Vivi thought she would definitely talk to new people and try to befriend some colleagues, as she did not want to stay friendless forever. She had already lost her teenage years but she was not going to miss out the fun in her twenties. She tried to initiate and bring up some topic with two nurses who sat together at the lunch table, laughing and discussing their day. Vivi tried to join them but Mrs.Kim interrupted and gave her another task to complete. Mrs.Kim was a significant obstacle for Vivi on her first day, she shuddered wondering what her future held while she had to work alongside Mrs.Kim. Vivi knew needed to share her thoughts with someone to feel lighter, and she knew exactly who that person was. 

Soon, Vivi arrived at her stop, she again staggered while getting down the bus, this reminded her of Mrs.Kim calling her lousy. She was done wasting thoughts on Mrs.Kim. She walked towards her hotel, which was five minutes away. Getting some fresh air under the orange sky which was turning darker as each minute passed, Vivi came across a stray cat. The cat was scratching its ears and licking its paw, the cat had all shades of colors one could have. Mostly white with some traces of orange, black and brown. Vivi recognised it as a calico, she was fond of cats. She carefully walked towards the cat, trying not to disturb the ground near it. The cat was still occupied by scratching its ears and cleaning itself. Vivi offered her hand to the cat before petting it, the cat gave her hand a sniff and let her pet it. 

"Awww so cute, you are such a good kittyyy!" she said aloud in a highly pitched voice.

The cat was rubbed its face in Vivi's legs, meowing continously. Vivi thought the cat might be hungry, but she had no food with her. 

After a while of playing with the cat, Vivi got up, ready to leave. She adjusted her tote bag on her shoulder and took few steps, she turned around to see the cat running behind her, it caught up with Vivi and rubbed its body against her legs. Vivi could not bring herself to leave the kitty behind, hence, she decided to bring it along her. But the problem was that she was still staying at the hotel for a while, while at the reception she saw a poster of No Pets Allowed behind the receptionist. 

Only option left for her now was to sneak it in, she picked the cat up and put it in her bag after making some space for it. "Shh, don't make sounds kitty," she said like the cat would understand her. 

She gently carried the bag and without shaking it much walked towards the hotel. Vivi entered the hotel's main gate, she felt like a thief hiding a ticking time bomb in her bag. Vivi gave a weak smile to the receptionist as she entered. She rushed towards the lift with small steps, trying not to make it obvious that she had something she was hiding. She dashed through the corridor towards her room, she rummaged through her bag trying not to hurt the cat. She was astonished that the cat had made no sounds and was actually playing along and also was abnormally calm. She quickly opened the door and shut it close behind her sighing in relief, her blanket was still crumpled on the bed since morning. She checked around her room for any hidden cameras (which she should have done much earlier) before letting the cat out her bag. 

Vivi gently placed her bag on the floor for the cat to come out. The cat looked afraid, so, Vivi decided to give it some space and time to adjust, she searched for something the cat could eat. She found a package of sausages that she brought with herself, she took out one sausage and broke a piece, keeping it in front of the cat. Vivi stepped back for the cat to come out. The cat cautiously came out of the bag, sniffing the piece of sausage and ate it. Vivi put some more of the sausage in bits for the cat to eat. 

Vivi had now almost forgotten about Mrs.Kim and her antics. She took a shower, changed into her loose T-shirt and printed pajamas. The room service lady knocked, Vivi before opening the door made sure the cat was out of sight. She slowly opened the door halfway, the lady handed her the tray and Vivi quickly thanked her and shutted the door. She was enjoying the company of the new member, she even thought of a name for her cat. She named it pepper, as it had all the colors peppered on it. 

She picked up her phone and dialed her father.

'Hello, how are you Vivi?' her father said, on the other end of the phone.

'Dad! I got a lot to share with you today, I don't even know where to start.' Vivi said, as usual not waiting for her dad to answer. "It was my first day today as you already know, I met this very rude nurse in charge Mrs.Kim, who keeps nagging me at everything I do"

'It's okay hun, you will meet such people, you just have to do your best'

Vivi spent next few hours on call telling every detail about how Mrs.Kim kept nagging her and practically sold her to some company as their personal care-taker, and how she managed to sneak in a cat in her tote bag. 
'Wow! That's actually a lot to take in...especially the selling you part and the cat...' Vivi's mom cut in, her voice concerned.

'It'll be alright mom, they looked like some celebrities and I heard Mrs.Kim say so too. Also I'll be going to sleep now, as i have to wake up at 6AM tomorrow,' Vivi said, yawning.

'Okay, goodnight Vivi,' her mom's voice came from the other end.

Vivi ended the call, petted pepper who was already asleep soundly in a corner of her bed. She shut her eyes and went to sleep in no time, tired by her day.