Luck is nothing but knowledge and hard work.
***
Meet Kira Langley. A young professional who has
strategically worked her way up the ladder. Clever, educated and focused. Kira
Langley doesn’t believe in luck or fate or anything random or divine. Kira
Langley believes in herself.
Today is a big day in Kira’s already successful career. She
has a presentation at 9:00 AM that could land her the firm’s largest account.
When Kira strides purposefully out to her car and finds two of her tires
slashed, she doesn’t consider it’s bad luck. She curses the worthless punks who
slashed all the tires of the cars along the road and jogs in her high-heeled
pumps to the bus stop.
Before Kira was successful enough to buy a car, she always
took the bus. She knows the 7:40 will get her to work in time for her
presentation. She arrives at the stop just as the bus pulls up and is the first
to board. She doesn’t consider it good luck that her favorite seat is open. The
one next to a wheel well and perched on top of the large electrical box, though
the least comfortable seat and with minimal foot room, it mercifully only seats
one. She plops onto it and digs her earphones out of the front pocket of her
purse. Then loses herself in the world of inspirational speeches.
At the Washington Park stop, Kira finds a small, mousy woman
standing in the aisle staring at her like one of the walking dead.
“What?”
The woman’s mouth moves, her face scrunches with concern,
she gestures behind her.
Kira shakes her head and removes an earbud, before
repeating, “What?”
“You’re in my seat.”
“There are no assigned seats on the public bus.” Kira arches
an eyebrow and examines the woman’s frumpy clothes and forlorn look.
“It’s the firmest seat on the bus. I have back issues.”
“That’s a shame. I’m sorry for you. Perhaps you should fix
that instead of using it as an excuse.” The woman doesn’t budge. “Move along.”
Kira puts her earbud back in and stares out the window. A
mangled pile of cars blocks an intersection. Police are directing the bus
driver through the carnage. As she watches the fireman work the Jaws of Life to
extricate a driver, she shakes her head in disgust. It was bound to happen.
People are always running the yellow light on this corner.
The reciting of one of her favorite mantras in her earphones
pulls her attention from the grisly scene. She chants silently along, “Success
doesn’t just find you. You chase it down and tackle it.” When she reaches her
stop, she gets up and scans the bus. Mousy lady sits a few seats back. Kira
gestures to the seat and sees the corners of Mousy’s mouth dip in a pout. The
tiny woman’s large seatmate has trapped her in. Kira shrugs and exits the bus.
Because she still has her earphones in, she doesn’t hear the squeals and cries
behind her as people stumble off the bus.
The electrical box under the seat Kira sat in exploded,
showering the nearest occupants in sparks. Half the bus is evacuated before
smoke and flames erupt from under the cushion. Mousy woman staggers onto the
sidewalk, coughing the acrid electrical smoke from her lungs and watches Kira
stride purposefully away. Thankful beyond measure for her good fortune that the
mean young woman refused to give up the seat.
Kira continues up the block on foot. Silently repeating the
most recent mantra with the speaker on her recording, “I am the master of my
success.”
A display in a jewelry store window catches Kira’s
attention. She pauses to examine the beautiful brown jewels. Her eyes scan the
small signage with the fancy scroll font. “I’ve never heard of chocolate
diamonds before.” She imagines the choker of rectangle cut stones hanging
around her neck and she smirks at her reflection in the window.
Glancing at her watch, she makes a mental note to stop in
the store later and start her research on the origins of chocolate diamonds. As
she turns away from the window a man flashes past her. She only has enough time
to register his five o’clock shadow, rumpled army jacket, and that he’s
clutching something to his chest. In front of her a woman screams, “Stop him!
He’s got my briefcase!”
Kira tucks her own briefcase securely under her arm and
continues toward work.
She enters the lobby of her office building and glimpses the
clutch of people milling outside the bank of elevators. She doesn’t even pause.
The elevators are slow to begin with, but if that large of a crowd has
gathered, the lifts are having one of their slower days and she doesn’t have
the time. She swings open the door to the stairwell and starts a slow jog up the
seven flights to her floor.
She’s in good shape and the mild, steady progress barely
even raises her heart rate. About the fifth floor the stairs seem to shift
beneath her, making her stumble. She quickly regains her balance and only
allows the slightest thought to the cause of her trip. After all, she’s
currently reciting her favorite mantra, “Luck is nothing but knowledge and hard
work.”
At the door to her floor, she pauses to turn off her
motivational speech, store her earphones, and catch the little breath she lost.
Smoothing her pencil skirt, she yanks the door open and strides into her
office.
“What’s going on?” Kira asks the receptionist who, though
still sitting behind the reception desk, is staring at the agitated crowd
gathered in the seventh floor lobby, chattering like a flock of birds.
The young woman turns wide, watery eyes on her and flaps her
gaping mouth a couple times before speaking.
“Oh Kira! Thank god you’re okay.” The receptionist blinks
away tears. “One of the elevators crashed.”
“Crashed? As in…what? Like the cable broke and it fell?”
The receptionist shrugs, but nods.
Kira turns and scans the crowd, immediately realizing it’s
impossible to do a visual roll call of over two hundred employees.
“You’re really lucky you weren’t in it.” The receptionist’s
tone has an ethereal quality as if she truly believes a higher power played a
part in Kira not being on that elevator.
Kira rolls her eyes and checks her watch. Five minutes to
spare. “I don’t believe in luck.” She paces toward her office, calling over her
shoulder, “Are my clients here?”
“Yes, they’re in the conference room.”
Kira smiles wide, more than ready to make the pitch to land
the firm’s largest customer and seal her place near the top of the ladder. Head
held high, she nods at the few people still at their desks instead of clustered
in the lobby hoping to catch a glimpse of the horror show, noting that
Jerry—who she’s had her eye on for awhile now—is working diligently. It
seems Jerry understands it isn’t about luck.
***
Kira Langley, successful young professional. Works hard and
works smart. She’s the master of her success. Kira Langley, doesn’t believe in
luck or fate.
Fortunately for Kira, they believe in her.
-------------------------------------------------
Kai
Strand writes fiction for kids and teens. Her debut novel, The Weaver,
was an EPIC eBook Awards finalist. Her young adult title, King of
Bad, spent eight months on the publisher’s bestseller list. As a mother of four
young adults her characters are well researched and new stories are inspired
daily. Kai is a compulsive walker, addicted to pizza, and a Mozart fangirl.
Visit her website for more information about her work and to find all her
virtual haunts; www.kaistrand.com.
