Morning all. I hope you are having a good morning. As for me, I actually saw the sun this morning. It seems like it has been gone a while. It is nice to see it return. If only for a little while. For now it is here and we have a morning prompt to dive into. So timers set and lets see what happens.
Not entirely certain what happened to make her so mad, but I like the thought of starting a story with some who has reached their absolute limit. I think it is a fun way to jump into a story. Not entirely certain what the story is yet, but it could be fun.
Thursday, May 22nd: She had never been so angry.
She had never been so angry. Words would not come. She was rendered speechless. Maria opened and closed her mouth but nothing would come out. Coherent thought seemed to have left her. They stared, smirks of amusement across their faces as they watched her try and fail to yell at them. She closed her mouth and turned away, walking out of the room. It wasn’t good enough. She picked up her purse and keys and left the house. She got into her car and backed out of the driveway.
Where she was going, she didn’t know. She just knew she had to be somewhere else. Somewhere to calm down and focus her thoughts. Maria drove. She saw the ramp for the highway and she took it. Soon she was driving down the interstate. Signs flashed by. The numbers meant nothing. She wasn’t paying attention. She didn’t care.
Gradually she started to calm. She looked at her hands on the wheel and realized they were shaking. She also looked at the gas gauge and realized she had only a quarter of a tank left. She couldn’t remember what it was when she left the house. She did know that the sun was sinking low and shadows were beginning to lengthen. She looked up and focused on the exit signs. She frowned when she didn’t recognize the town name. She did recognize the slew of gas station, restaurants and hotel signs advertised for the exit though.
Deciding it would suffice, she pulled into the lane leading to the exit and left the highway. Her first stop was the gas station. She pulled up to the pump and pulled the lever to open the door covering the gas cap. She took her keys from the ignition and picked up her purse from the passenger’s seat. She took both with her when she left the car, slipping her keys into her back pocket before rummaging in her purse for her wallet. She found it and used her credit card to set the pump in motion. She let the pump fill her gas tank.
Maria put her wallet away and clutched her purse to her as she leaned against the car. They were getting worse. The pranks were not only getting more frequent, but they were also becoming meaner. They were less pranks now than they were targeted attacks. And she was expected to take them.
‘Its all in good fun,’ she was told every time she complained. ‘High spirited hijinks.’
Every complaint she raised was an overreaction on her part. This time though, she could not ignore it. The pump finished filling her car and she pushed off of the side of the car where she was leaning and removed the nozzle from the tank, putting it back on the pump. As she closed the gas tank Maria glanced into the back seat. Her laptop bag was in the back seat. She blinked.
With her laptop she could work anywhere. She wasn’t tied down. She didn’t need to go back to the house. ‘Not that there is anything to go back for anymore.’ She looked up and saw a row of hotels. Maybe she would go back, maybe not. ‘But I am not going back tonight.’
Ten til Midnight 