CHAPTER ONE

Let's meet our imperfect character with her imperfect life.
Nora Jethwa.

She is the shy type.
The clumsy type.
The ever-caring type.
The simpleton type.
The innocent type.
The nerdy type.
Wait and did I say the clumsy type?

I did?

Well saying her clumsy one more time wont change anything and instead will describe her perfectly.
You wanna know why?

read further below;

It was a peaceful day with her not around but will this happiness last long?
What a rhetorical question!
"Thud!" Everyone stared at the just slammed office door.
And there stood our princess of the story.

Probably princess in distress.
Drenched in mud, hair a mess and big grandmother spectacles on her not so little eyes.
On the right hand, she held files of the project she is currently working on whereas on her left she held her bag which had the whole world inside.
Anything you need she has it in her bag.

She looked around the office, seeing her colleagues irritated faces and muttered an apology for interruption while heading towards her desk.

Well now lets get to her morning routine.

First and foremost, she would open her laptop and look lovingly at the wallpaper and well admire.
Admire what?
She admires her crush Rohan Malhotra.
Her brother's best friend and also her bestfriend's boyfriend.
Complicated much?

She smiled at the wallpaper and stood up taking the files to her boss's office.
Obviously stumbling and messing a few things before reaching the destined place.

Nora Jethwa's P.O.V.

I was the bad luck.
Cause all the bad things always happened to me and not once but all the fucking time.

Take today for example; at first I missed my alarm and woke up half an hour late, and then as I always do every month,forget to pay the electricity bill the lights too weren't there.
So I had to take a cold bath, then wear creased full dress.
I had no time to eat breakfast, so I just combed my hair into a bun and rushed outside, not forgetting my project files that I had to submit due today by nine in the morning.

To my bad luck, it was raining.
Even though it was the season for monsoon but even if it was summer for me it could still rain so I could be all muddy cause am bad luck.
Drenched in rain and mud cause the cars splashed on me everytime they moved past me, I walked with my pace faster than usual.
Since hailing a cab in this rain was impossible

Reaching the office before the deadline was a relief.
I still had about twenty minutes.
So I first headed towards the common washroom, to wash myself clean and then headed towards the floor I worked at.
All I could clean was my face and hands, the dress will have to bear the mud stains till I get home.
Frustrated I closed the door a little too hard and "thud!" The voice boomed echoing the room.
I looked at the faces of my irritated colleagues and muttered them an apology for interrupting their work, while heading towards my desk.

Sitting on the chair, I steadied my breath and then opened my desktop computer.
Seeing the wallpaper, I smiled.
It was the picture of Rohan, my brother and I.
Clicked when we were Young, at around age of nine.
My twin brother Naveen and Rohan has been best of friends ever since we shifted to this town.
And I liked Rohan since then but my best friend Sania also liked him.
And as long as they were both happy I didn't mind.

As the clock strikes exactly nine, cause my boss likes punctuality.
He had a rule not to be before the time or after the time, instead he would prefer exact at the given time.
So I took my files and headed towards his office ofcourse with stumbling a bit and knocking over some items on my desk.

I knocked on my boss' office and my stupid mind didn't even wait for any answer as I entered.
Only to find my boss and his girlfriend Ms. Ameerah Singh Raichand (that's how she like to be called by her inferiors.)kissing with both their hands at the wrong place.
She was on the desk, while my boss on top of her.
Her dress hunched above her waist.

I looked at my feet and coughed to gain their attention.
It was awkward being in my position.
Ms. Ameerah Singh Raichand straightened her dress, giving a peck to him she then whined," baby! Doesn't your workers know the rule of knocking?"
I looked at her, my eyebrows furrowed and replied," I did.." but was stopped by my boss," did I tell you to speak Ms.Nora?"
I denied as Ms.Ameerah Singh Raichand continued whinning," anyway let's finish what we started later, ok baby?"
I was feeling way awkward.
Being the gooseberry in their lovey-dovey moment.
She then took her bag and headed towards the door but not before muttering to me," next time knock!" And went outside swaying her hips.

I looked at my boss Rishi Mathur and said," I did knock."
He glanced at me for a mere second and then checked his watch and muttered," you're late." Heading towards his personal washroom.
"Uh?" I asked unsure of what he meant.
I had come to his office exact at nine.
I looked at the wall clock to see it read 9:05 am.
I looked at the closed door of his washroom,I could hear the faucet running.
He emmerged out and said," you were supposed to be here five minutes before."
He then sat on his chair, wiping his hands with napkin and started typing away on his laptop.
"I came exact at nine sir." I spoke.
"Doesn't matter now, do what you came here for, I don't have all the time." He stated extending his hand not sparing me a glance.

I sighed handing him the file and waited for his response.
He checked the file and tossed it on the desk, the file sliding across landing on my feet.
"Sir!"
I picked up the file from.the floor while he spoke," this isn't the file I asked for."

I looked at the heading written in bold font.
It was the file he told me yesterday to work on.
"But sir..." He stood up abruptly make me flinch and paced towards me in two long strides.
Facing me, our faces just inches apart he scowled ," how could you be so irresponsible? I have the meeting with the Chinese delegates in an hour and you are bringing the wrong file?"

Chinese delagates?
Yesterday he told me about the Russian that's why I took the file for their projects on bridges.
He paced to and fro and asked," now what do you expect me to present them? The bridge project? Instead of mall?"
A tear cascaded down my cheek from my left eye as I muttered," am sorry sir."
"This isn't the time to be sorry Nora," he then looked at me and said," and please stop crying."
He sat on his chair and said," bring the file for the Chinese project, will see what to do, atleast we have an hour spared."
Nodding to his demand I headed outside his office towards my desk to grab the right file.

My boss might have said Chinese but I must have heard wrongly yesterday.
I always do that.
I am so irresponsible.
I just hope we are now able to finish the assembling and the presentation of the project in an hour's time.

*******


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