It had been two days since the date from hell. Now it was Sunday night, and Val was sitting in the living room of her shared apartment with Amber and her boyfriend, Mace. The three of them were watching a comedy series—or at least, she was trying to.
Usually, Sunday nights were reserved for Amber and Mace's movie marathons, but feeling guilty about setting Val up on that disaster of a date, Amber had invited her to join.
Reluctantly, Val gave in. She figured it was better than lying in bed, binging junk food, and watching Love Island—anything to erase the memory of Friday night.
Amber and Mace were curled up together on the couch, wrapped in a pink blanket, while Val sprawled out on the adjacent chaise, her back to them.
Just as she started to relax, she heard rustling.
Curiosity got the better of her, and she turned her head—immediately regretting it.
Amber and Mace were going for it—hands roaming, lips locked, and the blanket slipping lower by the second. Mace's hand had disappeared under Amber's shirt, while her hand was making some… very suggestive movements over Mace's—
Val shot up, eyes shut closed.
The sudden movement startled them, and they jerked apart.
"Where are you going, Val?" Amber asked, slightly breathless.
Mace buried his face in Amber's neck, resuming his mission.
"I—uh—just tired. Got work tomorrow…" Val trailed off, waving vaguely toward her bedroom.
As she walked away, she couldn't shake the feeling of frustration. Not just because she had been forced to witness that (again), but because deep down, she knew that kind of passion was never going to happen for her—especially with the way her dating life was going.
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Val woke up with a jolt, a strange feeling gnawing at her.
Something was off.
She reached for her phone, flipped it over, and—
8:55 AM.
Her heart nearly stopped.
"SHIT!"
Scrambling out of bed, she sprinted to the bathroom, brushing her teeth with one hand while stripping off her pyjamas with the other.
She barely slept last night because those two had been at it all night. The banging, the moaning—it was like living in the background of a low-budget adult film.
She normally would've drowned it out with her noise-cancelling headphones, but of course, they were missing. Oh right, she remembered—Amber borrowed them. Her earbuds? Dead. And by the time she realised, it was too late.
The universe really has it out for me, she thought bitterly.
"Ouch!" she hissed, yanking a brush through her chestnut brown tangled waves, caught in a particularly stubborn knot.
Shaking it off, she threw on a brown V-neck vest, high-waisted white pants, and matching heels. A quick swipe of gloss, a flick of mascara—done.
Grabbing her bag, she raced out the door.
Val reached the train station just in time to hear the announcement:
"Attention passengers: The train to Central is currently delayed."
Her frustration boiled over.
She checked the time. 9:30 AM. She had already texted her boss to say she was running late. He was NOT happy.
Her foot tapped against the pavement as she fired off messages to the interns, assigning tasks for the morning meeting she definitely couldn't miss.
The tapping quickened.
Then—clink.
She felt something solid beneath her shoe and looked down. A coin.
Bending to pick it up, a voice called out:
"Hey! That's my coin, ma'am!"
She turned to see an old man approaching. His clothes were torn, dirt smudged his face, and he walked with a slight hobble.
"It rolled right outta my hand," he smiled.
Val gave a polite smile and handed it back.
"Say," the man continued, "you wouldn't have a few coins to spare, would ya?"
She checked her bag. Nothing. She barely carried physical cash anymore—who did, when everything was digital?
"Sorry, I don't have any," she said apologetically.
The old man's face lit up. "No worries! My friend runs a shop just over there. You can pay with card!"
Val hesitated. The last thing she needed was to miss her train, but something about the pleading look in his eyes made her sigh.
"Alright, fine," she muttered.
The man clapped his hands excitedly. "Follow me!"
She followed him across the station until they stopped at a barred window. Behind it sat a man in a dirty cap that obscured his eyes, his mouth hidden by an unkempt moustache.
"Mick!" the old man beamed. "This kind lady wants to help me out!"
Mick leaned forward, flashing a very concerning grin—one that revealed only the bottom row of teeth.
"Is that so?"
Val shifted uncomfortably.
"Uh, yeah. How much do you need?"
"$5?" she offered, thinking that was generous.
Mick shook his head. "Sorry, sweetheart. Lowest we do is $50."
"Fifty dollars?!"
Val blinked. Was she hearing this right?
"Yeah," Mick shrugged. "Five goes to him. The rest? Store credit. Plus a transaction fee."
Her stomach sank.
That's insane, no person in their right mind would ever agree to that!
Before she could argue, the train announcement blared:
"Train to Central now arriving."
Shit!
She glanced at Mick, then at the pleading old man.
"Fine!" she caved, slapping her card onto the reader.
As soon as the payment processed, she bolted back to the platform.
The train doors opened. She sprinted.
"Hey your receipt!" Mick called after her.
But Val was already halfway to the train.
"Thanks ma'am" the old man call shouted.
"You got this, Val," she thought.
She was almost there—
Then her heel caught.
She stumbled—hard—crashing face-first into the opposite wall of the train.
THUD.
Pain shot through her hand.
Dazed, she turned to see her shoe lying a few meters away.
"The doors will be closing in 5 seconds."
NO NO NO!
Then—someone came running.
Val opened her mouth to yell, for them to grab her heel but before she could—
They kicked her shoe.
She watched in horror as it soared through the air—
—straight at her face.
It hit with full force, sending her staggering backward and onto the trains floor.
Her vision blurred.
The last thing she saw was a pair of piercing blue eyes before everything faded.
Just before she blacked out, she heard a voice—deep, concerned.
"F*ck—are you okay?!"