Fated Under The Dark Sky

Chapter 4

"I see you have already read my mail" said Jass in her rough half-manly voice making Sammy jump. Seriously, if anyone heard her in the dark, they would mistake her for a man. "You have time until midnight. Though we both know what to expect, we still need to follow rules."

I am doing great Jass. As you see, I survived the elevator episode. Thanks for asking, anyway. Sammy spoke in her mind. She had passed out for three hours straight, but not a single word of concern came from Jass's mouth. She was sure that this Ogre-woman had some sort of serious mental issue, else there was no way for a team manager to be so ruthless and emotionless. Sammy wished she could punch Jass right in the face that very moment. Everything about her got on her nerves, making it impossibly unbearable.

Jaswinder Kaur a.k.a Jass- a typical Punjabi female, who underwent metamorphosis immediately after she landed in London. She openly hated Sammy and hadn't approved a single project idea of hers, till date. She carried an attitude of a self-proclaimed 'Miss Universe', making it impossible to deal with her. And so, Sammy tried her best to avoid any kind of direct conversation with her.

Sammy nodded feeling defeated. Unable to take Jass head-on, she turned back to her laptop with a frown. And as though fulfilling her quota of discomfiting Sammy for the day, Jass walked back to her cubicle swinging her over-sized butt in rhythm, a triumphant smile pasted on her oddly shaped face, making Sammy's stomach turn. How the hell was she supposed to make a presentation without knowing the client's requirements? Just as she thought, a new mail notification highlighted the screen. Sammy's face lit up, as she opened the mail; Rihaan had sent her all the details she needed to make the presentation. God bless that idiot.

Wait-a-minute. Did she say EOD? FXXK!!! Without wasting a second more, she began working.

For the next few hours, Sammy stared at her laptop screen, as she hit the buttons on its keyboard. She drew and erased a rough sketch multiple times before finalizing it and then, she began filling colours in her digital structure. Time fled too fast, it was already evening and soon she was waving goodbye to her team-mates, when a soft notification sound drew her attention; a chat popup from Rihaan.

Are you done?

Not yet. I think I will take some more time. You leave first - Even after skipping her meal, all she could manage to finish was just half the presentation.

I can stay back - He offered. Presentation wasn't really her worry; working on an empty floor all by herself was. But she didn't want to make him wait for her selfishness.

Thanks, but I'll be fine. Don't worry. - He read her message and logged off.

A tap on her shoulder made her jump. Rihaan popped up like Bunny Do from behind the chair, and turned her around to face him.

"You look fine." He declared, after carefully observing her face. "But if you need anything, remember - I am just a phone call away" He whispered, embracing her into a tight hug. Sammy froze on the spot. 'Yes' was the only word that came out her mouth as a whisper. Once convinced of her safety he left for home and Sammy plugged her earphone to listen to her favourite songs while she worked.

Few more hours flew by, when she finally sent a mail to Jass with the final draft of her presentation. Sighing a couple times, she stood up to stretch her body until she attained the calm. Outside the window, the sun had gone down making place for the little stars to fill the atmosphere with their twinkling magic.

Wait, what's the time? She gasped, looking at her watch. She had to act fast if she didn't want to miss the last bus of the day, which was supposedly in the next twenty minutes. Gathering her things, she darted towards the floor exit and there stood in the front, her nightmare- 'The Elevator'.

When its door flung open making a loud beep, the morning incident ran in front of her eyes like a horror movie. The giant elevator appeared to laugh scarily at her, warning in its phantom voice to gulp her, if she dared to enter. NOOOOO!! Her body shrunk back witnessing the replay of terror, hands tied in a tight fist fighting to gain control of herself and nails dug through the skin of her palm making it worse. I can't do this. She shook her head, while trying to think of other possible ways to get to the bus stop. There were three options she came up with -

One: Jump out the window- Possible, if she were on 1st or 2nd floor. But jumping out from 23rd floor would only put a stop to her boring life, not take her to bus-stop. Stroked out.

Two: Take the stairs. Every floor had 22 steps. To reach the bus stop would make approx. 600 odd steps? On a serious note, if jumping a window led to immediate death, walking down the stairs alone, would only made it slow. All in all, she would end up dead, even before she reached the bus stop.

However, this third option sounded more promising- She waits back until dawn and soon as she sees the first person entering the floor, plead him to accompany her to the ground floor.

That's it. Now all I've to do is wait. She settled her exhausted body on the chair, when her eyes caught hold of a black cover under her desk. OMG!! My Guitar!! She'd got it to show Rihaan and had totally forgotten about it. An idea popped up her mind; she sneakily looked around to ensure she was alone. Walking from one end of the floor to other, once she was certain she had no live audience, smiled waggishly like a two-year-old, about to make a mischief. Adjusting the strings on the Guitar, she turned around to face the empty floor next to the windowpanes, also her fictional audience.

"Hello everyone!! Tonight, I'll be presenting one of my favourite compositions. Hope you like it." She began the song with a small guitar piece followed by lyrics. It had been a month since she began learning to play a guitar. Very confidently she sang the half-composed song and bowed to the made-up audience.

Applaud.

"Amazing!!That was really something." Said a deep intense voice,making her hair stand on the end.