The Cork Chronicles. Paige Hartwick
CHAPTER ONE
“Hey, Kyra! You need to clean the bathrooms before you can leave tonight!” Ashlyn yelled as Kyra was already walking out the door.
“Why?! That was Sarah’s job! Plus, I already clocked out…” Kyra was having an extremely bad day. Anything that could go wrong, had, and she was ready to just crawl in bed and cry herself to sleep.
“I honestly don’t care! If you don’t do it then you’re fired! End of story!” Ashlyn yelled as she rolled her eyes. You know, for a supervisor, she was a total bitch! Kyra was always bending over backwards for everyone, just because she really needed the job.
“Then I’m clocking back in because, by law, you can’t make me work for free. Don’t worry though, I’ll be done in less than thirty minutes. You can even time me if you’re really that worried,” she exclaimed as she walked back inside. The customers that were sitting at their tables, enjoying their food, had stopped to stare and watch the whole encounter. Kyra could feel the heat in her cheeks and could only imagine how red her face was. She was close to tears by that point, but she knew it would get so much worse if she showed any sign of weakness. Kyra was sick and tired of being treated like a slave, barely making minimum wage.
As she was scrubbing the toilets, she had decided that as soon as she got home, she wasn’t going to cry and give up. Instead, she would be applying for some jobs. Why should she settle for a shitty job when she knew she had unused talents that were going to waste? She used that frustration to clean the bathrooms faster than she ever had. It had only taken her twelve minutes… Kyra walked passed Ashlyn and gave her the most blank look possible while she was clocking out.
The second the door closed behind her after walking outside, Kyra took a deep breath and looked out at the mountains and the town below. The trees had just started to burst into fall colors. Just the sight of them and the smell of the crisp fall air always cheered her up. Kyra was hoping she could find a job where she could work outside in nature somewhere, even if it was as an intern or something like that.
As she was about to get in her car, a woman that she had seen in the restaurant walked outside.
“Excuse me, miss?” She asked so sweetly, in a way that reminded her of her own grandmother who was back in Ireland.
“Yes, ma’am? Is everything alright?”
“Actually, I was about to ask you the same thing,” she said as she chuckled nervously. “I overheard the conversation between you and that witch, pardon my language. I saw the look on your face and it ‘bout damn near broke my heart!” The older woman’s eyes began to well up with tears.
“It’s okay, I’m used to it,” Kyra shrugged and sighed. “This is about an every day thing. I’ve just learned to grin and bear it, but still stand up for myself a little bit.”
“Still! She has NO right to treat you, or any other employee, like that! It just grinds my gears when some people think they can be nasty towards others. With that attitude of hers, I wouldn’t be surprised if she were a slave owner in another life.” Kyra chuckled at that.
“Do you plan on sticking it out here, or do you have another job lined up? My granddaughter might know of some places that are currently hiring. She’s still inside with her grandfather- I could have her write them down for you before you leave, if you’d like.” She told her.
“That would be very nice of her, thank you. I’m actually going to be applying for more jobs when I get home, whether I’m qualified or not. After the day I’ve had, I’ve decided that this will be my last week. I still live at home, and I’ve already discussed it with my parents. They’re willing to help me out until I find something else.” Kyra felt like once she had started to speak, the words kept pouring out and she couldn’t stop. It was just so nice that a complete stranger was interested in her well-being.
“Well good for you! That sounds like a solid plan. It’s a good thing that your family is so caring and willing to help you instead of letting you struggle,” the older woman said with her hand on her heart and had started to cry. “Can I give you a hug?” Kyra nodded and the woman gave her a huge hug, just as Ashlyn walked outside.
“What the hell is going on out here?! Kyra! Why are you still here? You need to leave! NOW! If you don’t, I’ll call the cops and they’ll charge you with trespassing! I know because my dad is a cop. Now, shoo, you filthy rat!” Oh boy! This bitch DEFINITELY had a death wish! What they hell was her problem?!
“Now listen here, bitch! She has done absolutely nothing to you! What the hell do you have against her, besides the fact that she’s prettier than you?!” The older woman interjected. Kyra stood there, stunned. What was she supposed to do? Call the cops? No one had ever shown her so much animosity before.
Something caught Kyra’s eye and she squinted to see what it was. It was the woman’s granddaughter filming the confrontation. She looked even closer and could see a man watching them while he was on the phone. She assumed he was calling police.
“She’s a soulless slut that needs to go back to whatever shitty country she came from! Nobody wants her here! By the way, bitch, I’m way prettier than her! Redheads are the ugliest people and they should be exterminated! They’re the devil’s spawn!” Ashlyn screamed at the top of her lungs. Kyra thought Ashlyn would start foaming at the mouth at any moment from the way she was acting.
The joke was on her though because of the other people in the restaurant. Kyra could hear sirens in the distance. She had had just about enough of Ashlyn’s racist, bitchy attitude. Kyra and the older woman were both hoping that she’d be arrested as soon as the cops got there. Make her explain to her father why she’s been physically and verbally abusing one of her employees for months on end.
The woman that had come to Kyra’s defense was in utter shock. She had never in her life heard someone say something so racist, and she was even from the deep south! She knew she needed to stick around until the cops got there and arrested Ashlyn. She looked over at Kyra and she looked like she was mere seconds away from fainting.
“What, no witty comeback? Miss, ‘I know everything.’ See, I’m even smarter than you’ll ever be! Dumb bitch! Granny here won’t be able to protect you once you leave!” Ashlyn sneered at them both. Kyra couldn’t help but let out a nervous laugh.
“Is that so! If you were truly smarter than me, then you would’ve realized that you’re being filmed and the cops are almost here. Just so you know, Ashlyn, I will be pressing harassment charges and you will go to jail. I may not have been born here, but at least I was smart enough to study laws in school. Also, if you were smarter than me, then you would know that I’ve been documenting everything for months. Have fun rotting in jail…”
By this point, Kyra was an anxious mess. She had her arms crossed in front of her so she could hide how bad she was shaking. Right as Ashlyn went to open her disgusting mouth, the cops pulled into the parking lot. Kyra and the older woman looked at each other and let out a huge sigh of relief.
Two of the cops walked over to Kyra, but to her it felt like she was in a tunnel and couldn’t understand a single word they were saying. Everything became blurry and she could feel herself falling. Her head hit the pavement and her vision faded to black.
CHAPTER TWO
Kyra woke up to a siren that seemed to be piercing her skull. She looked around her, but nothing looked familiar. As she came out of the groggy haze, she realized that someone was talking to her. Then it hit her, she was in an ambulance…
“Good, you’re awake! Can you tell me your name?” The paramedic asked.
“Kyra Walsh… What happened?! Why am I in an ambulance?” She asked as she was starting to panic. She was trying to calm herself because the faster her heart raced, the worse the pounding in her head got.
“Try and stay calm. We were told that you had collapsed and hit your head after an altercation at your job. Does any of that sound familiar to you?” It felt like his eyes were looking into her soul. It was probably from the