Runaway by Stephanie Weiford Page A

was at her desk in front of mine, I headed over with the coffee.
    My perfectly posh friend was somewhat lacking today. There were dark circles peeking out from behind her makeup, which was also a bit thicker than her norm. She had also chosen to go with a bun, but had kept her trademark high heels.
    “Hey, you look like shit,” I offered with a smile. Only between best friends could you spend a day or two sulking, just to reunite and insult one another like it was no big deal.
    “No, you look like shit, I’m just tired.” I handed her the coffee and she looked like she wanted to kiss me.
    “What do you have to be so tired about,” I laughed.
    “That will have to wait. First, you’re gonna need this today,” she reached into her purse and handed me a square of paper. Once unfolded I saw it was a flawlessly forged Doctors note, excusing me for a fake appointment last week.
    “Oh! Thanks lady! I totally forgot about it!” I slipped the paper into my own bag to pass on to Mr. Kelly when I saw him.
    “I figured you would. What did you do all weekend Morticia? Watch bad TV and order even worst Chinese?” She asked, but there was a playful gleam in her eye. She knew me too well.
    “Yeah, well, I deserved it,” I sounded a bit harder then I meant to and she turned that all-knowing-best-friend-stink-eye in my direction. I just rolled my eyes and sat down.
     
    The day seemed to drag on forever. It was a never ending barrage of catnip infused mouse toys and crystal cream dishes. At lunch I dropped my note off to Mr. Kelly, or Peter as he kept asking me to call him. He had kept me in his office for nearly my entire break, I was finally able to excuse myself from the one sided conversation when his phone rang. Even then, I had only enough time remaining for a quick potty trip and then it was back to the phones. Carolyn had a splotchy red place on her forehead from falling asleep at her desk.
    The day was nearly over now and I couldn’t help but notice the nervous energy Carolyn seemed to be building up. She kept looking at her phone and looking out the window. This was only really odd because instead of a day dream like stare at the clouds, she was trying to inspect the sidewalk below. Cell phones aren’t allowed when you work in a call center, but I pulled mine from my pocket and kept it under my desk.
    What’s up energizer bunny? I shot the text off to her and she nearly jumped from her skin when her phone vibrated.
    A moment later my phone buzzed. You may not like it.
    What have you done Care Bear? It took her a while to respond, which should have told me that I really wouldn’t like what was coming. I had Mrs. Justine on the line however, and until I could track down yellow fin tuna kitty fritters, whatever the hell those were, I wasn’t getting off this call any time soon to look at the message.
    As it turned out I wasn’t able to ditch Mrs. Justine until 5 minutes after my clock out time. Most people had already vacated the area by the time I had my time clock pulled up. Only a few unlucky souls like myself and the workaholics remained. Carolyn was nervously waiting for me beside my desk. I took my time; she looked like a scared little animal ready to run off.
    “Hey you, why don’t we nip into the break room for a cold drink real quick,” she offered with the fakest attempt at an innocent smile I had ever seen her try.
    “What’s going on? You don’t ever wait for me beside my desk, I normally meet you outside, and we damn sure don’t hang out here after work,” This was all rather suspicious. 
    “Geez, can’t a girl be thirsty?” she quipped, but she bounced off towards the break room. I snatched up my bag and followed.
    “No.” I said matter-of-factly. I stood with my arms crossed as she slumped down into one of the hard plastic chairs.
    “Look, you remember Noah?” She asked, but continued without waiting for my response. “Well, I ended up spending pretty much the whole weekend with him…