Story 3: The Severing

Chapter 10:

A female Michigan state representative was banned indefinitely from speaking on the floor of the Michigan House of Representatives for saying the word "vagina" in a speech against a radical bill restricting abortions. I researched the event in particular detail and presented all known information to NemesisGirl as I arrived to worked. After NemesisGirl read through my summary, I gave her another print out with a paragraph that I suggested that she add to her article.

It said:

"Vagina vagina Vagina vagina vagina Vagina Vagina, vagina Vagina vagina vagina vagina vagina vagina Vagina, vagina Vagina, vagina vagina Vagina, vagina vagina vagina vagina vagina, vagina vagina vagina Vagina, vagina vagina vagina Vagina vagina Vagina vagina vagina vagina vagina Vagina, vagina vagina vagina vagina vagina Vagina vagina vagina Vagina Vagina vagina Vagina."

NemesisGirl smiled as she read it. When she was finished, I handed her a third piece of paper.

It said:

"Be careful if you use this. I plagiarized all the capitalization and punctuation directly from the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States of America."

"Oh! That's easy to fix," NemesisGirl exclaimed as she pulled out a pen. "Here. Watch and learn!" She scratched out one of the "vagina's" and a comma and then wrote over it, "cunt".

"There! Now it's an original piece!"

We both started laughing. I had to put my hand over my mouth in order to keep as quiet as possible. The sparkle of NemesisGirl's eyes drew me in. The colors of her pupils were so vibrant as she laughed. She has very pretty eyes. I had never really noticed before. She had quit laughing and was simply smiling when I realized that I was staring at her. I looked down.

Four words. That's all that I had to say. I didn't even have to mean them. I decided that I was going to say them now.

I opened my mouth, "I..."

"I have some exciting news," NemesisGirl said. She did not even hear my whispered attempt to speak. "Well... good and bad news maybe... but... well... I've been promoted to a new position up on the eighth floor. I'll have an office of my own."

I looked up at her, shocked.

"The bad part is that I will be moving out of our cube. I wanted to bring you with me, but..."

I wrinkled my forehead and began to frown.

"I guess that we will have to suspend our games for a little while at least..." she continued.

"What?!" I almost screamed. "You got a promotion!? Why?"

"Well..." NemesisGirl started to fidget a little. "They have really liked all the articles that we have put together these past few months. And... well... I got promoted."

"Fuck you!" I was livid.

"Come on, subGrrl. I may be able to hire you over in a couple of months when I can. I want to." I was blind to her looks of concern. The fucking bitch used me, fucked with me, made me believe things, and now she was ditching me like an old used toy. I was the reason that she was able to write all those articles. I was the reason she was getting accolades and promotions.

"You...!" I was so livid I couldn't talk. "Fuck you!"

I turned to my desk and stared at my computer monitor.

---

That morning NemesisGirl quietly packed her stuff into boxes and rolled everything away on a cart. I barely moved - unable to work, yet unable to look in any other direction. My bare toes were curled around the castors of my chair - clench in anger. When I breathed I could feel the fucking chain rub against my abdomen as it trailed down to its anchorage beneath the seat.

NemesisGirl had treated me like something less than human. She had used me. Now she was benefiting from all my help and leaving me in my spiritual poverty.

A box appeared beside me. I saw several keys sitting on top of it when I glanced at it.

"Here's some of your clothes I collected over the past months and the keys to your..." NemesisGirl put her hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off without even turning to face her.

"I thought we were having fun, subGrrl..."

I spun around violently in my chair. "Fun!? Fun!?" I then spun back around in a huff.

"Come visit me some time. I... subGrrl? I..." After a moment she walked away. As I heard her footsteps fade down the aisle, I slowly lowered my head to the table and began to cry.

---

About a half hour later, I felt a hand on my shoulder again and I sat up ready to bite the head of its owner off. "What?!"

"Are you okay?" It was BossWoman.

I opened my mouth to respond, but I was so shocked, myself, at how angrily I had jumped that I couldn't form the words.

"I'm sad that she has gone, too," BossWoman moaned. "NemesisGirl told me that your voice has returned, but, why don't you take the rest of the day off? Go and treat yourself somehow. Don't strain your voice too soon."

I nodded my head. BossWoman knelt a little and pulled me in a half hug as I sat in my chair. Her chest pressed against my shoulder. I could smell her, fresher than Spring. I had hoped that I would be able to talk to her after our online chatting, but NemesisGirl had ruined that too. I was ashamed of how I felt. I couldn't form any words. I was afraid that I was going to cry again.

BossWoman stood and walked away, leaving me alone in my quiet cube.