"..."

"GASP"

     She inhaled sharply as she got up from her bed. She looked back to see all the prescription pills she had taken—things like Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Warfarin, and many more prescriptions. She grabbed her face in disappointment with a sigh.

"I'm still not dead..."

     She hung her head down in shame. This was truly humiliating. Imagine announcing to the whole world that you plan to kill yourself, and the attempt failed- well, it's not like the whole world knew... Monique never told anyone she was suicidal, not her neighbors, not her work colleagues, no one! The thought of doing so was selfish; egoistic in fact! Maybe she was looking at this whole thing the wrong way. If she really wanted to cut her life short by overdose, she'd have to go about it differently.

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     The next day, Monique woke up early. Why? To enact the plan she came up with last night! She dubbed it Operation Overdose; she was aware of how cheesy the name was. If this plan works and she dies and stays dead, she'd successfully kill herself for coming up with such an awful name. So, first, she got out of bed and went to her cabinet. There were things like band aids and tools. Then she found it. The pills she had taken yesterday. Then, second, she went outside her apartment complex to find the infamous poison snake that lived in the bushes, infamous—as in it had already taken the lives of five residents at the complex. With enough searching, she found the ophidian, but it wasn't without a struggle, as it poisoned and killed her about three times. Then, third, she found the detergent and bleach she owned. Now with all these items in her arsenal, she crushed all her prescription pills, poured the venom she got from the snake, then last but not least, she poured both her detergent and bleach into her one reusable coffee cup. Monique proceeded to mix the reusable cup like a barista. Satisfied with the concoction in her hand, she awkwardly smiled to herself.

    The Ebony-head took a look at her clock; she was about to be late for work! With speed, she showered, got dressed, grabbed her work bag, and most importantly, her drink.

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    Monique owns a driver's license, but she doesn't own a car. Mainly because she destroyed her last car in an unsuccessful suicide attempt, which means she had to get around the city by bus or cab. Unfortunately, today was one of the days where she had to take a cab to work, which she dreaded. Monique stood awkwardly in the middle of the city street, waiting for her cab.

    Eventually, a car stopped at the side of the road where she was standing.

"Monique Strauss, right? c'mon in"

"u-understood"

    The man's car was small and claustrophobic with a whiff of fast food. She put her phone near her face, so hopefully he wouldn't strike up a conversation with her.

"So Missy, how is your day?"

     Crud. No. She didn't have the right to refuse his invitation for conversation, not someone as pathetic as her; she's an adult, for Pete's sake! Having conversations comes with the job! Trying to keep up a professional appearance, she responded.

"Er-my day was-"

"Good! Because, LADY, you won't believe the day I just had, the customer before you was..."

     The man went on and on about his last customer, who happened to be his ex-fiancé. Monique had every opportunity to end this exchange, but she didn't. Why? Because she didn't think she deserved to, instead, she ended up listening to the cab's whole tirade, nodding and giving add-ons so he could know he had her full, undivided attention. Before she knew it, they had already arrived at her work office.

"-Aaaand we're here!"

     The man beamed.

"Has anyone ever told you you're a great listener, ma'am?"

"ha-ha I-I'm really not"

"c'mon, lady, take the complaint"

    With that, Monique got out of the car, thanking the man while she was at it. She quickly headed to the office building. Monique walked threw the hallway, up the stairs, all the way to her office cubicle. She then began unpacking her bag and setting up her things. Monique then eagerly got out the concoction she had prepared this morning. Normally, she didn't like the idea of dying where there were multiple witnesses around. Mostly because she found it embarrassing. Just the thought of scarring some innocent person for life was enough to make her wince, but Monique was getting desperate, desperate for the sweet release of death.

     With anticipation, she held the cup with the concoction inside near her lips. Monique then took the hugest gulps she could muster. She waited a few minutes. Nothing happened.

"Oh, I guess-"

    Just as she muttered to herself, thinking she was fine, Monique began to feel her stomach bubbling, and her throat began to close as well. Soon enough, the bubbling in her stomach began to feel like boiling. Blood began pouring out of her mouth and nose, and her eyes began to redden as well. 

 

 

     And just like that, Monique's body flopped straight on her desk. Her face fell onto her arms, so to any unsuspecting office worker passing by, it looked like she had nodded off. Monique was happy with this. The way her body was positioned got rid of her worry about making a scene.

"Monique? Girl, you know better than ta' be sleeping on the job!"

     The woman sitting next to Monique with the pixie cut just so happened to be Mitsy Turner, Monique's desk mate.

"Come on, Monique, wake up!"

     The short-haired woman shook the Ebony-head's shoulder, and just like that, she beamed awake. Monique's stomach, which not so long ago felt like it was boiling, now felt like usual. Deep down in her pessimist mind, she had a feeling this wasn't enough to kill her. She was still disappointed, though.

"I-I was so close"

    Crap, she felt like crying. Mitsy raised her eyebrow.

"Huuh? Close to what? Because from the looks of it, you haven't got any work done"

"UH-er.. I'm starting to work, I-I promise"

"Hahaha, why so fidgety? I'm not the boss or anything, I don't bite!"

     Mitsy slapped Monique's back as a form of reassurance.

"-By the way, I TOTALLY feel like I'm about to pass out, mind if I have some of that coffee you've got there?"

"Um, I didn't bring coffee today, though?"

"Oh, c'mon Monique, don't play dumb~ I can see your coffee cup"

     Crap.

"O-oh, you mean that! I already drank all of this, sorry"

     The short-haired woman made a mischievous grin, which put Monique's nerves on edge, and blood began to leak from her nose. It was a strange habit that had been occurring ever since she could remember. When Monique felt a strong emotion, fear, frustration, or nervousness, her nose would begin to bleed just like it is now. Mitsy, and just about most people in the office, knew this, which added to her humiliation, and made her lie obvious. Misty scooted to Monique's cubicle.

"Honestly, Monique, sharing is caring~"

     Monique didn't hate Mitsy; hell, she didn't think she had the right to hate anyone, but Mitsy could be pushy, which was very troubling for a weak-willed person like Monique. Mitsy's body wasn't cursed and disgusting like hers, which means if Mitsy were to drink the concoction, she'd most definitely die. The blood from the Ebony-head's nose began to leak down her chin as she panicked. Then, without thinking, Monique grabbed the drink and threw it on the ground. Everyone who worked in the office looked at Monique as if she were some sort of lunatic. Mitsy stared wide-eyed.

"Jeez....I was just messing with you... It's just coffee"

     Monique could feel everyone's gaze on her as her brown face began to feel warm.

"I wanna die..." she murmured to herself.

Looks like Operation Overdose was a bust.