Wild Flowers: Chapter 3 Factory

Kelsie sits alone in the work break room eating her lunch of salad, bologna sandwich with fresh lettuce and cheese and a bottled water.

She usually sits alone. She’s quiet and doesn’t talk to anyone unless they speak to her first.

Two co-workers enter the room and sit on the opposite side of the room. They glanced at her but didn’t speak to her. Kelsie who likes eating alone got a little nervous that someone else was in the room with her watching her eat. So she began to pack up her lunch after a couple more bites to go to the bathroom to finish her drink of water and maybe take a couple more bites of her sandwich.

As she was getting up one of the ladies said to her, “Kelsie? You leaving?”

Kelsie smiled a little and said, “Yeah. I have to use the bathroom. The lunch break is not that long.”

The lady says, “Well okay. See you later.”

Kelsie says to her shyly, “Yeah.” Then she walks out to the bathroom.

In the bathroom no one is there so she takes the time to take another bite of her sandwich and drink some water. She pulls out her phone, sits on the toilet and plays a game to pass the time.

She hears someone enter the bathroom and go in the stall next to her.

The voice clearly a male’s voice begins to hum a tune she doesn’t recognize. She began to feel strange and wonder why was a man in the women’s bathroom. Then she thought well maybe he’s a trans male and just using the bathroom and not a threat.

Then the man knocks three times on the stall next to her and says, “Hi there! I’m sorry to bother you but do you have some toilet paper over there. My stall doesn’t have any.”

Kelsie a little disturbed says slowly, “Yeah. I’ll hand you some under the stall.”

The man says, “Oh my God, thank you.”

Kelsie slips him some toilet paper under the stall, a couple minutes later the toilet flushes and she hears him walk out of the stall to the sink and began washing his hands. She tries to get a look at him through the crack in the stall door and sees no one but could feel eyes on her.

She says to herself, ‘Now wait a minute. What’s going on?’ She gets up, open the door, and no one is there. She is standing there with her mouth open in shock and she says nervously, “Hello? Sir? Anyone here?”

There was no where he could hide. The bathroom was small with only three stalls and she was in the middle. She looked in both stalls and no signs of anyone. She was about to walk out of the bathroom when the lady in the break room was walking in at the same time. She sees Kelsie and says, “Oh hi there. You’re okay?” Kelsie figured she looked shooken up and said, “Hi. Yeah I’m okay.”

Kelsie walked past her and then turned around and said, “Excuse me. Did you see a man just walk out of her? Possibly a trans man?” The lady shook her head no and said, “Honey, there’s no men here accept for Mr. Riley our boss. No trans men work here. You say a man walked out of here?” Kelsie says, “Yeah I thought so but apparently not, my mistake.” The lady now looking shook says, “I hope no man walked up in here.” Kelsie said, “I hope so too.”

Kelsie walks to her locker to put her stuff in and then walks back to her station to begin work again. She thinks to herself this makes the third time someone has walked up to me, asked for help and then vanishes. What on earth is going on.