I turned my notification sounds on so I wouldn't miss another call no matter what. I rush home to get changed, groaning loudly as I nearly sprint down the hallway to my bedroom. "How did you let things come to this?!" I kept repeating to myself over and over as I rummaged frantically through my dresser for fresh clothes. My blazer jacket was torn, so I was forced to go without it unfortunately. I snatched my toothbrush up and squeezed toothpaste on it messily while staggering into new pants. It was still blurry everywhere and my head was still pounding, but I wasn't going to let any of that stop me from taking longer than I've already taken.

However, that train of thought was temporarily derailed as soon as I spotted what I was wearing in the mirror. I had changed into new pants, but I still had my green flannel on from the night before. I placed my hands on it softly, and the toothbrush was now dangling from my mouth. I stared down at the bathroom floor for a moment as I felt a slight pain in my chest. I groaned quietly, and shut my eyes tightly. Stop. Take it off. Deal with it later. Think about all of this later. After a few heartbeats, I roughly tugged the flannel off and tossed it onto my bed without a second thought.

I pulled my shirt off, and snatched up a white button-up shirt to quickly slip on. I grabbed my tie from off of my bathroom counter and threw it over my neck. I attempted to continue brushing my teeth and tying my tie with a single hand simultaneously - it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Once I finished brushing my teeth, fixing my tie, and freshening up, all I needed were my contact so I could see. I pulled out my contact case and twisted open the caps in a rushed manner. I nearly screeched and jolted violently as the obnoxious noise of my phone buzzing against the counter echoed through my ears. I cursed loudly as my shaky hands had knocked the contact case over, and it landed onto the floor with a couple of clacks.

"SHIT! FUCK! GODDAMMIT! " I screamed, grabbing my phone angrily. It was mother calling me...again. I pressed the answer button, and just put on speaker and placed the phone back onto the counter. "Hello?!" I asked in a cracky voice, lowering myself to start searching for my lost contacts. The solution had splashed all over, and the actual lenses were now lost.

"Peridot, where are you?! What is taking you so long?!"

"I-I'm sorry, mom, I-I had to get home to change real quick, a-and I don't have my glasses s-so-"

"Time is money, Peridot. And you're wasting a whole lot of it. Why did you just have to go home? Were you not already home this morning?"

"I'm literally on my way right now, mom!" I continued to frantically search for my lenses. Not only were these things tiny, they were also fucking TRANSPARENT. THIS WAS THE WORST LUCK I'VE HAD IN A VERY LONG TIME.

"You're on your way now as we speak?"

"Y-yesss, mom I'll see you soon!" I lied, finally spotting them a few inches away from each other. I stood straight up, grunting as I lifted my finger towards the end call button.

"Peridot, you bett-"

Call ended.

I had to rinse the lenses off thoroughly once again, and then quickly popped them in. I adjusted my tie one last time, and stared straight into the mirror for a few seconds, attempting to regain my composure. I shifted my expression from anxious to my normal deadpan, serious one. The one I always had during business hours. Just stay like this, and no one will ever suspect your nervousness. It will be okay. I rushed back out of the apartment, and drove off as humanly possible towards the work building.

As soon as I arrived, I went straight for my mother's office in a terrible hurry. I made sure my hair was perfectly slicked back and flawed in no way whatsoever. I smoothed out my shirt and pants as I speed walked down the halls, then checked my phone one last time before approaching the office door. I gulped harshly, and began to feel sweat form on the back of my neck as I eyed the sign on the door intensely. It had my mother's name printed on it, and all I had to do was open that door and walk in - looking fully confident. You can do this. This is your mother for Christ's sake.

I shakily opened the door, and peeked my head in before fully entering. Sure enough, there sat my mother with both of her hands folded and her elbows rested on the desk beneath her. "H-hello, mother." I murmured, slowly walking up to her desk. She stared at me intensely with her near glowing golden eyes, and I could feel the pace of my heartbeat pick up. "Have a seat." she deadpanned, and I quickly complied, sitting down in the chair across from her. "Tell me what happened." she demanded, and my shoulders tensed up at her tone.

"I-I...had plans last night. Not that late of plans. M-my alarm did not go off this morning, so I overslept. I'm sorry." I explained, half-lying, half not. "Peridot, I have put my trust and confidence in you to help me run this business...and only the most elite have that position within their reach, Peridot. No mistakes are tolerated here. Not one. Because if we make mistakes...we are no longer perfect here, are we? Customer service here will always be idealistic, and I do not need you screwing that up for me. Screwing up what I have dedicated my entire life to." she explained, furrowing her eyebrows deeply.

"I-I'm really sorry, i-it won't happen again. It was one mistake, no one is 100% perfect." I stuttered, fidgeting with my fingers. "I am. So, I know that it is in fact possible to be." she replied, and I was taken aback by this response. "W-well nobody's perfect in everything. I know you aren't, mom." I said in a firmer tone of voice. My mother arched an eyebrow, and tilted her head. "How am I not perfect in every way, Peridot? Look around you. Look at me. Do you recall me ever making a mistake?" she asked, chuckling hollowly.

"You couldn't keep Blue, could you? You can't ever maintain a committed relationship, can you?" I asked boldly. My mother immediately went silent after that remark, and that boldness I had began to dissipate due to the incredibly tense silence. She glared at me with such a nasty expression, it made me squirm in my seat. "And you couldn't keep your girlfriend either, could you?" My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately stared down at the desk. My chest began to ache horribly, and a lump grew in my throat. I didn't reply. "One more slip up, and you're done, Peridot. I don't care if you're my daughter, I have a business to run. I've spoiled you quite enough." she coldly stated, standing straight up, towering over me. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing was coming out. "Now get out of my sight." she commanded, staring me straight in the eyes.

I gritted my teeth behind my now closed lips, and I slowly stood up. I hesitantly walked out of the room, gently shutting the door behind me. I leaned my back against it for a moment, sighing in exhaustion already. I just want this day to be over already.

. . . .

I had finally finished my work for the night, and sat in my car for a moment in silence. I decided to check my other notifications outside of my work, and sure enough, there were messages from Lapis.

(2) Missed calls

Lapis: Hey I'm sorry if I bothered u at all last night. Thanks for hanging out with me anyways.

Lapis: You also forgot your glasses...you might wanna come get them

I grunted and rolled my eyes, resting my head on the steering wheel. Do I even say anything? I almost got FIRED because of her. I honestly wasn't in the best mood to talk to Lapis right now, considering the fact that I just nearly lost my job. I was genuinely irritated that I even drank at all last night...I should have just stayed home. None of this would have happened...this is why I didn't even want to come back to Beach City. God, this is a nightmare.

Before I became too distressed, I decided to just ignore her and focus on getting home. Once I drove all the way home, I groggily opened the door to my apartment and grunted. I'm so tired. This is Lapis's fault...no. This is MY fault. I ran my fingers through my slightly disheveled hair, and huffed in frustration.

One more slip up, and you're done, Peridot.