Update: Quite a bit longer now...
#NaNoWriMo2014
She woke up just like any other day, with her alarm playing on her phone and her arm sprawled across her face. Her face covered from the overwhelming light that drifted through the non-existent curtains and onto her bedroom walls. She had been clever enough a year ago to begin mapping out the sun's cycle as it passed her little apartment and knew without even looking at her phone that she had overslept.
Sandy Jenkins was no ordinary person. But she felt overly ordinary every single day. The problem was, she hadn't quite figured out her purpose in life, nor had she found the suitable (insert worm mating phrase here).
Unfortunately, Sandy had a couple afflictions. The first was that she was stuck in a job that she didn't particularly like. She had a range of talents yet none of these had anything to do with her current 'career pathway' or so her parents continued to call it. They said it was a stepping stone to a much more better suited job in the future. But Sandy didn't have time to waste.
She believed she was at the precipice of her career choices in life and as such needed to find the thing in the world that excited her more than anything else. She'd always thought it was a shame that her nostrils would flare at that particular moment. It was something she had been relentlessly bullied for while at primary school. So much so that that's how she'd gotten into this current job cycle.
There was nothing more important to her than finding her dream job. That and her (insert worm phrase).
Sandy found some stray clothes on the ground and promptly put them on. She looked in the mirror for a once over and was pleasantly surprised that for once - these clothes actually worked well together. When picking out clothes for herself- she often went for her orange shirt and blue jean overalls because they were quick and easy.
Today though, with her blue jacket and black dress - she looked seemingly sophisticated. Her cousin had always said, "Cuz - you really nedd to sort your wardrobe." By this, her cousin simply meant that there wasn't enough time in the world to waste mere minutes on clothes that didn't work together. Jo had always had a strong belief that you needed to dress for the job you wanted in the future - not the one you had at the present moment.
With this thought in mind - Sandy went on the hunt for some suitable shoes. Unfortunately - her neighbour's dog had an overwhelming sense that it was his job to redecorate the house, and often moved her shoes to more seemingly suitable places. Sandy found one black heel under her bed and another sandal by the dressing table - lodged underneath but mostly behind the bookcase. How Toby got it there - she didn't know.
Circling her room once more she found a pair of flats in her wardrobe - untouched by Toby. Looking at the time on the wall she grabbed her handbag, went to the kitchen to grab the last apple in the bowl and left the apartment.
The walk to the office was the best part of her day. Sandy loved people watching and she enjoyed analysing their body behaviours. When her sister Cassie was three months old, Sandy had dropped a piece of firewood while preparing the fire in the fireplace. Her mother had been worried because Cassie hadn't flinched. She had asked Sandy to repeat the sound. This time with Cassie even closer and yet - nothing. From that moment on, until Cassie was finally tested and was found in need of grommets - they assumed Cassie was deaf and learnt sign language to counteract the probable issues Cassie would have.
With her sign skills and her mad lip reading talents, Sandy often could listen in to other people's conversations and with what she couldn't understand - particularly when people turned away from her incessant staring - she made the rest up.
On this day, being as late as she was - she had no time for idle people watching. Five minutes after her mad dash from her apartment to downtown Auckland, she was walking calmly through the office doors. Sandy knew that inevitably Olivia would be coming up to her and asking where she had been.
Sandy hated Olivia to her very core. She couldn't quite explain it to herself but there was just something about the woman that rattled and irritated her.
Upon arriving at her desk, moving the mouse to check the time once more, Sandy realised she'd arrived in time for morning briefing - but if she walked into the meeting room now, there would be incessant chatter and a definite talk from Olivia. Instead, Sandy sat at her desk and waited.
Looking over her in tray - she began to prioritise what actually needed doing straight away and what could be entered into the system and filed later. Being a part time assistant to the best data analyst in the building wasn't always what it cracked up to be. Sure there were the late prevening drinks in Matt's office, but the perks kind of ended there.
Cringing at the nearing footsteps and the familiar clacking chimes of her bunch of keys, Sandy rested her chin on her fist and pretended to be reading her latest email from Matt. As she got closer, Sandy heard Olivia breathing heavily and eventually when she was close enough, she put her hands on the back of Sandy's chair.
"And where were you during briefing?" she demanded.
Sandy was definitely not the most honest person for fear of giving away so much of herself that there would be nothing left. She rolled her eyes and turned around, smiled sweetly at Olivia and said, "I just got back from the doctors. Just waiting on the test results to see whether what I've got is contagious or not."
With that, there was an obvious shift in Olivia's stance and with her arms now wrapping herself rather than grasping the chair, Sandy knew she'd done her job well enough to stay out of reach - at least for today.
"Well, you missed important information this morning. The boss is coming in today and he expects a full summary of the MacClaren accounts."
"Yes, I just read that in Matthew's email. Will pull those records after I've finished this pile here."
Olivia frowned and turned up her nose saying, "You better have it sorted before Matthew arrives. Your head will roll otherwise."
Sandy grinned once more and licked her crooked tooth, a sure sign to anyone that knew her well that she was getting overly frustrated. "Will do," she replied carefully.
As Olivia walked away, Sandy breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't stand the woman. She came across as condecending and overbearing from day one and still hadn't seemed to change her tune. I really need to figure out what the hell I'm doing with my life, Sandy thought.
While organising the in-tray, Sandy took a quick glance at the computer’s screen and saw the reflection of her boss Matt in his office. Matt was anything but an authoritarian with Sandy. In fact he was too soft with her and often took no notice of her supposed sick days. Olivia was obsessed with gaining traction to upper management in the office, which Sandy supposed - was the reason she was always so horrible with everyone else. Matt wasn’t interested in seeing Olivia improve, not because he was a masochist but because he believed in equal opportunity - despite the peculiar ways he showed it.
Right now, Matt was helping up a junior assistant onto his desk, and was most likely telling her the very same sweet nothings he once said to Sandy. Of course, Sandy had the good fortune to recognise his body language as being overly domineering and right after he had tried to nuzzle her neck once more, she pushed him away and truly told him where to shove it.
Surprisingly, Matt wasn’t affected at all by Sandy not being interested in him. In fact, if anything, he became even more interested in the fact that she was even more so unattainable. Matt would bring girl after girl into his office and attempt to ploy each and every one into the same thought process as Sandy had once been in - in order to truly get under her skin to see why she detested him. Sandy recognised his mind games and the fact that she did not take any notice, apart from a few voyeuristic looks at the computer screen - the way she ignored what he did infuriated him. As a result - Matt began to ask Sandy in for prevening drinks in his office. Being a low-income, part time office assistant, Sandy took up his offer if only to lighten the mood from another overly ordinary day. During these times, Sandy would reminisce of more glorious days when she actually knew what she was doing, and Matt would get so intoxicated that he would begin to stare at her crooked tooth and wonder why she did not return his affections. It was about this time of the night when Matt would begin to drool slowly onto his waistcoat, that Sandy would call him a cab to take him back to his North Shore house and she would walk back to her apartment.
This prevening routine was what kept her overly ordinary day to day existance, slightly fresh - because at least she could sympathise with Matt once he was so drunk because he didn’t have a clue what he truly wanted in life either.
Once Sandy had finished entering the last of yesterday’s and the morning’s data, she went to collect the MacClaren’s account files from the basement. Sandy took the fire exit stairs two at a time, wondering whether today would be the day she would fall down, or up the stairs like she’d been practising most of her life. The basement was probably the dodgiest, mustiest and dirtiest place in the building, if only because it housed the most corrupt businessmen’s accounts and data. The fact that people often came down here during their lunch break added to the smell and you would never want to bring a UV light down there. Luckily, this time there was no-one there, so she collected the box of MacClaren’s accounts and promptly went back upstairs - this time via the elevator - which stunk of the same exact musty smell unfortunately.
Across the room she saw Matt crane his head up toward her and she assumed this was yet another offer of his masculinity, this time by pretending to be a giraffe. Sandy giggled quietly o herself, aware that she sometimes snorts while laughing too hard and continued walking on past him into the board room.
The MacClaren’s accounts were easy to organise. She had already sorted them last week into their corresponding months and year groups - in fact she had even alphabetized and numerically ordered the data and evidence herself for this very task.
Sandy knew that the MacClaren’s were corrupt because of the amount of bills they had passed off for Wendy’s as business lunches. There was also the occasional $2000 bill for Switched on Gardners. If you haven’t ever been to the shop, then you probably wouldn’t know. But as Sandy found out on one of her cousin’s little missions for his drug boss, it was a hydroponics store. The very best of course. With these two hunches, she was quite sure that Matt’s favourite account holders were definitely corrupt and if they were corrupt, it was a mere hop, skip and a jump to the realisation that the company she worked for, Clean, Green and Legal Data Analysts was also a tad corrupt.
Covering her sigh with a cough, Matt walked into the board room behind her. She had told him many times that what he attempted to do with her in plain sight of everyone else was workplace assault and bullying into submission - and that she would not take it. Ever. She tensed up as he put his hand on her shoulder, squeezing as if to reassure, but surely meaning to dominate before he began the conversation.
“All done?”
“Just about,” Sandy said as she inched away from his grasp. While grabbing the last document on the table to file in with the binder she was about to gie Matt, she saw with her periphery vision that he was stretching his arm out towards her. Quickly and deftly, she caught hold of his arm before it went anywhere near her backside and twisted it so that his fingers were held upwards to the sky and his wrist faced down to the ground.
“Ow!” Matt yelped. He nursed his arm and rubbed his wrist, while Sandy smirked to herself, thinking about how those karate lessons were still paying off. “It’s your own fault - coming into work wearing that dress Sandy. I’m surprised the rest of the crew haven’t already done so.”
Sandy laughed at his ignorance and arrogance. “You’re not the first person to try. Have had a few watching this morning - you’re lucky I haven’t filed a sexual harassment case against the company yet. Completely disrespectful and inappropriate.”
“Tut tut Sandy. That’s not the team spirit we endorse here at CGL. Not at all.”
“If only your hands could keep to themselves then we wouldn’t have to exchange these niceities time and again. Really Matt, did you think that I wouldn’t notice your overt looks? You must know that I’m more focussed and attentive than that.”
“If only you had been attentive with me,” Matt mumbled.
Choosing to ignore him and his stupidity, Sandy handed him the packet of MacClaren’s most recent accounts. As she walked out of the room, he once again stared at her, but couldn’t stop himself from smiling. She was quick witted and fast that one.
After lunch, she clocked out and walked home. She’d done more that morning than everyone else in the entire office. Most woke up by 10am and strolled in at lunch time so it wasn’t that surprising. If Matt were more aware of how badly his workers morale had gotten, perhaps he would have more revenue coming into the office, and then not need to resort to base behaviours such as he currently did.
Her neighbour was waiting outside, leash in hand with Toby sitting patiently on the footpath.
“Hi Jack!” Sandy called.
He smiled and Toby stood up, wagging his tail. “Hey S. Hope you had a good day!”
“Atrocious. But at least now I can get some proper exercise and have some me time with Mr. Toby.” She leaned over and rubbed his head - the dog’s not Jack’s.
Sandy took her keys out and opened up her car. She barely used it these days as work was only a walk away so enjoyed these afternoons with Toby.
“Cool - well I’ll see you guys later then!” Jack passed Toby and his leash over to Sandy, waving and walking away.
What Jake did for a job - Sandy had no idea. In fact, she didn't really care as long as she could keep looking after Toby. He was the strangest dog she'd ever met. Not only was he the biggest, dopiest mess - he could run really fast and was known for his early morning barking at the birds on the building's window ledges.
Sandy opened the back door of her car and ushered Toby in. The car was too small, but she barely used it except for these excursions. She told him to lie down, as well as he could and she hopped in the car, careful to hook the bottom of her dress inside before she shut the door.
The drive to the park wasn't that far either but there weren't many dog parks available in the center of town. If it had been earlier in the day she would have risked the windy drive out to Piha and taken him for a swim at the beach.
Once at ..... park, she looked around for the nearest parking spot. The thing that Sandy detested the most about this city was the lack of good, free public parking. If you wanted to drive anywhere, you might as well get used to driving a further 4 blocks away in order to even get close enough.
Toby was what the SPCA would have called a lovable canine in need of his forever home. Merely because they couldn't completely identify what breed he was. To Sandy, by no means a dog aficionado, he looked like he was part mastiff, part grizzly bear. When she would walk him home late at night she would never be worried or scared because Toby had a really sweet way of allowing any passers by to give them a very wide berth.
As they walked toward the park down the road, the sun drifted down onto her face, partly covered by the flowering kowhai trees. There weren't many in this part of Auckland left, but when Sandy saw one - it reminded her of home.
Sandy tripped on her own feet, regained composure while checking that no one had seen it and continued on. Toby was overly patient. He thought she was strange so gave her a bit more leeway than he would Jake. Jake smelt weird.
While attempting to cross the road, Sandy asked Toby to sit. No mean feat as when seated his head came up to her elbow. Upon spying a unusual suspect, Toby began to curl his left jowl and growled at the walker on the other side of the road - four lanes over. Sandy simply patted his head and continued walking across the lanes to the other side.
Sandy bunched up her dress to step over the little chain fence around the park and encouraged Toby to cross it too.
It was always a little nerve wracking whether Toby might just choose to bite her at a moment's notice but she forced herself to remember that he wasn't just an ordinary dog and had been dealt a life, far more difficult to bear than most other dogs had had the fortune of recieving. He had been one of the top dog fighters in the local gang headquarters, and from his very young puppy days, was expected to get in a cage with a few other dogs at once. To kill or be killed. Toby didn't have a killing bone in his body when he was born. But as he grew up, he had to learn to look out for himself. For that reason alone - Toby felt safe with this new female human - because there was something in the way she stood that told him she would not let anything bad happen to him.
She had forgotten to grab a ball out of her car. Instead, she picked up a stray branch and moved it close to Toby, while still on the leash. She did this same thing every time to remind him she wasn't going to hit him. The first time she had picked up a stick he had run fifty meters away and cowered on the ground with his head on his paws. When she'd told Jake, he didn't seem to care, and so she took it upon herself to teach him basic manners, right from wrong and to appreciate good company and proper treatment.
She finally undid the leash from his collar and asked him to lay down.
"Back up.... " Sandy said, with a flick of her fingers.
Toby shuffled backwards. Head in his paws, ears up and eyes alert.
"And again..."
And he moved backwards once more.
Sandy knew not to push him too fast, becausd otherwise he would run up to grab the stick from her hand... and it was particularly hard to push him away with him being a giant of a dog.
"Ready?" Sandy asked. "Go!" she yelled, as she chucked the stick further away from him.
Even a heffalump like Toby could run rather fast. And with each gallumph, he got closer and closer to the stick. While bringing it back, he wagged his tail and dropped it at her feet.
Toby moved back again and laid down in preparation for the next throw. Sandy had taught him this to make sure she wouldn't chuck the stick at his face. Her throwing skills were never that great.
"Okay... Go!" She yelled once more.
The stick flew high above the lowest branches this time and without getting caught, got brought down to the ground with a tiny wuph. Toby landed on it, dribble escaping his mouth. As he brought ig back this time, his ears were pricked and his mind was focussed on moving slowly, surely towards Sandy. He saw his role as protector. Always had done so. Especially of this girl- who took him out of the stinky apartment and out into the sun.
His eyes locked on their target. A twitching show of white, 150 meters away. He dropped the stick quietly, and turned around. Toby eased into chase and attack mode, crouchinv lower and increasingly becoming more still with each passing moment.
"Toby - here. Leave it."
Sandy had spotted the rabbit too and was eager to put Toby back on the leas. Not that she'd be able to hold him back.
Ignoring the girl's plea to return, Toby raced off after the white tail. He ran up the hill, through the community gardens and around the memorial stand.
The last that Sandy saw of him was when he ran through the old fish pond trying to gain on the rabbit.
"Toby! Here!" Sandy whistled but to no avail.
She ran off behind him, up the hill, across the gravel path that led back down the hill, around the crater and decided she would stop. Because the stupid dog had come to a stop at the bottom of the crater and was watching the shaking rabbit perched on top of one of the many volcanic rocks.
She walked slowly, hoping not to startle the rabbit further, but it shot off. Back up the crater's hill, and down the other side. At this point she thought Toby would be too knackered to keep going, but he'd found a second wind or so it seemed.
Tugging her flats off, she followed Toby down the hill and eventually found him laying on the ground near a food truck. Sandy looked around her, it had gotten darker and the lights throughout Auckland were beginning to show. There weren't many people around yet but they would be up here later to check out the sights. It was fireworks night and she needed to put Toby on his leash and walk him back to the car.
She called out to the crazy animal, and he barely moved. Twitching an ear, he showed he'd heard her but he was panting rather heavily. Sandy wasn't sure he'd ever had that much of a run before. Sure he would have been forced to exercise and fight, but doubtfully like that.
Sandy bent down beside him and rubbed his back. She was just about to get up to go get Toby some water from the vendor when a pair of hands and a large ice cream container full of water was placed by Toby's head. Sandy looked up, mid pat and saw the most handsome man she'd ever laid eyes on. Strong cheekbones, blue eyes, a solid beard, obviously grown outside of Movember. She breathed in sharply and stood up.
"Hi," she said awkwardly.
"Hey. Gorgeous dog you've got here."
"Oh Toby's not mine. He's my neighbours. He ran off after a rabbit."
"Ah Toby," the man said as he reached out to smush the dogs ears and wild furry mane.
"Ooh, be careful. Toby isn't very friendly unfortunately."
He pulled his hand away. A nervous reaction from what she'd said, not because he was scared. He had solid shoulders and from his body language was very sure of himself.
Toby was happily slurping up the water and panting equal amounts. An awkward silence resumed, punctuated by the consistent sounds Toby made and the sizzle of the sausages in the nearby truck.
"I'm John by the way," offering his hand to shake.
"Sandy -" she replied, grasping his outreached hand. Sandy wasn't at all surprised that he had a firm grip. Her Mum had always said be watchful of men who shook like a fish and be wary of those who didn't know the importance of a strong handshake.
"I just ordered some food when Toby here landed at my feet. Would you both care to have a bit with me? I tend to buy too much."
The bits below still need surgery to attach.
The pair were a bedraggled mess as they walked back to the car. Sandy was used to the staring now but sometimes she thought it was more to do with her own standard of dress, rather than the rabid - looking dog. At least time, the staring really was well deserved with Toby frothing at the mouth after his self-imposed exercise.
Park - new guy. Neighbour not knowing what he does.
Green worm in a circle. Big red apple with a hole in it encompassing the worm - club stamp
in order for her to carve out some extra time with her secret passion. No-one in the office knew what she got up to during this time but it was for the best. They wouldn’t be able to deal with the knowledge of who Sandy was. In fact it might make them a little bit more wary of her.
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