Suddenly the infernal sun nearly melting the rubber off her soles didn't seem so bad. Actually, not even the sweaty pig scent of the man behind her was so bad - well... it was bad but not unbearable as it had been a moment before. It was odd, really, this sudden shift in mood. Marla was smiling! Smiling at this unholy place, this despicable cesspool of inhumanity. Why, it was alien, nearly inhuman for such a feat to be possible and, yet, here was Marla, smoldering in her business suit and itchy make-up, smiling. It was so eerie, in fact, that the young woman in front of her in the queue even managed to pull her eyes away from the screen for a moment, only to quickly return to them. Such a sight was less miraculous and more disturbing.
The queue moved and finally Marla was inside hell, and that just didn't seem so bad. Yes, she had been waiting to get inside for three hours. Yes, she was way too late for work for any excuse to be worth a damn. And, yes, her entire outfit was drenched in sweat. She was hungry too, and just wanted to punch a wall. And yet all of those things just didn't seem so bad any more. The sun had been nice, come to think of it. Vitamin D, man! It is good for you. And now, the stuffy, windowless room was less a prison and more a welcomed respite after that heat. So, Marla smiled for another hour until she managed to get to the till she needed to go, the smile unwavering.
"Yes, hello. How's your day?" She beamed at the grumpy old lady at the till.
The old lady scowled and nearly spit. But didn't. Blessedly. "Whatchu want?"
With a flourish Marla produced a piece of paper, placed it in front of the lady and said in a sweet song of a voice, "Just refilling my prescription."
Smack. Smick. Click. Clack. Ring, stamp, stamp, sign, sign. A scowl, a groan, a slight complain and Marla was on her way out of the clinic, holding a small plastic bag containing her pills.
"I will burn this place to the ground and shit on its place one day," She said in a sweet song as she made her way back to her car.
