Bre’s Shorts – JoAnna Part 1

Remember when I said I was going to start writing?  Well I started.  I don’t have a catchy title for this yet.  And it’s a twice abandoned NaNoWriMo but let’s see where it goes yes?

JoAnna threw the blanket over her head and rejected the fact that Monday morning was here.  It was happening.  It was happening despite the three sake bombs she had last night during karaoke.  Even though she swore she was never doing karaoke again.  Last Sunday night.  But that’s just one of the side effects of living over a Japanese bar.

After the second, louder, alarm rang, JoAnna accepted her fate and slipped out of the bed to make her way to the shower.  She turned on her ancient coffee maker and set out food for the cat.  He remained nameless, not in a Holly Golightly tribute, but because the cat hated her so much she was surprised that he (or she?) came back through the window everyday.  It was against the Nakamara’s renter’s agreement to allow pets, but they also didn’t think a stray cat near their restaurant was a good look either.  So she fed him, and let him sleep inside.  But she (or he?) never cuddled, never came near, and just this week finally started hissing at her when she came home from work.  Understandable, but very clearly, not her cat.

Despite her best efforts to get dressed and leave the house on time, none of that means anything when your truck doesn’t start.  JoAnna took a deep breath and popped the hood.  She took her time and pulled her hair out of her face while she checked all of the levels of fluids she could think to check.  After topping off the oil and reconnecting the starter, the Jeep finally came to life and she was on her way to work.

“Only fifteen minutes late,” she said to nobody in particular. “They won’t kill me for that.”  Then she  laughed a little too hard and made her way to the nameless, faceless, government building.

It wasn’t so much that her boss was a terrible lady.  Actually Marianne was tiny, posh, and quiet.  Everyday she did her wore her best Jackie O. line of suits and she never turned down anyone’s vacation request.  But she pursed her lips and made a comment about professionalism whenever JoAnna was late to work.  And JoAnna was terrified of her.

JoAnna waved at Connie, the elderly security guard, and rushed to the elevator bank to make her way up to the third floor.  It still baffled her that a 64 year old woman was a security guard.  But also that she chose to work for this particular branch of the government.  It wasn’t prone to security threats so work never entailed more than checking a badge.  But she was 64!  JoAnna still couldn’t believe that she worked here herself and over the past six months she learned that a job is a job, so sometimes you just shutup and do your work.

She made her way to her cubicle and was able to log into the system without being detected.  A quick sniff under her arms to make sure the auto repair didn’t funk her up too bad.  She reached up to remove the pencil that was keeping her hair up when she felt a familiar chill go down her spine.

It took her a solid month before she kept checking the floor to see if a dark cloud of smoke followed Marianne around.  The chill still hit and she knew the aroma of the office stayed on her and that’s why the cat was so confused.  JoAnna plastered a small smile on her face and turned around to face her fate.

Marianne was in powder blue today.  Full suit.  With stockings. And the pillbox hat.  And the hot pink lipstick.  She looked like an ad in a 1961 issue of Life.

“Tardiness is frowned upon Ms. Wilson,” Marianne told her.  And with that she was gone. No, she wasn’t terrible of a boss to be Region 21’s Grim Reaper.