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1OliviaFor the umpteenth time today, I sneeze.
The sound of my small squeal and subtle achoo! earns me glares and hard stares from my coworkers, who are all on edge since the emergence of the novel coronavirus. Some even stick their heads out of their offices and cubicles to peer at me, the twenty-five-year-old woman who’s probably spreading the virus with her small sneezes. Despite the mask concealing my nose and mouth to prevent the spread of the virus, the dirty looks that are hurled my way send a shudder down my spine and I hurriedly refocus on my work at my desk.
I dig my feet into the carpet beneath me, the plush blue fibers molding to the bottoms of my black high heels. I try to focus on the case file in front of me, but I can practically feel the angry, unrelenting glares from my coworkers at Disdale Trout. Despite being at this law firm as a paralegal for a handful of years and getting along decently with everyone, this pandemic has everyone paranoid and anxiously eyeing one another for symptoms.
I sigh, glancing at the clock on my wooden desk. It’s only ten o’clock in the morning, meaning I have seven hours left until I can go home, snuggle with my cats on the couch, and watch the latest art history documentary about the Palace of Versailles in France. Time couldn’t go by fast enough.
While being a paralegal at Disdale Trout is okay, this career wasn’t what I had in mind when I started at the University of Maine. Art has always been my primary outlet to release the stress, anger, and frustration that any teenager endures, and it evolved into a BA in Fine Arts for me. What was once a hobby quickly became my passion when given free rein, and art is my escape when life gets tough.
Legal work is definitely not what my heart desires, but it’s growing on me each day I sit at this desk to help build a strong, stable court case. I take pride in doing good work, even if I’m not really interested in the dry, convoluted cases that our law firm takes on sometimes. It’s important to be a team player, and even I know that, even if the work itself isn’t exactly exciting.
Suddenly, a voice interrupts me. “Are you really hard at work, or are you just trying to avoid Nancy’s burning eyes from across the room?”
I giggle. My best friend at work, Petra, sits down at the desk beside me and I breathe a sigh of relief. The pretty blonde always knows how to put a smile on my face. Her ocean blue eyes are incredibly vibrant today, complimented by a beige button-down shirt paired with black slacks and red heels. She winks conspiratorially as she opens a case file and grabs a purple pen from a pink cup on top of her desk.
The lawyers hate when Petra uses any other color pen besides black or blue, but Petra insists that those colors are too boring for her. Using zany shades is what makes her unique and brings her individuality to the table, even if it infuriates the attorneys at the firm. But it’s Petra’s inclination to brush them off that makes me love her. Anything to thumb our noses at those hoity-toity legal eagles who think they’re better than us.
Before I get a chance to reply to her observation, I feel a slight tickle between my eyes. Pins and needles shoot down my nose and I suddenly feel the urge to scratch the itch as the sensation flows from the bridge to the tip of my nostrils. The ensuing sneeze rocks me in my desk chair, the black plastic squeaking with an abrupt motion as I let the sneeze take over my bodily reactions. Despite wearing a mask, I still reach up to burrow my nose into my elbow and my other hand grips my chair’s armrest to brace myself for impact, my eyes slamming shut. I feel immediate relief when it’s over, but my mind changes when I reopen my eyes.
Not only is everyone in the office staring at me with horror, but Petra looks at me with wild eyes, worry and concern etched on her face. Her blue gaze is shocked, her pen-wielding hand frozen above the papers on her desk, her mouth agape.
“Um, wh-what was that?” she stutters. I pause for a moment.
“A sneeze?” I reply, regaining my composure and adjusting my black suit jacket and my matching pencil skirt. A button on my white shirt came undone during the process, and now my cleavage is a little too exposed for my liking at work. I hurriedly button the shirt and tuck in my big breasts. Unfortunately, the button still strains against the tight material, but it’ll have to do for now.
