reputation

i think mine just took a turn for the worse.

i was sitting alone in the bathroom, with nothing much to occupy the mind, and operating on a rather severe sleep shortage. i think someone in the office complained about the lack of paper toilet seat covers in the bathroom, because some have appeared, but since there aren’t any dispensers yet they’re just sitting on the purse shelves. they’re stapled to a little cardboard instruction sheet written in three languages.

recently i’ve been having more interactions in french so i began to read the french instructions aloud. dramatically, à la scarlett o’hara.

really, it’s serious sleep deficit.

finishing up my reading i heard the outer of the two doors leading to the bathroom, so i fell silent. the woman who came in after me and i came out of our stalls simultaneously, and washed our hands after a brief exchange of smiles in the mirror. and then, as i was glancing away from her, i saw them.

in the farthest stall.

two motionless and silent strappy gold sandals. attached to the feet of some horrified office member, trying to remain still enough that i would just go away without noticing her.

it was that kind of silence, a girl can tell.

thank god i have another pair of shoes under my desk, i’m just hoping that changing them immediately will prevent my identification.