Despite arriving at work almost an hour late, it seemed that no one had noticed Mara’s absence. While relieved not to have been caught out, it made the effort and rush to get here seem meaningless and her thoughts drifted back to the cat. In her small box of an office she flopped onto her chair and gazed at the pile of papers cluttering her desk. Most of them had been there since last week, so either they were not urgent or someone was desperately looking for them but couldn't remember who they gave them to. Either way, Mara had no intention of dealing with them now. Over time she had come to hate her job. In the beginning it was just an easy, well paid job. It required no real intelligence or reasoning skills, just a basic understanding of computers and the ability to retype information with nice fonts and choose a good layout. It was almost funny how much they paid her. But recently she was starting to grow bored. That was why there was a week's worth of work on her desk. She thought if she put herself under pressure it might add some excitement, but now she was convinced that she could throw it all out and no one would even know.

Turning her attention to the small window, Mara watched as the rain beat across the glass. It created a distorted view of the dim, dark day outside. She sat there for almost an hour, staring out the small window, until one of her colleagues stuck their head in.

"You look like you're working hard," Steph said with a laugh as she wandered in and perched herself on the edge of Mara's desk. As usual Stephanie looked immaculate, having spent more time on her appearance than whatever it was that she was paid to do. Mara wondered at the business sense of her employers, as they seemed to hire people to do nothing and over pay others to perform completely menial tasks. Maybe this was some sort of human experiment, and scientists were studying their actions and responses. Entertained by this thought Mara began to plot ways to make her data more interesting but reality called her back with a somewhat less than subtle cough from Stephanie.

With a flick of the head, Stephanie sent her blonde hair tumbling perfectly over her shoulders. It seemed to shine with its own internal radiance, unlike Mara's short, unruly hair that was the blood red colour of a head wound. Maybe if Mara bothered to wear makeup she could make her eyes "pop" like Steph's but she doubted it. She doubted that she could be bothered to make such an effort that is. And even if Mara could look as good as Stephanie, she would still be the same socially awkward, introvert who was incapable of maintaining any form of relationship. She had barely spoken to her family since moving here 3 years ago. But despite the obvious and overwhelming differences, Stephanie was the closest thing to a friend Mara had had since high school.

"Are you okay sweetie? You look terrible. Maybe we should take an early lunch and grab a coffee. I can catch you up on the party you missed this weekend. You really should come next time." Stephanie suggested as she rested a perfectly manicured hand on Mara's shoulder. Although Mara was not sure her body could handle it, the thought of more coffee was tempting. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that it would be tempting fate. Her day had started badly and just gotten worst since, and it was not even noon yet.

"Sorry Stephanie, I think I might call it quits and head home today. Maybe next time, okay?" Mara said as she faked a cough.

"I can drop around after work to check on you if you like?" Stephanie offered as Mara shuffled out of her office.

"No need to worry." Mara dismissed with a wave of her hand. She feared that any remaining mystique she had would disappear as soon as Stephanie saw her sad, lonesome apartment.

 - - -

She wasn't surprised that the storm, which had become a drizzle, now turned back into a downpour as soon as she stepped outside.

Some perverse side of her hoped the bus driver would be the same disapproving man as before. But instead it was a younger man who seemed wholly disinterested in her, or in any car on the road for that matter. The bus frantically changed lanes and her hands had to claw into the vinyl in an effort to keep herself attached to the seat. Unexpectedly the bus came to a halting stop and Mara lurched forward, banging her head into the metal bar of the seat in front of her. Mara wanted to yell at the driver but she doubted he would hear her over his own tirade of swears being shouted out the window. Instead she braced her feet against the seat in front and tried to survive the rest of the journey with no further injury.

Returned once more to her bus stop, she escaped as quickly as possible.

"Hope you enjoyed your trip." The driver said as he closed the door, an unfriendly grin on his face.

He is actually trying to kill us. Mara realised as the bus pulled away.

Once the shock had worn off she headed straight for the bushes where the cat had been hiding. She knew it was foolish getting soaked again, especially when the cat had probably been found by his owner or had moved to a dryer location. But her curiosity got the better of her and she knew it would bug her all day until she checked. Parting the bushes she found nothing but wet dirt and almost laughed at herself until she heard the faint meowing coming from deeper in the bushes. Disregarding any sense of caution she stepped into the hedge to discover the shivering little cat weak from the cold and wet. He was struggling to even keep his head out of the puddle of water forming underneath him. It seemed that in his attempt to escape the rain he had only managed to make things worse.