign. She sighed in relief. She shuffled through her bag to find the key, it was not there. Today was not her day. First she was late by an hour, now she could not find the key. Her boss was going to swallow her alive.
Having no other choice, she decided to wait for Ms. Simmons rather than go back to the apartment to get the key. It would take her a lot of time and money she did not have. Her finances were stretched as she had used part of her savings to take Emmy to the hospital. She had also been forced to hire a babysitter because she could not leave the twins alone in the apartment.
She had been waiting for thirty minutes when Ms. Simmons arrived. Anger was written all over her face.
"Why are you still out here? You should have opened the shop two hours ago." Ms. Simmons asked angrily.
"I...I am sorry. I forgot my keys at home." Maisse apologized.
"Why did you not go back for it?" She asked again.
"I was short of money so I decided to wait for you here." Maisse said.
"The next time you come late you are getting fired." Ms. Simmons said as she opened the door using her key.
"Make sure you clean this place thoroughly." She ordered.
Maisse was grateful. She knew Ms. Simmons was not joking with that threat. She vowed in her heart not to come late again. She did not want to lose this job as she had already lost the one at the diner. She had not technically lost it but Old Prisley had sold the diner.
She had to work faster to recover the time she had spent outside waiting for Ms. Simmons. She started with cleaning the floor and the cabinets. She was reaching for one of the fine glasses Ms. Simmons had purchased for sale when the crystal besides them slipped and fell down.
Maisse watched in horror as the crystal broke into pieces. She was doomed.
"What happened here?" Ms. Simmons asked as she looked down on the floor at the broken crystal. She had chosen that moment to come get the stock book.
"I...I..." Maisse started to cry.
"Good Lord, you broke my crystal." Ms. Simmons cried.
"I am so sorry Ms. Simmons. It slipped and fell before I could catch it." Maisse tried explaining.
"First you come in late. Then you leave my key at home. Now you have broken the crystal I was saving for my friend. Do you know the cost of that crystal?" Ms. Simmons was furious.
It was a rhetorical question seeing as it was Maisse's job to arrange the items on the shelves and put the price tag on them.
"It was...It was an accident maam. It was not my intention." Maisse begged.
"You have to pay." Ms. Simmons demanded.
Maisse only had ten dollars with her. The crystal was two hundred dollars. Where was she going to get such a huge amount of money to pay for the crystal?
"I only have ten dollars." Maisse said as she removed the money from her pocket. "I promise to work for the remaining amount. I used my savings to get medication for my sister."
"How is that my business? It seems like you are not interested in this job. You even had the guts to leave my keys so that you can come in when I am not there to steal from me." Ms. Simmons shouted.
"It is not like that ma'am. My sister was sick and I took her to the clinic. I forgot the key in my other bag." Maisse explained.
"I don't care about your lame explanations." She went to where Maisse had placed her bag, opened it and took her phone.
"I am confiscating this phone. I will return it only after you pay for the crystal."
The phone was not expensive but it wasore than two hundred dollars. Maisse tried to plead with her to give her back her phone but she was adamant. She even went on her knees thinking it would make Ms. Simmons change her mind but it was futile.
Ms. Simmons went to her office and locked the phone in her office desk.
"No money, no phone. And ooh, you are fired. You can leave now. Come for your phone when you gety money. Better be quick or I will pawn it." Ms. Simmons said with an evil laugh.
Maisse watched sadly as Ms. Simmons retreated to her office. She did not know what to do. She stood there confused, dejected and teary.
"I am giving you thirty seconds to get out of this store. Otherwise I will have no choice but to call the police on you." Ms. Simmons shouted from her office. "Bring me my keys when you bring my money." She added.
Maisse had no choice but to leave. Tears were streaming down her face when she closed the door behind her. She had no choice but to go back to the apartment. She had no money for fare meaning she had to walk all that distance. She was still hungry but could not use the ten dollars because she needed to pay the sitter. She was going to have to chip in from her mearger savings to top up the money.
She could not call Vik to come for her, she did not have a phone and had not mastered the phone number. Old Prisley's house because it was very far. The only option was to go back home and release the sitter.
She walked slowly as she thought about her life. She had two children to take care of without any job and with no savings. They did not have enough food and the diner was also closing so there was no more free food. She was not sure if the buyer would employ her considering her educational background. She could only do jobs that had minimum requirements.
She was so deep in thoughts that she did not see the black car coming from the corner. It was a loud screeching that shocked her to the present. The car abruptly stopped at her feet.
"What is wrong with you young lady? I could have killed you." A man's voice said as he rolled down the car window. He was agitated.
"I am so sorry I was not looking where I was going." Maisse apologized profusely.
Today was really a bad day for her.
"You have to be careful on these roads. Can I help you?" The man asked, still inside the car.
Maisse was too ashamed to ask for help from a stranger so she said, "I am okay, just having a bad day."
"Well, be careful. The next driver won't stop for you." He said as he rolled up his window before driving off hurriedly.