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CHAPTER NINE
Georgia
When I came to work on Monday, nobody was talking to me, and I had a sense I understood why. Almost everyone I worked with was a Little, and almost every single one of them had been there. It was clear that they were all still upset about what had happened on Saturday, but I didn't care because I was never going to do anything like that again.
As I began to work, I couldn't help but notice all of the stares people were giving me and began to feel really uneasy. I didn't want to start any drama, and I didn't want to be a part of any fit activities that they started because of such drama. After concentrating on my task for as long as I could, I approached Ellie, who was currently working on putting out the trash.
"Is it okay if I leave early today?" I asked, staring at her, trying to think of a decent excuse to get out of work. "I'm not feeling too well." Ellie lifted an eyebrow and glanced at me as if she wasn't sure if she believed me.
"Is that really what it is?" she asked after a lengthy silence. "Or is there something else you're not telling me?" When I didn't respond straight away, she took a long breath and shook her head as she leaned against the dumpster. "Can I be honest with you for a minute?" I shrugged my shoulders in answer, not knowing what else to say.
"Go for it," I advised her. "Did I do something wrong?" She immediately shook her head in answer.
"No, of course not," she responded as she began to smile at me. "I just wanted you to know that if somebody continues to cause you difficulties at work, you can always come talk to me about it." When I tilted my head to the side, evidently perplexed, she went on. "I've already heard about what happened on Saturday, and to be honest, I don't like how the other girls are acting either. It doesn't seem fair to blame you for everything that happened when you had nothing to do with it." As I began to grin at her, I felt a wave of relief sweep over me.
Even though I thought folks like Mikayla and Brittany were my pals, I already knew the reality. They weren't actual friends; if they were, they would have stood by my side regardless of what had happened since Saturday; yet, even they had turned their backs on me and left me to cope with everything on my own before I could say anything, she continued.
"I'm just shocked you ended up with the Daddy who saved your life," she said, smiling at me. "I'm not saying that's a negative thing, but I never expected it to happen with so many people already watching him. How did you do it?" I paused for a second before shaking my head, speechless.
"To be honest, I don't know," I acknowledged to her, hoping she would believe me. "As much as I hate to admit it, I didn't do anything. It was him who did everything. He asked me out, we ended up on a date, and everything worked out. I didn't intend to ask him out or anything after he saved my life. It simply happened. It was all his idea." She paused for a bit before reaching down to retrieve the garbage bags she had been carrying out to the dumpster.
"If you ask me, that was fairly lucky," she added as she lifted each bag into the dumpster. "He's a good-looking Daddy." She then turned to face me. "So, in regards to your request to leave work early today... Is it because you want to see him, or because of the other people at work?" I didn't pause for even a second.
"It's because of people here at work," I informed her, unable to keep it a secret any longer. "Nobody looks at me no matter where I go or what I do, as if they blame me for what occurred on Saturday, and I keep hearing them talking about me behind my back. I simply want to get out of here and let everything settle down so I can go back to work." She paused for a bit as she tossed the last bag into the dumpster.
"May I offer you some advice?" she asked, smiling at me. "Ignore them all. So long as you're happy, you shouldn't care what other people think. Instead, you should seize this opportunity and run with it so that you can have a better life. If everyone else wants to be jealous and bitter, so be it." She shook her head and looked at her watch. "I'll let you go an hour early, but I want you to finish as much work as humanly possible up to that moment." Seeing that this is fair, I nodded my head in answer.
"What kind of work did you want me to do?" I asked, truly interested in what she had to say. She paused for a bit before shrugging her shoulders.
"Why don't you go clean up the break rooms?" she suggested. "That way, it's one less duty off my list, and I can split the rest of your labor among the other workers as punishment for driving you off the way they did." I couldn't help but smile as I held Ellie.
"Thank you!" I exclaimed as I held her tight. "I definitely owe you one." She immediately flung back her head and laughed at me.
"You owe me more than one," she reminded me as she hugged me back, "but I'll take that as confidence that you'll make it up to me on Friday when everyone wants to go home early."
