Melinda Hill could scarcely keep her eyes open as she drove down the on-ramp onto I-90 heading home. With one hand on the steering wheel, she sipped on her Monster as her eyes fervently flickered to the clock on the dash as it glared an angry red 7:28 a.m. No matter how much she revved her ride, a 1997 Ford F-150 to push it to 79 mph she just knew she would be late again to get her baby to school.
Sighing and shaking her head she started talking to her phone laying on the center console "Bixby, Call Mom." With all the sophistication of modern technology, her phone said "I didn't find Mop in your contacts. Who should I call?" Gritting her teeth Melinda repeated "Bixby, Call Mom." and once again the sage device responded with "I didn't find Mop in your contacts who should I call?" She slammed the can into the cupholder splashing the sticky drink onto her hand and muttering under her breath "Most worthless, stupid, waste of money I have ever spent!" Trying again she raised her voice "Bixby call Rachel Ross." "Okay, I will call Mom." said the phone.
Melinda felt her eye twitch at the incompetent phone assistant but took a deep breath as the ring echoed through the truck speakers. "Yes, Lindy." Her mom's exasperated voice said. "Sorry, to do this to you again Mom but Charlotte was late again this morning. I am just leaving Rapid City but I won't be able to make it home in time to take Sophie to school." Melinda said. It was the second time this week that her coworker didn't show up on time to relieve her from her Night Audit shift at the Holiday Inn. The 30-minute commute only worked if everything went perfectly and people showed up on time - something that only happened a few days a week. "Why am I not surprised?” Her mom said, sounding tired. “I’ve got it. She is just about done with breakfast. Do you want to talk to her real quick?” “Yeah, put her on.”
“Mommy!” A little voice squealed on the phone making Melinda jump and her ears ring. She quickly turned down the volume. “Hi Honey, Grandma is going to take you to school this morning and I will be right there to pick you up when you get out of school okay!” Melinda said quickly. “But Mommy you promised! It's a show and tell day. You're supposed to bring Sunshine and Sweetie!” Sophie cried.
Melinda flinched, thankful it wasn’t a video call. She had forgotten about taking their labrador Sunshine to school. Another day without sleep she thought tiredly. “Let grandma take you to school and I will be there with Sunshine and Sweetie before it even gets close to Show and Tell honey. It’s not till after Lunch.” “But MOM!” Sophie yelled upset. “Now Sophie Marie Hall, that is no way to talk to your mom this early this morning. Even if I was home to take you to school I wouldn’t bring Sunshine until after Lunch because we can’t have a dog at the school all day. If you want to take Sweetie in your backpack you can but you have to promise not to play with it in the classroom okay.” Melinda rushed out frustrated and tired. I really shouldn’t take out my night on her, she thought shamefully. “Sweetie is a HER, not an IT mommy” Sophie declared upset on behalf of her stuffed bunny. “Sorry soph I didn’t mean to hurt Sweetie’s feelings. I love you. I will see you at school okay? You be good for grandma and I will be there with Sunshine at Lunch. It's almost time for you to go, why don’t you give the phone to Grandma and go finish getting ready.” “Promise?” The five-year-old asked. “I promise my little Cuddle Bug. I love you.” Melinda responded, “Okay Mommy, Love you!” Soph said quietly and then there was a loud thunk through the speakers like the phone had just been dropped.
Waiting a moment she heard her mom, Rachel, pick up the phone already talking “.....need to think about getting a different job. She misses you in the morning and she had another nightmare last night.” Even though she didn’t catch it all Melinda knew what she was talking about as they had this conversation every time she was late. “I know Mom but I haven’t got any callbacks yet in Sturgis. I’ll talk to you later. Thank you for taking her to school again.” Her mom sighed once again and just hung up the phone.
Squinting her eyes Melinda tried not to cry. She felt like she was letting the world down around her these days. The dry cleaners she worked at for 6+ years shut down nine months ago and it had been hard trying to find another job. She had shifted around a lot. A waitress at the dingy diner down the road, the Burger King by the pass, oh and don’t forget at the Butcher’s but unfortunately one didn’t pay well, two didn’t pay well and had teenagers working there, and lastly, the Manager at the Butcher was a little too grabby for her taste. When the ad for an overnight job paying $22 an hour came up she couldn’t pass it up. Though now it felt like every day she was fighting to get enough sleep so as not to end in a ditch between home and work while still spending time with her family. She didn’t know what she was going to do but it was nice to know she could at least pay her bills now. Shaking her head she turned up 95.9 Eagle Country and tried to forget about her problems
…
Walking through the door Melinda hooked her keys by the door slid her coat from her shoulders and plopped it on the bench. Thankful that her mom was still out of the house she started to head down the hall. She heard the click-clack of Sunshine's paws on the hardwood floor. Then the giant yellow lab turned into the hallway and was in front of her with an oddly familiar bunny in her mouth. “Sunshine, not Sophie's toys. You know better! You are such a shit.” She scolded the 80 lb trash compactor who just wagged her tail harder. She took the stuffy and walked to the kitchen to place the semi-damp white bunny on the counter. Already setting her sights on the half-full coffee pot like a man would look at an oasis after walking through the desert. As she walked her yellow shadow followed her with the rhythmic beat of click-clack click-clack. “What baby?” She said reaching down to pat the top of her furry head. “You think you need a treat? Were you a good girl? Did you watch Sophie last night? How about a treat?” She chatted too tired to make more sense than the mumbles of affection to the hound. Reaching above the coffee pot she got a rawhide from the cupboard and Sunshine being the good baby she was immediately plopped down with a loud crash on the linoleum. Tossing the treat over her shoulder she heard more than she saw the hound jump up and grab the treat out of the air. As quickly as she snatched the treat she spun and disappeared
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Already Melinda was grabbing her coffee cup and pouring herself a cup of liquid gold. Thankful for the peace and quiet provided by the furry companion. Wandering into the adjacent room she sat on the couch with a groan - only another two days she thought then freedom. Looking forlornly into the coffee cup she decided sleep was needed today. She kicked off her shoes, put her coffee cup on the end table, and laid down on the couch too tired to make it to the room like she originally planned. Blindly groping for the phone digging into her thigh she then set an alarm for 11 am. She laid her phone on her chest, grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch, and closed her eyes, a mere two and a half hours to sleep.
…
The screeching of the alarms BEEP BEEP BEEP made Medlina jump up. Cursing she stood quickly before the warm embrace of slumber pulled her back in. She felt dizzy from the quick motion while trying to orient herself; she stepped on Sunshine in the process who let out a loud yelp. Bending down she rubbed the head of her furry companion whispering “I’m so sorry baby. You're a good girl. Such a good girl.” Her furry friend was so hurt she rolled over on her back to have her tummy rubbed. Enabling the yellow fur ball she stayed like that for a few minutes.
Raising into an upright position she slowly groaned, heading to get changed. She quickly got dressed and put on deodorant and a few puffs of perfume to mask the faint scent of body odor. Quickly ripping through the snarls of her brunette locks and doing a bun on top of her head with a few loose strands to frame her face she looked in the mirror disappointed. Her skin was pale and the bags under her eyes were dark enough that she might as well have a black eye. She snorted at the idea of having enough time to put on makeup as she looked her outfit over. She was wearing a flowing red top that ended mid-thigh, black leggings, and a pair of knee-high riding boots to complete the look. Her outfit looked good, it would have to be enough.
She called out “Sunshine, time to go!” The overly excited hound could be heard barking from the living room. Soon the sliding of paws on hardwood went past her as she stepped out of the bathroom. Sunshine, noticing her owner when she went by, tried to turn around and ended up sliding into the door to the garage with a thunk. That brought a much-needed laugh out of Melinda. “I thought you would get more coordinated once you got older but you're four and still bouncing around like a gangly teenager.” She grabbed her coat, keys, and the leash by the door. Sunshine was jumping, and as Melinda looked at the time on the phone she cursed it was 11:32 a.m. Thankfully she lived in such a small town that she could get to the school in about ten minutes. She ushered Sunshine into the garage. Loading the dog she pushed the button for the garage doors and quickly got in herself.
Backing out of the garage she pushed the head of her oversized lab down so she could see directly behind her. As she was about to leave the drive she remembered Sweetie! Once again blaming a lack of sleep and caffeine she put the truck in drive and pulled further into the driveway. As she parked she turned to sunshine and said “Be good, stay in the back.” She raced to the house through the front door which was locked. Mumbling about the cruelness of the world she started typing in the code to the automatic lock 1-1-0-8 and the sound of the lock disengaging was relief to her ears. Walking straight into the living room she raced across to the kitchen to get the stuffed bunny that her child rarely was seen without. A bunny that was about the size of her daughter when she was born became a fixture in their house and now Sophie couldn’t sleep without it right next to her.
Turning on the spot once the loot was in her hands she went back to her slightly beat-up truck to try once again to make it to her daughter's show and tell in time. Lunch didn’t get out until 11:55 a.m. so she still had a chance to get to the school, get signed in, and head to the classroom before she was once again late for her daughter. She placed the stuffie on the center console but immediately Sunshine scooped it up with her wet muzzle as an act of defiance. Melinda twisted in the driver's seat and gave the dog a glare that would have put her six feet under if she had the power. Reaching her hand toward the hound she said “Drop. NOW!”.
The dog realizing she had messed up leaned forward and dropped it in Melinda's outstretched hand. Sighing, Melinda dropped the once again slightly damp toy into her lap as she continued to leave the driveway and head towards the school. She was trying to be timely about it but she was still a little dizzy and exhausted after the long night. Ignoring her discomfort she kept driving. Just as she was waiting to turn left into the school parking lot she felt a stabbing pain in her head which was quickly followed by a crash noise and a terrible jerk forward.
The person behind her had just run straight into the backend of her tailgate “What the fuck?” She screamed in anger. She twisted around and it looked like the driver was sleeping on the steering wheel of a white minivan. “Fuck you,” she thought “If I’m awake you can stay awake to god damn it.” Too upset to be thankful or rational about the low-speed collision and the airbags failing to go off she went to unbuckle and give that driver a piece of her mind. As she opened her door the pain in her head intensified and a purple haze covered her vision. Sunshine started whining in the back seat but Melinda couldn’t check on her. She let go of the door handle and brought both palms up to her eyes pressing as hard as she could trying to relieve the pressure in her skull. The pain became so intense and the purple haze intensified and started to change shapes. Quickly putting down her hands she opened her eyes trying to understand what was going on. In her spotty vision, a purple box appeared.
Welcome to the Nexus System
Your planet has been selected for Assimilation during the 102nd era.
Congratulations Melinda Natalie Hall you have been selected for transmigration based on the following conditions
- Have a base form of sentience and possess a soul
- Be of age and capacity to form a magical core
- Compatibility with Nexus System Magic
Transmigration will continue in...
5
4
3
2
1
Pain spasmed through Melinda’s head and everything went black