Chapter 1, part one

We meet Alexandria, what makes her so different?

No one ever decides their fate. From the moment they are born until hopefully the day they die, they are only players. They are the actors in a movie called life. There is a higher force that writes the script. They plan everything out including who we are determined to become. Then, you have the very few like me, who was chosen for something a little different. Like everyone else that walks through the streets of Los Angeles, I didn't choose my destiny. As I think about it now while I sit in my office, I feel almost bitter by it. It's almost a cruel reminder, like the little silver circle of nickel I have wrapped around my finger. Every day, it tells me that this is what I was destined for.

 

"Miss Ramierez, are you listening to me?" A loud, heavily accented voice jerked me quickly out of my wonderland back to a reality that included a computer, a headset, a phone, and of course, dealing with the public.

 

"Of course I was Mr. Hunt. As you know by our procedure, it will take anywhere from ten to fourteen days to receive all your paperwork from your background check." I began to politely explain to him again. In the back of my mind I could tell he was getting ready to explode all over again. I set myself up with a tone of voice that tends to endear me to the many drivers that call about their checks and who are ready to work.

 

"I do apologize for the waiting period Mr. Hunt. I understand that you're ready to go to work and if it was up to me, you'd have all your paperwork signed and ready. I do hope you understand about our protocols." I said in that voice that was used to many times to weasel my way out of any trouble. I heard him take a few deep breathes on the other line and I couldn't help but laugh because I knew he was trying to save my voice in his mind.

 

"I understand that you have your own job to do Miss Ramierez, and I'm sorry for going off my rocker like that. I'll take your word for it that my papers will arrive in two weeks." The voice replied gruffily as I wished him luck and told him goodbye. I hung up the phone and leaned back in my chair. For the longest time I never thought that I would have a job like this, but then again I never thought that I would find myself in this prediciment. I heard a voice then behind me clearing his throat. I leaned back the whole way to see my co-worker Matthew. Our friendship was started in a very bizzare manner, but it soon became more solid then the foundation of the office building that we worked in.

 

"Hey Matthew, why are you upside down?" I asked as he laughed and wheeled himself closer into my cubicle. I smiled as I readjusted my head once more to look at him. At age twenty-five, Matthew Thompson had been through what most people would never have been through. When he was sixteen, he dove into a swimming pool, broke his neck, and nearly drowned. From that moment he was confined to a wheelchair, but it never affected his personality. He smiled as he looked around my cubicle.

 

"Well Alexandria my darling, you are aware that we are nearing yet another weekend..." He started as he ran his hand through his reddish-brown hair and looking at me through those bottle green eyes that showed his emotions too easily. I couldn't help but laugh as I knew what was coming.

 

"Well, there are no good movies out, we already ate at all the restaurants there are to possibly eat at, and there are really no big events going on nearby." I said as I began to shut down my computer as he shrugged his shoulders and wheeled out of my cubicle almost defeated. I shook my head as I felt bad for rejecting him, but I knew it could never work between us. Almost immediately after Matthew left my cubicle I heard snickering. I let out a smile, knowing all too well who it was.

 

"Knock it off Jo, at least I let him down easily." I said as I turned around in my chair to have a chat with my boss and my mentor Jodi Lowell. Our friendship, similiar to mine and Matthews, had a very unique beginning. As time had went on I stared to look up to her as a motherly figure, especially when my mother had passed due to cholera several decades ago, most likely broken hearted because she never knew what became of me.

 

"So, since you turned Matthew down, I'm going to assume that you're open this weekend?" Jodi asked me with her chocolate brown eyes sparkling behind her designer tourquoise Dolche and Gabanna glasses. I shook my head as I half-heartedly observed Jodi. To the untrained eye, she was a very attractive woman barely pushing fifty with those beautiful brown eyes and the auburn brown ringlets that always laid perfectly along her shoulders. To the very few like myself, she really is a very elegant four hundred year old princess. She was forced to flee her home country when she had turned twenty. She had spent the rest of her natural life searching for a place to belong until a passing nomad infected her. I must have looked dazed because she then started to wave her hand in front of my face. I let out a smile, letting her know that I was ok.

 

"You have been almost distant lately. I just want to be sure everything was ok." She said as I picked up my car keys and we walked to the shadowed parking lot of our office building. I let out an almost un-necessary breath as I hit the "unlock" button for my black Camaro. I was about to turn and talk more to Jodi when I realized she was standing right beside me. I couldn't help but laugh.

 

"You can still keep up with us young bloods Grandma?" Her eyes narrowed, then widdened as she began to laugh. I am probably the only one who could every get away with calling her "Grandma" among other things. I gracefully slipped into my car as she appeared in the doorway.

 

"Sincerely, are you ok?" Jodi asked me, again with the maternal concern in her eyes. I pulled on my glasses as I gave her a fake smile once more, knowing all too well I wasn't feeling in the mood to smile.

 

"I'm fine. See you first thing on Monday." I replied as she let my car door close shut. I sat there for a few moments until I knew she would be gone. I cranked the car into gear, feeling the rumble of the engine, and smiled. This was one of the very few ways I knew I was free.

Author's Note

I am aware that my chapters will be incredibly long, so I am looking for a way to split them up so you, dear reader, won't want to blow your brains out.

Reviews

[The old me]

very good story, and start. I want to hear more.