You stretched on your seat after another tough day at work, relieved because finally it was over and once again you were able to stay on track with your work. You had to put some extra hours once again, but you felt confident once you got the hang of everything you would be able to leave earlier, as you were only around for a couple of months and there was plenty to do and to learn. This was your first job experience, and you felt committed to make it work and prove your worth.
You decided to take a trip to the bathroom before leaving, feeling the discomfort in your legs after hours sitting on the same position and thinking momentarily you should try taking more breaks. Walking through the now familiar halls you reminisced about your experience so far and concluded you were satisfied with how things were going at the moment. Your boss Kim seemed happy with your progress and even if you didn't feel like you could ever be friends with coworkers like Denise or Candice, the professional environment was kept intact and it never went beyond the odd bad comment not related to job performance. You felt you still needed to keep your guard up with those two tough, the way they looked at you sometimes made you think they would celebrate if you were fired, even if you had done nothing to them!
You were going back to your desk to turn off the computer before leaving when you saw the cleaning lady, Helena, carrying her supplies to start her work. You mumbled a quick hello but froze on your tracks when she gave you a nasty look and just walked past you.
"What is wrong with her?" you thought, remembering it was not the first time she has looked at you that way. You have barely spoken to each other and yet the only time things were cordial was the first time you talked to each other, a quick "nice to meet you" as you were introduced to everyone in the office, since then however she has given you that look for some unknown reason. As for yourself, you didn't bother trying to find the cause partly because you were intimidated, Helena looked like a headstrong, assertive woman that didn't take any bullshit so you didn't want to confront her if you could avoid it, but also because you didn't have any real motivation to do so. She was just the cleaning lady, if she didn't want to have any kind of small talk with you it was fine. You sighed, thinking this was probably normal in an office environment and after a few months maybe you could be friends with her, and even with Denise and Candice.
"Hey! Stay there, I need to talk with you!" You felt shivers on your back when you heard Helena's voice, clearly addressing you because nobody else was there at the time. The tone of her voice was strong, almost commanding, and also felt harsh, like there was some resentment on it. But you didn't know what would she want to talk about at all.
"Um.. Hi Helena" you mumbled when she approached you, still giving you that look. You felt your legs shaking a bit, clearly scared of this woman.
"You need to apologize for what you have said about me. Now" Helena stated in a neutral tone
"Um, sorry?"
"You think I don't know about the disrespectful comments you make about me? saying I'm just a worthless cleaner and that I should be grateful I can enter the office just to clean your shit. Apologize" Helena said, her anger clearly increasing as she finally revealed to you why she was looking at you in such a nasty way
"W-where did that come from? I have never said anything like that, we have barely even talked!" you said with a mix of bewilderment and exasperation.. who would make up something like that? if it was a joke, it was a terrible one.
"Don't play the fool with me! I'm giving you a chance to apologize, if you don't I'll make sure you regret it" Helena said banging her fist against the wall, almost making you give a little jump from the sheer panic. You didn't want any trouble, but it seems your assessment of Helena was right, she wasn't going to take any excuses from you and just wanted you to grovel before her even if you didn't do anything! Your mind raced trying to figure out the best course of action and fearing the consequences of a bad decision that you could almost foresee on the reflection of her angry eyes. She didn't look like she could be reasoned with right now, should you still try? Should you make a deal with her to placate her and give you time to confirm who started those horrible rumours? Should you just apologize and see if you could start over with her? Should you talk with your boss of your friend Jenny about this for help? none seemed like good options, you just wanted to run away right now. She wouldn't just beat you up, would she? you firmly believed she would deliver on her threat, and it wasn't allowing you to think correctly
What happens next?
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