Wednesday, March 21, 2007

I&T: Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Invictus headed towards the bus stop after he had finished discussing the document with the lawyer. It was a hot day and the sun was still casting its yellow glow, so he shed his brown jacket, folded it and laid them hanging from his left lower arm and stuffed his tie in his office bag.

“I’m tired” he muttered as he made long graceful strides to the bus stop some distance away from the building. He looked up and spotted a sky blue coloured bus about to move away from the bus stop. Jolted out from his reverie, he ran a few steps after the bus. “Damn bus.” he hissed.

He moved towards where Tsan was sitting just a few moments ago before she boarded the bus. Sat with his legs bent, elbows resting on his knees, fist on his cheeks, he was already half-dozing when he was awaken by his cell phone’s ring tone. Lazily removing one fist from his cheeks, he reached his hands to a side pocket of his bag and picked out a phone.

“Oh her…” he glanced at the screen.
“Hmm? Yeah?” Invictus mumbled.

A chirpy, enthusiastic female voice replied, “Are you still in the vicinity? I am just around the area.”

“Mmm..hmm..” Invictus answered halfheartedly, “at that one and only bus stop. I just missed the bus.”

“Alright, I will pick you up in a while, darling.” the female voice said.

The woman had short layered haired, massively highlighted that it looks like her original hair colour was a shade of rusty brown with black highlights when it was in fact the other way round. She wore a big pair of expensive-looking sunglasses propped up on her high nose bridge. Her lips were glossed and pursed as she grip the steering wheel with her hands in which her nails were immaculately manicured with a coat of bright red polish. She wore a white singlet and tied an orange scarf on her neck. She drove the silver open top Mercedes sports car and came to an abrupt stop in front of Invictus.

Invictus looked up sheepishly, “I bet you have been speeding. Look at your hair! It is in a total mess!” He strode over to the car, flung his bag and jacket to the compressed back seat and hopped into the roomy front seat without opening the door.

The woman tried eagerly to arrange her hair using just her hands and the car’s rear-view mirror. Invictus was looking at her reflection from the rear-view mirror and he sarcastically commented “Vain woman!”

The woman glared back at him from the mirror and whispered menacingly “Damn you.” Invictus merely ignored her. She continued after a short pause “Hopping into the car makes you look cool huh? Hope you didn’t embarrass yourself by splitting your pants.” With that she sped off with the wind dancing in her hair and gently pulling at her scarf. Invictus looked away.

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A/N: This is a short one. Who’s that charismatic woman? How is she related to Invictus? I’m left pondering for her name.

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I&T: Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ing was sitting alone at his desk at work, flipping through a stack of newspapers when the phone on his desk rang. “The car is ready. I’ll see you there.”

Ing sighed and began arranging the newspapers before he stacked them neatly with the pile of old newspapers. He picked up his bag and with long wide strides, he left the office and made his way to the ground floor of the building where the car will be waiting for him.

When the lift door opened, Ing could clearly see a black BMW through the glass doors. Ing couldn’t tell if the caller was already in the car through those tinted windows. He opened the car door and was greeted by a middle age man with silver and grey streaks at the side of his raven black hair. His complexion was tanned from all those Sunday golf trainings he had weekly. The skin on his face was stretched taut and it made his wrinkles looked even more defined than they already are. His face narrated the hardship he has endured during his younger days to reach the position where he is now – Director Yue of Moonbeam Creative.

“Hi Dad. How was your day at work today? Tough?” Ing commented upon seeing the director already in the car, seated comfortably with his arms folded across his chest, eyes closed, meditating.

There was no reply as the car started to move off. After 5 minute, the Director replied “Well, every day there is it’s own challenges. We just have to learn to deal with it, don’t we? How was yours?”

Ing: Monotonous, as usual. Cracked a couple of jokes with my new friend.

Director: New friend?

Ing: Yeah. Her name is Tsan. She is a part-time worker at the company.

Director: No one in the company knows that my son is working as a part-timer yet. Are you sure you don’t want to make it known?

Ing: I don’t see a point to. There is no need for any boot-licking business that involves me. I believe I can learn much more that way.

Director: It’s all up to you. Don’t come crying when you get your ass kicked.

Ing: You know I won’t get my ass kicked and you can guarantee I won’t come crying even if it is.

Father and son burst out laughing.

The black car cruised to a stop outside a beautiful white mansion. A beautiful woman stood up from a bench in the garden. Her hair was ebony black with hints of faded red highlights amongst those big silky curls. She had gathered her hair together with a translucent lavender scarf into a long ponytail that reaches the middle of her back. Her skin was translucent and flawless. Her eyes were a pair of reddish brown orbs and the fine lines at the edges were the only hints of her real age. Her rose-pink lips parted into a smile as she walked towards her husband and son.

She kissed her husband on the cheek while he gave her a quick embrace. Yue put one arm over his wife’s shoulders while she tried to mess Ing’s hair affectionately. Ing grimaced and held his mother’s hand, locking her long white fingers in his. Together, they walked into the beautiful house as the sun creeps towards the horizon tainting the sky a lush salmon pink.

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It was a beautiful summer’s day and the sun sets late during the warmer seasons. Tsan was strolling down the sidewalk, enjoying the warm breeze. She finally made her way to the bus stop that was located quite a distance from her office building. Almost everyone working in this area drives a car or better- get chauffeured. The bus stop was hardly crowded, so was the bus. Most of the time, it was deserted. She sat on the high plastic bench at the bus stop, swinging her legs in mid-air, humming a tune she remembered even before the orphanage days. Little did she know that the name of this tune is the well-known piece “Canon in d” usually played on the piano.

The tune was her only solid memory of her life before the orphanage days. It has been 9 long years since she woke up and find herself amidst unfamiliar faces and could not even recall anything that happened before. She had her head heavily bandaged and it ached badly most of the time. When the head-mistress asked for her name, she could only shake her head in despair as tears trickled down those glassy eyes.

At that time when she first entered the orphanage, she was wearing a chain with a silver ring attached to it. “T S AN” was carved on the inside of the silver ring and so the head-mistress decided to call her Tsan.

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A/N: Now we know that Tsan has lost her memory when she was a kid and was sent to an orphanage. I’m getting more inspirations at the moment. I would probably find some place to post this on the web. Finally managed to post it on this blog. Was thinking of looking for a nice skin for this blog. I promise I won't make it too bright, so it is less taxing on the eyes.

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I&T: Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Within a few days, Tsan and Ing have become very good friends. Their own job had them work quite closely together and they talked while they worked, making the monotony of work more bearable.

It was around knock off time, and many in the office had already started packing to go home. Ing seemed to leave the office at a later time while Tsan will walk to a nearby bus stop to take a bus home.

Tsan: Ing, I am knocking off already. Aren’t you going yet?


Ing: Nope. I think I will still hang around for a while.

Tsan: You are always staying late. Come on, do they pay you more for staying late?

Ing: No they don’t. Run along, Tsan. I believe you are taking a bus back. Don’t miss the bus! See you tomorrow!
Ing smiled and waved a goodbye as Tsan walked towards the pair of glass doors.

Tsan has noted that Ing was always staying back to complete his work. Little did she know that Ing had already finished his work for the day and is just stalling time, waiting for someone in the office…

Tsan went out of the office through the reception area and pressed the button of the lift. She waited patiently, leaning her back against the doors of one of the lifts.
“DING!” The lift doors opened and Tsan fell backwards into the lift.

Tsan gasped and thought she would have fallen onto the floor, landing on her butt. Before she could feel any pain, she felt a pair of hands grabbed her firmly on her shoulders and prevented her fall.

Tsan steadied herself and turned around to the deep gentle voice asking, “Miss, are you alright?” She turned her inquisitive brown eyes towards the tall stranger, smiling, “I wasn’t hurt. Thanks to you.” And with that she did a slight bow.

Invictus, the guy in the lift, was also working in the same building as Ing and Tsan but in a different company- as a lawyer’s assistant, no less. He was dressed smartly in a brown jacket on top of a pinstriped blouse. There are a few light brown highlights in his wavy, bushed-back hair that matches his jacket. He was tall and lanky, muscle not too defined. He wasn’t much older than Tsan or Ing, but elegant in his manner of walk and talk.

There was an awkward silence as both tried to think of something to break the ice. It had been a long day and it seems their brains are already malfunctioning. They could only keep their eyes on the meter that indicates which floor they are on as the lift descends. Finally, the lift reached the lobby and Invictus reached for the “<>” ('Door Open' button) and held the door open for Tsan who was quiet during the way down in the lift. Tsan was very impressed by his manner and walked out of the lift. She made a slight turn of her body, smiled and made her way to the rotating doors of the building.

Invictus stood outside the lift shaking his head slightly, clearly amused by the petite girl. Perhaps he even thought she was cute. Well, she could have fallen and hit her head against the lift floor if he hadn’t caught her on time. It would be even more embarrassing for the girl if there were more people in the lift other than the two of them.

“Invictus!” his lawyer called, “There are some things I need you to work on. Can we discuss it before you go home? I promise to make it short.” Invictus had no choice but to go to his employer. He stole a glance at the girl from the lift as she walked out from the rotating doors. Damn, what’s her name? Back to work! He thought and focused his attention back to the documents.

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A/N: I guess chapter 2 is more in the flow and less messy as compared to chapter 1. I got the name Invictus from Yu Ting. Credits to her…especially for some inspiration. Will Invictus meet Tsan again? It is after all not that easy to bump into someone. Why does Ing stays late even after finishing his day’s work? What could cause those sadness behind Tsan’s eyes? All left to be uncovered.

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I&T: Intro and Chapter 1

Intro

Tsan is an 18-year-old girl working part time in a creative technologies company. She has shoulder length straight black hair tied in a loose, high ponytail with black silky ribbons. She stands at an adorable height and it puts focus on her high cheekbones when she looks up to talk. Due to her petite size, it is common for people to see her as a sweet doll and would wish to protect her from any harm. Her glassy deep brown eyes stares out inquisitively from her pale porcelain face with hints of healthy pink peeking out of her cheekbones.


Chapter 1

Tsan was walking across the office carrying a large pile of files in her arms. She tilted her head sideways in order to see where she was walking, letting the files lean on her body as she walked.

Ing was requested to come in for his first day of work. He is a reserved guy who does not care much about material Items. He wears a melancholic look beneath a mop of scrunched black sleep-head. He has very masculine features, especially his tall, straight nose and sad black eyes. It so happens that he works in the same company as Tsan but was dispatched to a different department. It took him some time to get to the office building by bus and by the time he reached the correct office in the complicated building, he was already half an hour late. He was too excited spotting the office that he ran straight in without seeing Tsan walking out with a pile of files.

Ing accidentally bumped into Tsan and knocked down a few files from Tsan’s arms. Tsan’s head was still tilted and was not able to see Ing. Although Ing was late, it did not stop his polite nature to pick up the files and put them back to the top of the pile. He said a hasty apology and strode off towards the Director’s office. Tsan let out a sigh and was about to continue when she felt the load of the weight in her arms lightened. Apparently Ing still felt bad knocking down the girl’s files and thought that it would be better to lend a hand. So he went back to her and took off half the stack from the girl’s arms.

Tsan tilted her head upwards and a smile broke out.


Tsan: Thanks. That’s really kind of you. Hmm, I wonder who was in such a rush and knocked down my files just now.

Ing looked down and saw the petite girl talking to him.


Ing: Oh, that was me. I am suppose to be here half an hour ago. It is my first day at work. I am really sorry.

Tsan: That’s ok. You apologized already and besides you are in some sort of rush I believe? Haha. So you felt guilty and decided to come back to help me?

Ing looked at her surprised, stunned by her comments.


Tsan: Haha. Caught you! I was only joking. Thanks for helping. By the way, my name is Tsan. Guess we will be seeing each other around in the office.

Ing: yeah! My name is Ing. Nice to meet you, Tsan.

Tsan: It wasn’t too nice to meet you this morning. I was having a hard time with those files. I would have to rearrange them again later.

Ing, shocked and guilty at the same time, “Sorry.”

Tsan: Haha. I was merely joking. Don’t worry, I think I will rearrange them before I go home. It is no big deal. I was only poking fun at you.


Ing could only smile. Tsan has given Ing the impression that she has a cheerful personality. However, Ing somehow felt that there was some sorrow that was behind those deep brown eyes.

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Ing was being sent to the finance and accounting department to help out while Tsan was already doing her part-time under the Sales department.

There was a huge cabinet to store files and Ing was asked to file a large pile of documents. He sat in a chair near the cabinet sorting out the documents on a large black table.

Ing was so busy sorting and filing that he did not realize a small figure walking towards his table.

“Oh hello there! Erm what’s your name again?” came the soft voice. Ing looked up and saw Tsan standing beside the table.


Ing: Oh! Hi, my name is Ing and yours is Tsan right?

Tsan: Yes that’s right. I am Tsan. Can you make some space for me?Ing cleared half the table while Tsan pushed a chair opposite Ing and sat down with a pile of invoices to sort.

The two sat down quietly opposite each other, buried in their work and made an occasional passing comment. Ing was done with his share of work first.

Ing stood up and stretched his back.


Ing: Arh! Finally done with this pile! I believe that there is more to come tomorrow. Hmm, you said you would have to rearrange some files earlier on this morning. Since it is almost KO time, shall I help you with it. You still seem to have some filing to do yourself.

Tsan: Oh! That will be really nice of you. Thank you.

With that, Tsan directed Ing to the compartment of the filing cabinet and pointed out where she had left the files.

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A/N: So that was how to the Tsan and Ing got to know one another. Is it going to be just a simple friendship, or will something blossom out of it? Could Ing be just an ordinary part-time worker? Then why does he report to the director instead of the human resource manager? There is something mysterious about Tsan. Is there something behind those happy brown eyes?

Oh yes, and the title is yet to be confirmed... meanwhile denoted as "I&T"