Bernetta

What day was it? Bernetta could not remember as she stumbled out of bed on a gloomy morning. Upon seeing the ominous mosaic hanging over the kitchen of her studio apartment, she knew she was home. The walls were grey, as though the previous owners were too depressed to leave them white. The colour of the bathroom was green. Forest green, army green. Or had been anyway, before a thin nicotine-induced film had covered it.

She recalled her brief trip to Wales to visit her sister who must have felt sorry for her for some reason or another; that was the only reason she would have invited her sister to stay with her for the weekend. Beatrice was three years older than Bernetta, and she believed this small space of time gave her a lifetime more experience than her sister.

Bernetta was single, of course, and living alone in a cheap apartment in London must have made her seem quite glum, and though it was true, she hated for the fact to be rubbed in her face.

Beatrice lived alone as well, but she was dating a lovely fellow who always wore starched brown trousers and acted a bit too serious for Beatrice, according to Bernetta. Regardless, the pair had been dating for years, and it was common knowledge that they would be married soon enough, though they weren't yet engaged officially.

As Bernetta poured herself a cup of tea, Earl Grey, naturally, the memory of the previous night flooded back to her. She had taken the evening train from Wales to London, and she had arrived early in the morning. She had a faint memory of the cab that drove her home (it had smelled of tobacco and leather), as well as the driver who seemed too tired to exist behind the wheel, but friendly enough.

The reason Bernetta did not remember the night was that she had slept during most of the transport and had returned to her creaky bed as soon as she arrived home. She was not an alcoholic, despite what people may have thought of her, given her appearance. There had been many a rough week, which temped her to stop at a pub on the way home from the office. It could even be a way for her to meet some new people, an activity that was highly recommended by various therapists and the ever-knowing Beatrice, but which did not appeal to Bernetta in the slightest. This was not why she had always decided against the idea, though. The real reason was that she didn't consider herself to be a "loud" enough person to go to any of those pubs downtown. It seemed to her that for a woman to attend a pub late on a Friday night, she must have a glamorous personality, one that smoked and ordered a drink that was a bit heavier than a cherry soda. Bernetta did not fit the bill.

It was Monday. Ten a.m. She had already requested off work, due to her travels. She would use any excuse to escape her dull office job as a customer service representative. The job paid fine for her lifestyle, but no one really enjoyed working in the office, least of all, Bernetta.

She skipped breakfast, knowing it would be a reasonable time for lunch soon enough. She approached her computer and started to get it turned on. The gadget had been her mother's, but it was passed down to her when Beatrice gifted their parents with a modern one. It was slow as the dickens but worked for what Bernetta needed it for, which was primarily checking her minuscule banking account and sending the occasional email to family and coworkers. Now she needed it to read messages from the office. Though she had taken the day off, she had still offered to work from home. She worried that she could be fired for taking so many days off, as she didn't see herself as a valuable employee.

The day went on like so- the background music was the low hum of the computer, and the entertainment was a periodic visit from her brown tabby cat, Bella. She went to work each day for the rest of the week; her mundane life continued day by day.