The Secret Life Of Argentyne Mitty

She leaned back from her laptop and turned around on her chair quietly. Her whiny colleague had his back turned to her and was intently working on his laptop. Everyone else seemed to be busy too. She turned back again quietly to face her desk and stealthily slid open the drawer. It was ready in the polythene bag, a small package that luckily fit snugly into her new handbag. She logged out, slid the drawer shut, picked up her ID card and was on her way.

She pointed her ID card at the door that opened into the long corridor at the back and it opened instantly with a beep. Another smartass colleague of hers was walking towards her and gave her a smile. She smiled back as nonchalantly as possible. Once out into the corridor, she tried to see if anyone stood at the far end. Yes, the IT office's door was open and people were streaming in and out of it. Her face fell and she walked into the bathroom hoping that by the time she walked out, that little area would be deserted.

She walked into the bathroom with bated breath. Thankfully, there was no one who recognized her. Two girls were busy brushing their hair in front of the mirror. She sighed. Hairbrushing would definitely be followed by applying lipstick which would be followed by minute and tedious adjustments of dresses.

She looked for a stall whose neighbouring stalls were emtpy. The bathroom floor was so polished that anyone sitting next door could make out what the neighbour was doing by just looking at the floor. She took off her shoes and carefully wiped her feet with water. The first part was done. She waited until the make-uppers seemed to have left. Stepping out carefully, she checked to see if anyone was nearby. Once sure, she folded her sleeves until her elbows showed and leaned a little forward. The second part was done.

She carefully separated the pin from the fabric. It came undone and she once more bent forward with her hands scooped. This part would take the most time. Another girl walked in but she was ready by then. She gathered her handbag and walked out into the corridor. She heaved a sigh of relief. The little nook at the end of the corridor looked empty. She hurried down the corridor and set her bag down by the tall printer box. It seemed like God's will that that box stood there from the day she'd set her eyes on this place. She pushed the box away from the wall so that it stood at the edge of the corridor. She could now crouch down behind it without the fear of being seen by anyone unless they happened to venture further into that tiny portion of the corridor.

She carefully took out the wrapped package from her bag while trying not to attract any attention. She spread the newspaper on the floor behind the box and took off her sandals. She dug again into the package to fish out a rolled mat. It was beautiful, gold thread meandering through pastel colours. She sat down and folded her arms across her chest. It was difficult, those five minutes... trying to concentrate, when every second she feared someone would spot her. Yet when she'd finished and the water from her ablution continued to dry and cool her face, she smiled contentedly, rejuvenated to get back to work.