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“You missed a spot,” he says, pointing at the corner behind me.
“I’ve finished my shift...”
I start to speak, but he immediately cuts me off.
“Clean up that shit. You’re a cleaner, aren’t you? Then do your job andclean.”
I nod and get to cleaning that corner. I sweep it up and quickly dart out of the break room, fearful of catching the eye of another cruel doctor before I can safely escape.
That’s why I don’t like doctors. Arrogant assholes.
I manage to make it back to my own staff room, where I clock off and collect my belongings. I start the long journey through the winding hallways out of the hospital when I walk past an empty room.
Can I?
I glance around. No one is around. This is a quiet wing of the building.
I check the schedule on the door for the empty room - no one is rostered in here for the rest of today.
Better not let this perfect opportunity go to waste...
I carefully open the door and sneak inside, locking it behind me. I move a couple of chairs and medical equipment around to give a reasonable amount of space in the center of the room before I pull out my phone and my small, cheap portable speaker from my bag. I place them on a table and set up the music for Swan Lake to play.
The familiar, beautiful music fills the room, and I am instantly transported back to the Penmayne movie room, seeing that filmed production for the very first time. The time when I fell in love with dancing. I still remember Irina’s choreography well.
I take my position in the center of the room and start, still in my hospital cleaner’s uniform, to dance.
And, just like that, I am transformed. My grim world drops away, and I am on a stage performing in front of an enraptured audience. Nothing but me and the swirling music that surrounds me like a warm, comforting blanket. I allow myself to forget all about my life and my work and the shit I have to deal with on a daily basis. I forget about that incident with the doctor in that staff room. I just simply...dance.
And I am in my happy place, far away from here in my mind.
And I never want to leave.
24
EMMA
“Hello, hello, hello. Please excuse my craziness, Emma. I’m going to be late.”
I’m greeted at the door by Diana frantically running around like a headless chicken, trying to do ten things at once in preparation for her date. I gotta say, she’s moving impressively fast.
Whilst simultaneously applying her lipstick, she enthusiastically ushers me inside her tiny apartment with her spare hand as she ducks away into the restroom to continue getting ready.
I glance around the place. I’ve been here multiple times, and I like how homely it feels. Like the personality of its owner, this apartment is a messy place. I can’t blame Diana for the physical state of the place - being a single parent and also trying to hold down a demanding fifty-hour-a-week cleaning job whilst also trying to survive are not the best conditions for a tidy home. But the apartment is one of those places where you can just feel the love emanating from the walls. Despite the lack of money or time, Diana has deliberately created a warm and caring home environment for her daughter to grow up in.
I’m waiting for her on her couch when Faith appears at the doorway to her tiny bedroom.
“Hello, gorgeous,” I say to the little girl.
Faith looks like a mini version of Diana, which means she’s beautiful. Caramel skin with big, animated eyes and a charming smile - she’s just like her mother. Even with the sparky personality to boot.
Faith rushes up to me and happily embraces me in a tight squeeze of a hug. It feels so nice.
“Hello, Emma,” she says into my ear as she holds me.
“How’s your day been?” I ask her when she finally releases me. “How was school?”
“Good, good,” Faith replies. “My teacher says I’m getting better at Math.”
