A MISSED ALARM

GENERATED USING META AI

Alexa woke up to the sound of her alarm beeping dangerously at her. Instinctively, she sprung up from the bed, her heart hammering loudly against her ribcage. She quickly grabbed her phone next to her pillow and checked the time, it was 8:10 am.

“Shit!” She muttered to herself, and hurriedly got off of the bed and into the bathroom.

Today was the day she was supposed to present the project she had been working on for the past one month now to her clients. And she was the one leading this project. The meeting was scheduled for 8:30 am this morning and the potential clients and investors had a thing for lateness. The files were sprawled carelessly on her small bedside table from last night from which she had been working on before she fell asleep. Her laptop was still half opened, in her bag and she hadn't printed the remaining reports yet.

With less than thirty minutes on her side to spare, Alexa threw the nearest shirt she could find which was slightly wrinkled and a pair of black palazzo pants. She quickly packed her hair up in a high ponytail, gathered all the files that were sprawled on the table and her laptop, and put them into her bag. Then she bolted the door and out with the keys.

The streets of Asaba were as busy as ever, the usual traffic was there, but this time it stretched down for miles. Seated in the back seat of an Uber, Alexa was almost having a breakdown.

“Madam, are you alright,” the Uber driver suddenly asked, probably having been observing her for a while through the rearview mirror.

Alexa heaved a sigh of frustration before meeting his eyes through the mirror.

“I need to get to my workplace in 15 minutes, “ she said.

The Uber driver chuckled loudly.

“That's highly impossible, especially with this amount of traffic.

Alexa felt sick to the stomach. The thought of missing this meeting made her almost want to throw up. This meeting was an opportunity for a promotion, a higher pay and most of all, a chance to prove her worth and competence, especially as she was chosen to lead this project above everyone else.

She reached for her phone inside her hand bag, and quickly dialed her colleagues number.

“Hey Anastasia, please tell Mr Santos I would come in a bit late. Tell him, tell him I’m stuck in traffic.”

“Well u’mm, actually the meeting has been moved till 10:am. Mr Santos called in to reschedule due to a personal emergency “Anastasia said over the phone.

Alexa slumped down back in the car seat, relief washing over her in an instant. It felt like a weight had been taken off her shoulder.

“Crisis averted” she said under her breath.

But little did she know that it was far from over.

By the time she arrived at the office, she was more calm and settled in. She had enough time to prepare everything, print the reports and get ready for the meeting. Soon enough the meeting commenced, the investors were seated at the company's board room, listening to her as she spoke until the projector turned off mid-presentation.

“What's going on?” Mr Santos asked along with his companions.

Alexa rushed towards the projector and tried turning it on again but to no avail. The investors kept looking at her with raised eyebrows, their faces reflecting their disappointment. Alexa felt her palms becoming sweaty. Tiny beads of sweats gathered around her forehead, even though the room was well ventilated. She swallowed down a lump on her throat, and turned slowly to the investors, who now had a scowl on their faces.

“If you don't mind, I'll walk you through the slides from memory,” she pleaded.

They only nodded and then she began, her voice wavering at first. But as she spoke on, the confidence in her voice grew stronger. She presented what the project was all about, giving as much detail as necessarily. Describing clearly and giving them a glimpse of what it was all about, their vision and goals, the layouts and plans through words. She had spent a month on this project so she knew every nook and cranny by heart. By the time she was done, the investors stared at her, visibly impressed by the presentation.

Later that evening, back at home, Alex stood in front of her dressing mirror, her eyes were looking tired, her hair was a bit messy and she looked like she had just ran a marathon race. But above everything there was this noticeable glimmer in her eyes. Despite all she had passed through today, the missed alarm, traffic tech failure, and all the crisis she had skillfully averted. She was still standing, victorious even.