Chapter 2: Callie Turner
Callie paused to take a deep breath. She put her wrist on top of the tip of the mop, then placed her chin on her wrist as she alternately inhaled and exhaled some air, hoping to regain at least a little bit of her strength. Her back was aching. Her legs were numb already and begging for her to sit down, even if it was just for a couple of seconds. Cold, sticky sweats were running down from her forehead and neck then losing themselves under her red and brown polo shirt that was serving as a uniform of the fast food restaurant where she was working. The tie that was keeping her hair in a bun was already loose as some strands of her hair managed to escape the tie and the hairnet that was hugging her bun. It was fine though, because they no longer had any customers and the restaurant was about to close already. They were just finishing cleaning the whole place.
Callie snapped her head on her back when she heard someone clearing their throat behind her. She flinched when she saw their manager, staring unimpressed at her and crossing his arms on his chest.
"You are not getting paid by slacking off, Turner." The man in his early 30s said in his stern voice.
"I-I apologize Sir!" Callie exclaimed, bowing her upper body completely.
The man just clicked his tongue in annoyance and then turned his back on Callie without saying another word.
Callie immediately got her hands and feet moving again when their manager left her alone. She ignored the numbness of her legs and just kept on moving so she would get to go home already. Two minutes after her encounter with their manager, he emerged onto the scene again but this time with one of Callie's co-workers, linking her arm to the man and giving him a flirtatious smile.
"We're leaving first, Turner. Make sure to mop the whole place and to lock the place before you leave." The man instructed, looking so strict at Callie but soft and sweet at the lady next to him.
"Y-Yes, Sir." Callie said and bowed her head once again.
"Bye, Turner. Enjoy cleaning." Her co-worker named Emily said, grinning at her and also mouthed the word 'loser'. Emily flipped her copper hair as she walked past Callie with their manager. Callie didn't curse Emily. She just kindly smiled and returned her gaze to the gray-tiled floor. Trails of wet footprints are what greeted her eyes. She no longer became shocked nor became annoyed at the considerate enough person that left them. As a matter of fact, she never did. She just held her mop tightly and began sweeping the floor again.
Callie knew who was the culprit. It was Emily. Not only was she skipping in helping them clean their workplace, but she was also leaving wet footprints on the floor before she went home. Emily was also bad-mouthing her; calling her stupid, loser, bitch, and other foul words. Callie Turner had never fought back. Hell, no matter what Emily did or said, Callie had never been offended. She always finds a reason to understand her co-worker's actions and words. That maybe was the reason why Emily's treatment of her was getting worse every passing day; because Callie had never shown any annoyance. Emily was also assuming that Callie was making fun of her and secretly ruining her image behind her back, which had never happened.
No one's perfect, but Callie Turner was the closest to that. She was righteous. She was humble. She had never done anything that would hurt someone. She was considerate and would always choose herself to suffer instead of anyone else. Maybe these personalities of hers were also the reason why she ended up attracting bullies. She was living alone in a shitty apartment, going to a school where bullies were living freely, and had a terrible workplace environment. The safest place for her was her tiny apartment, but the moment she stepped outside that shitty apartment, she could almost hear everyone saying "Welcome to hell." Despite everything, Callie had never complained, gotten tired, or even lost hope. She will always welcome the day with a smile while silently praying for her day to be better.
Finally done with her work, Callie started walking toward the locker room after returning the cleaning materials. Actually, Callie was not the only one who was cleaning the whole place. She had two co-workers that were always being left behind with her, but when their manager had left with Emily already, they were also leaving and coming up with nonsense reasons. But at least they weren't treating Callie as badly as Emily was doing.
Callie was dying to get back to her apartment already. She was exhausted and could barely feel her feet. She was sweating a lot despite changing into a clean shirt and walking under the moon accompanied by a cool breeze. Callie glanced at her wristwatch when some lamppost's light reached her. She saw that it was already nearing two o'clock in the morning. Great. She will again just barely get 3 hours of sleep before she goes to school tomorrow for her 7:00 class.
Her apartment was a 10-minute walk away from her workplace. Actually, it depends on her state. If she was in a better condition, she could really reach their rotten apartment building in 10 minutes, but when she's in a worse condition, just like tonight, it would take at least 15 minutes for her to actually reach her apartment. She had never wasted money on a taxi. Instead, she was saving that money for college. She's always just convincing herself that this was a form of exercise since she no longer has time for that.
Callie massaged her shoulders and stretched her neck from both sides, groaning in satisfaction when she heard the cracking sounds of her bones. Callie was already halfway on her way home while keeping herself busy getting rid of stiffness in her shoulders when she heard a loud thump. She looked around, searching for the possible source of it, but failed to see anyone who had possibly caused it. No one was around and there were barely any cars that were crossing the road. The streets weren't really that dark thanks to lampposts and some LED lights from 24/7 stores.
Callie frowned and was about to assume that it was just her imagination or maybe due to exhaustion when she heard the same sound but a lot quieter than earlier. Turner gulped down as she slowly made her way towards the direction where the sound was coming from. She was gripping the straps of her backpack tightly as she carefully moved her feet. Callie just stepped and stepped, ignoring the fact that the alleys she was courageously crossing were no longer being illuminated by any lamp posts. The only thing that was guiding her feet so she wouldn't trip or step into any unwanted things was the moon. The moon was in its best form. It was full and the moonlight was bright and cool.
Callie forced a gulp down her throat when the sound was getting louder and louder, the more steps she took. But not like earlier, there were no longer thump sounds. She couldn't tell what exactly that sound was, but the sound she was now hearing was like someone was thrusting a sharp object into something or someone. A murder scene crossed Turner's mind but she still didn't contemplate if she would keep on moving or retreat from the scene. She was nervous and freaking out on the inside, but her curiosity didn't weaken at least a little bit.
Becoming a police officer was her dream. Helping someone achieve the justice that they've been dying to get was her ultimate dream. And if what she would really witness was a murder scene, then she really should continue moving. She doesn't have any physical strength to stop the suspect, but she can be a witness and call for the police. Callie's heart was thumping loudly and fast against her chest. Her heartbeats were deafening. Her shirt only became even wetter with her sweat. Her hands were clammy. Her legs were trembling. Her mouth was so dry. Her eyes were wide but she was determined.
Callie lightly massages her legs to stop them from trembling. She was holding her breath and being careful as to not make any noise that would alert the suspect. Finally reaching the end of the fourth alley that she crossed into, Callie took a deep breath before she took another step and a peek towards the scene. Under the yellowish moon, a woman who she assumed was already in her mid-20s has her limbs bent into a squat. Callie saw her take something from her pocket, which she later figured out was a cigarette. The woman lit the cigarette first before she straightened her back, staring at the lucky man that she had sent to hell.
Even though Callie couldn't see clearly how horrible that man's state was, she could somewhat tell it judging by the pool of blood around him. Callie was too late to cover her mouth as she gasped. The said woman's ears didn't let that small noise escape her ears. She snapped her head in Callie's direction and immediately spotted her. Callie became even more stunned, but this time not because of fear, but it was more like she was mesmerized by the girl's eyes.
"Beautiful." Callie whispered absentmindedly, forgetting for a moment that the owner of those eyes that she just complimented was a murderer. Her eyes refused to blink while staring at the woman's eyes that were slightly covered by the mysterious girl's messy bangs. Even though no one asked to, the moon and the light it was emitting served as a spotlight for Callie to see how beautiful the murderer's eyes were. Those eyes weren't hypnotizing her or drowning her, she hypnotized and drowned herself in those eyes.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Frustrated_Iris
Frustrated_Iris My 7th story was still ongoing, meaning I won't be able to post updates frequently. I have chosen to write this already even though I'm not yet done with my other story because I'm too scared that this twist will vanish from my mind.
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