It had, so far, been a real bummer of a morning.
Not that he was complaining. It was only common sense: You couldn't complain about anything that was your own fault. And waking up late, despite the boss's apathy to Mark's profuse phone apology, was a decidedly
shitty
fault.
First of all, it caused rushing, which was bad for putting clothes on properly and very bad for savoring an early morning coffee. One couldn't possibly feel right without their standard morning routine, and Mark could tell already that he'd spend the rest of the day off kilter.
And second, now he'd have to get on the subway during rush hour, and suffer all the slowness/yuckiness that a crowd brought with it. Mark was an early bird for exactly this reason: to catch the worm, and hopefully fewer colds.
And third... well, third wasn't quite the fault of Mark's waking up late, but was a great factor to the sense of unease in his stomach. On Friday, a train in this very system had derailed due to a sleep deprived subway operator. The train had been going much too fast, and though no one had been hurt, Mark had found the reports of those stuck for several hours on the train to be quite harrowing. The operator had been suspended for further investigation, and rumors of engine tampering by terrorists or government conspiracy had spread across the more paranoid circles of the city.
Of course,
Mark
didn't believe in such nonsense, he thought, then jumped at the sight of
a man in a suit
. It took a moment to remember that the CIA probably didn't have any reason to explode a perfectly good train.
The subway doors opened, and a sea of people poured through. Mark's foreboding didn't stop his getting swept along with them, but it certainly didn't ease when he noticed the heat of the car. Broken air conditioning was simply
not
reassuring to a man already panicky about another derailment.
In fact, he was debating getting out. Mark had been packed back into a pocket of space between the crowd and the door, and was imagining being trapped in this sweaty hell for hours, when he saw her face.
She was wearing sunglasses, walking slowly, and spinning a keychain around her finger. Her lips were a pretty pinkish pale. Her hair was brown, around shoulder length. She seemed particularly unkempt, and her dress was noticeably from one night ago.
She looked about as uncomfortable as Mark, and seeing no other place to go, she stood in front of him and turned her back.
(And stole his chance to escape.)
They were at a comfortable distance, until far too many people filed in, pressing her back against him. His nose went into her hair, and uncomfortable as it was, the scent did serve to distract him from the train's probably imminent bombing.
Lavender.
He turned his head to the side, and thought happy thoughts as the car jolted into motion.
***
"Yes, I realize I was drunk, but drinking does not make articles of clothing disappear."
"Well, you were drinking on a Sunday. Maybe you're being punished," Mary replied.
"God did not disappear my panties!" squealed Sarah, then released a breath and pressed her hands to her face. How had she lost her underwear when, to the best of Mary's recollection, she hadn't even gotten laid last night? "So," she said, steadying her breath, "ignoring the fact that
you were drinking too,
do you have any idea where they might have actually gone?"
Mary said no.
"Then," Sarah continued, "may I borrow one of yours?"
"Yeah..." Said Mary, sucking at her teeth. "This is my boyfriend's apartment, so, I don't know how to help you."
Sarah sobbed in her mind.
"Cheer up, Sar-Bear," said Mary. "This is just what Mondays are like."
With that consolation in tow, Sarah stepped into the hallway.
"Don't take the subway back," called Mary behind her. "One of them crashed on Friday. And you heard what that gypsy woman said about an accide-"
Sarah slammed the door behind her, and regretted it as soon as the stabbing started at her skull. "First on the to-do list when I get out of med school," she said through gritted teeth, "cure the hangover."
She started down the hall, calculating how long it would take to get back on campus. Yeah, the Tarot had spoken of a nearing accident. It had also claimed that a knight in shining armor would take her - away from what, she didn't know - but if that were true, he was taking his gallant fucking time.
Sarah stepped outside. Fumbled with her purse, donned a pair of apparently fluorescent sunglasses. Let her insides weep a bit more.
And headed off to the subway, playing idly with her keychain.
She dropped her keys a few times on her way, which those with hangovers are wont to do, and found herself feeling quite unusually vulnerable when she arrived pantiless on the subway platform. In a fleeting moment of memory, she remembered how inclined the hem of her dress had been to ride up her legs when she'd gotten sweaty last night. It was naturally only halfway down her thighs, so she wondered for a moment if it might prove an issue, but relaxed after noticing how cool was the platform.
The subway doors opened, and Sarah went through, cringing at the raucous hum of the crowd.
There was a cute guy where she'd have to stand, dressed in slacks and a button down, and she could tell she'd caught his eye.
Will you be my shining knight, the one to rescue me from Monday?
she thought, probably staggering toward him, spinning her keys on her finger. But as soon as she entered the car she noticed the heat.
Ohpleasegodno-