2018 Nov 27

5 minutes: Heel falls off...

"Goddammit!" She bends down and picks it up, removing the broken shoe. The road is wet. It can't be helped now.

Both shoes off. Running through the rain. She's gonna be late. Her stockings are going to be soaked.

"No change of clothes. I'm just going to have to go in looking like this. So much for a presentable first impression."

No time to worry about that now. Pedestrians to dodge. Traffic to weave through. Not a Monday she wants.

"Why am I still carrying this around?"

Angrily she throws both shoes into a nearby trash bin. They were expensive, but she can afford it. What she can't afford is wasting time running to shoe repair shops.

***

5 minutes: Room smells like

It smells like wet socks. It's my fault, but I do my best to hide it.

I had arrived early, plopped my laptop down on the table, and made a big show of being immersed in my mail

Nobody has to know my feet and ankles are soaked. Nobody has to know I don't have shoes on. As long as they don't look under the table, they won't have to wonder if I'm crazy.

Eventually the smell goes away. Maybe the water is drying. Maybe my nose is just getting used to the smell. I hope the rest of the team won't be hit by the odor as soon as they walk in. Maybe they'll get used to it as the minutes ticked by.

It makes me nervous. Hope nobody actually mentions it during the meeting. I would be so mortified. But maybe they won't be able to tell it's me.

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