Mia
“What is wrong with you, Mia?”
I jumped as my boss shouted at me. What was wrong with him? He hadn’t done that before. I wasn’t even shocked at his shouting even though he hadn’t done that before. He was shouting at me over what he hadn’t done before. I wasn’t expecting this attitude from him.
“Is there a problem, sir?” I asked him, my hands pausing on the keypads and I frowned as I pulled my eyes away from the screen to look at him.
“You are the problem, Mia.” He hissed at me.
I was taken aback. Where was this coming from? We didn’t have any issues. We had laughed as we departed the previous day and he had even promised to get me a gift today, teasing me that I was one of the employees he liked.
I didn’t know where this attitude was coming from. He was acting strange and I didn’t know what was wrong with him. I didn’t think we had a fight this morning as well.
How could I be the problem? I sighed. How possible was it that someone who liked you would suddenly tell you that you were a problem that they didn’t want to see?
I had woken up on the wrong side of the bed. There was no doubt about that.
“Fix it.” He yelled at me and left.
I frowned as I watched him walk away. Fix what? What was I meant to fix?
I checked through all the reports and documents that I had sent to him and looked at them carefully. I bit my lower lip, gently chewing it. I didn’t think there was any mistake in the works I had sent to it. What did I need to fix?
I noticed Sammy walking away and I called out to him. Maybe he could tell me what was wrong with the boss because I had no idea of it.
“Sammy.”
He looked at me but ignored me. I watched as he walked away, my mouth opened in shock, unable to believe what I had seen.
Sammy had never ignored me. He was always the one who came to my side that I always wondered if he was going to leave eventually or not.
I shrugged, making excuses for him that he could be busy and rushing to a place to get his works done.
He walked back, carrying files to his office. I breathed in relief, glad that he wasn’t ostracizing me. He was going through his work. I could always talk to him when he was less busy.
I saw the manager giving me an evil side eye from where he was and I sighed. I didn’t like it when people acted off to me and I frowned, deciding to not sit there and have him shout at me again.
I hated a spectacle more than anything else and my skin had cringed when he had been shouting at me and the other employees had avoided looking at me as if I had the plague.
I went to him but he walked away the moment he saw me walking towards him. What was he doing?
I scowled at him. Was he not trying to explain himself again? I couldn’t believe the nonsense that he had tried with me.
“Sir,” I greeted the moment I walked into his office.
“How may I help us, Mia?” He asked, not looking away from the computer he was working on.
I tried not to arch my eyebrows and flinch at his words. He was acting as a different person, other than the man I knew.
Was it possible for a man to change that quickly? I had been working here for over six months and this wasn’t how he behaved. I didn’t think that I could have known someone for that long and not know his character.
I was certain that I knew him and this was weird. I swallowed and cleared my throat, hoping I wouldn’t sound the way I felt. I was annoyed and I didn’t need my voice to be as grumpy as I sounded.
I was trying to find out what was wrong with him and not start a fire.
If this was about the gift he promised to give me and he didn’t have the money, he should keep it. I was going to be fine. I didn’t ask him for it and neither would I hold him to it if he didn’t give me. I just needed us not to be on bad terms.
“Is there something that I had done wrong?”
He raised his head up. “Like what?” He asked, resting his head on his folded hands.
“You told me to fix something in the morning and I don’t know what it is. There is no problem with the works I submitted to you and I am confused.”
He looked confused as I spoke. “I told you to fix something?” He asked as if he was alien to the words. “Why would I? You are one of the efficient workers I have here.”
I scowled. Not that I was asking for a compliment but it felt good that he was saying that. I thought it odd that he didn’t know of what he had done when he had been shouting and everyone knew of what he had done.
“You snapped at me this morning, sir. That was why I thought that there was an issue that we needed to fix.”
“Really?” He looked troubled that he had done that. “Why would I do that?” He asked, running his hand through his hair.
He let out a sigh, shifting the files he was working on away from me and turned to face me. “I really did that.”
I looked at his eyes but it wasn’t the same one that had frustrated me this morning.
I sighed. There was no point in prolonging the matter. “Don’t worry, sir.” I said, turning to walk away.
“What would you like me to get for you, Mia?” He called after me as I moved away. “I promised you a gift.”
“Anything, boss.” I said as I walked away. I was almost tempted to tell him not to bother with the gift.
I walked out of the office and came in contact with Sammy.
“Hey, girl.” He smiled warmly at me as he greeted me.
“Hi. It seems like you were busy earlier.”
He shook his head. “No. Why would you say that?”
“I was trying to call you earlier in the day but you didn’t answer.”
He looked as confused as the manager looked when I told him that he had snapped at me. “Do you mean that? I don’t remember seeing you.”
I frowned. What was going on with them? He had seen me but now he was saying that he couldn’t remember seeing me. Was this a joke? Did everyone plan to play a prank on me in the company and I was the only one in the dark about it?
Later that day during the lunch break, I was at the cafeteria seated alone not because I wanted to be alone but no one was going to sit with me.
I had never felt so weirded out like that in my life. Everyone avoided me as if I had the plague and chose to compress one another where they were even though there was space where I was.
I rolled my eyes, not intending to bother with them. I wasn’t about to let someone tell me that they didn’t remember avoiding me again.
I was snapped out of my thoughts and yelped when I felt heat all over my body. I jumped up, glaring at the lady who had poured the contents of her food on me.
“What is this for?” I yelled at her, unable to hold on to my temper.
“I’m sorry.” She cried, her lips quivering.
I looked into her eyes and knew she meant her apology. She seemed like she had no idea how the tray had slipped from her hand and fell on me.
That was it. I had had enough. This had to be the most horrible day of my life.
I stormed out of the cafeteria, leaving my food untouched and ran to the restroom, boiling in anger.
I couldn’t wait to be done with work at the end of the week and go home. Hopefully, I would get some rest there.