The shrill beep of my alarm clock pierced through my eardrums for what felt like the 10th time this morning, and I let out a loud groan as I reached out blindly, smacking my bedside table twice before finally finding the snooze button. The silence that followed was a relief, and I let myself sink back into the pillow for a moment, my eyes half-closed. I rolled into the side and grabbed my phone, squinting against the brightness of the screen. As I swiped away a few notifications, my gaze landed on the date. February 5th... February 5th??? My heart skipped a beat, and with that, I jolted upwards, my phone nearly slipping out of my hands. Oh my gosh. The interview. My interview was today! My excitement chased every ounce of sleep out of me. I rubbed my eyes and stared at the date again, just to confirm if I was seeing this, but I was not. Today was the day I'd been waiting for and dreading for weeks. For a tiny moment, panic threatened to overtake me. But I took a deep breath and forced myself to swing my legs over the edge of the bed. There was no time to waste. Frankly speaking, I had all the time in the world because I had set the alarm a bit too early just in case I didn't wake up on time. I didn't want anything to go wrong today. I shuffled to the bathroom, my bare feet cold against the creaking wooden floor. I had been living in this apartment for years now,w and I had gotten used to leaky pipes and rats in the ceiling. It's not like I could complain or anything, I was even lucky to get a house like this for just $12,00, so I didn't even have the right to complain. But now...I had a shot at working at one of the best firms in New York City, and then maybe I could think of getting a new apartment. Splashing water on my face, I glanced at myself in the mirror. My curly hair was a freaking mess and my face looked puffy from sleep. "Not exactly the picture of professionalism, ism," I mumbled to myself, picking out a little crust from my eye and a lint in my hair. I then let out a small sigh before saying, "Well, whatever happens, I know I'm not messing things up today." By the time I stepped out of the bathroom, my mind was already running through my to-do list. Outfit, makeup, hair, definitely double-checking my bag and breakfast, maybe. Who knows, I might be too excited to even eat. As soon as I got to the doors of my closet, I dug through my small wardrobe, pulling out the clothes I'd picked out days ago: a white blouse with lace cuffs and a beige pencil skirt. I wasn't a fan of formal wear, but because I'd only worked in restaurants, malls, and stores...especially restaurants, I had to get a few pairs of these. I held them up to the light, inspecting them for wrinkles or stains as I could never trust this rusty old house, before laying them carefully in my bed. Next came my makeup. Sitting in front of my mirror, I worked quickly on my face, dabbing on foundation and blending until my brown skin looked flawless. A hint of blush warmed my cheeks, and I applied a soft pink lipstick that added just the right touch of color. Just because I wasn't rich didn't mean I wasn't going to make myself look good for my interview. I then finished with a quick coat of mascara, my lashes fluttering as I blinked at my reflection. My hair proved to be more of a challenge. After scowling at it for a few minutes, I added my moisturizers and brushed it out before securing it in a low bun with my pins. Well, when a girl had 4c hair,ir that was the quickest hairstyle she could do other than a high bun. Letting it loose was not an option as I wasn't ready to deal with the shrinking. My hair wasn't exactly perfect, etc, but it would do. I glanced at the clock. Seven fifteen. I still had time. I guess I was going to help myself to some food. Who knew how long I was going to stay here? Ere. Well, I already knew how long because of the time frame they gave me, but I wasn't sure if I was going to stop for something later on or not, so it was best to eat. Padding into the kitchen, I poured myself a glass of water and grabbed a granola bar from the counter. I nibbled on it absentmindedly, my mind already at the interview. Stonebridge Publishing. Just thinking about the name made my stomach flutter. I'd been dreaming of working there ever since I could remember, and now, this interview felt like a once-in-a-lifetime chance. I didn't expect them to accept my application when I applied, but I guess all of my hard work paid off. I took another bite out of my granola bar. I'd spent hours preparing and researching the company. I memorized facts about their latest publications. But no amount of preparation could stop the tiny voice in my head from whispering, "What if you're not good enough?" I pushed myself off the counter before shaking my head. "Nope. Not today." I muttered, tossing the half-eaten granola bar into the trash. I quickly grabbed my bag that was already packed on the way out and opened it to double-check if I had packed everything I was going to need. Satisfied, after skimming through the bag, I zipped it up and slipped into my heels, and with one final glance around my apartment, I stepped outside. The cold morning air hit me immediately, waking me up even more. Not that I was sleepy or anything, though. The city was alive, cars honking in the distance, people rushing past me on the sidewalk. From the look of things, I wasn't even sure if I was going to be able to get a cab here with all these people swarming all over the place. Crap. My eyes swept through the crowd as I searched for a better place to get a cab. Luckily, I found one...but it was on the other side of the road, so I had to cross. The thought of moving drew a huff out of me. Of course, moving from one side of the road to the other wasn't a big deal, but I was wearing a white blouse for crying out loud, and this was Manhattan we were talking about. The place was always packed, who knows if the next person was going to spill a cup of latte on my shirt or ruin it with jam from his so-called "breakfast", but as usual, I didn't have a choice but to move, and I was already running out of time. I brushed past the crowd heading for the crosswalk, but when I was almost done crossing over, I felt someone brush past me, knocking my phone out of my hand and sending it plunging to the ground. "What the actual fudge?!" I yelled, turning to stop her, but then I turned and realized I wasn't even sure of who had hit me in the first place. I rolled my eyes before bending over to pick up my cracked phone, but before I could reach it, someone brushed past me again, and his feet kicked it away from him. I was about to yell at him as I was already losing my temper, but he immediately turned towards me and apologized before running off. From the looks of it, he was in a hurry, but he also decided to stop to apologize. We made up for it. By the time I had picked up my phone, the crosswalk was already clear, red, and I was glad I didn't need to brush past those people again. I was also glad that I managed to get past them without getting my shirt stained, but just when I was crossing, a loud horn pierced through the air, and I turned to find a car heading towards me. From the way the driver swerved, it was obvious that the driver had lost control of the car, and as expected, I wasn't the only one who noticed. The people around started panicking, but I didn't have time to even panic; if I wasn't careful, I was even going to be late for my interview. I quickly moved out of the way, heading to the other side of the road. I needed to find a cab as soon as possible. Being late was not an option. I was busy zipping my bag when I heard more screams, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Sometimes people can be a bit overly dramatic. I mean, what was so scary about a... My thoughts halted when I lifted my head from my bag, and that was when I understood why their screams had increased. I had assumed that they were screaming because they were scared and freaking out. But the truth was...they were screaming because the car was heading straight at me. I tried to move, but my body couldn't even react. Damn it. I stared at the red car heading towards me, and that was when I realized I wasn't going to make it to my job interview. Just then, I felt a huge force crash into mey ending me straight to the ground. My head then collided with the asphalt, and everything went black.