SECOND PLACE - SHORT STORY COMPETITION

 

Tammi Saymaan won second place in the 2021 KREST annual short story competition

This was Tammi's first ever short story submission, surprising both herself and the judges. Tammi currently works as an SEO content manager for a digital marketing company, and gets to spend days being paid to write, edit and publish blog content. More creative writing is at the top of her agenda for the future.

Here is Tammi's second place-winning story: 

Kat sighed as she strapped on her second stiletto heel. There were hundreds of other places she would rather be going tonight. But there wasn’t much choice, was there? As one of the youngest (female, no less) account managers at her company, she had to show her face at this party. If she wasn’t present tonight, the older men (and women, sadly), who spent their days scrutinizing every move that 30-year-old Kat made, would undoubtedly make a myriad of jokes about how she was probably off doing tequila shots instead. But that was far from the truth. Kat wouldn’t be off throwing back shots of any kind. Instead, she’d be home, working on the book she had been writing for the past eight years. The novel that would finally make Kat what she had always wanted to be when she grew up - an author! But how do you write actual, real words that inspire minds and evoke emotion when you’re spending up to 12 hours a day chasing after designers and responding to clients (who were all at least ten years older than her and not at all interested in making her job easier?) In reality, Kat hadn’t touched her work-in-progress in almost seven months. Not since she visited her family home back in Margate. Was it the familiar Natal air that helped her writer’s block? Or just the fact that the Wi-Fi refused to work in the house? Although Kat had a suspicion that the Wi-Fi was her mother’s doing; Elana was always trying to get her daughter to put her laptop down and ignore work for a bit. But, as Kat explained, it was nearly impossible to do that. Things could get out of control, and the responsibility would lie on Kat. And certain people in this company would happily see Kat lose her job - or worse, be demoted.

Kat appreciated her upbringing. Her parents were modest but hardworking. They owned a small cafe (The Green Bean - using the family’s surname, of course) and spent their days laughing with anyone and everyone who came in for coffee and Elana’s famous apple crumble. Friday nights were movie nights at the Green home, and Sundays were spent on the beach in the morning and then devouring a roast at home. Kat’s dad, Brian, was all about family, and he encouraged his three girls to have as many of their friends over as they could fit in the house.

Life in Cape Town was different for Kat. Not worse, but not necessarily better either. It was working from 7 am until 5 pm and when she wasn’t enjoying remote working, it was at least an hour in traffic back to her studio apartment that overlooked the sea. There wasn’t much space in her place to hold Sunday lunches; even a cosy movie night was a squeeze. But that didn’t matter much because her friends here in Cape Town were not that interested in those kinds of things. They wanted to spend weekends hiking up Lion’s head, having lunch at one of Stellenbosch’s wine farms, and then enjoying sundowners at Shimmy Beach Club. It was all very high-paced and energetic, and Kat often looked forward to going back home to Margate where, as her grandmother used to say, “the heart beats slower”. Kat never understood that saying until she moved to Cape Town, took this job, and tried her hardest to keep up with the lifestyle. Small town life was calmer, allowing much more time for appreciating the sights, sounds, and smells around you. You’re hardly ever in a rush, and there is more than enough time to do everything you need to get done. But city life is different, things are hurried, and Kat’s anxious mind was constantly running wild, causing many a heart-racing moment, even when she appeared as cool as a cucumber on the outside.

‘But I really should appreciate all of this,’ Kat thinks to herself as she enters the Lion’s Head room of the 12 Apostles Hotel. Not only has the company planned a stunning evening for them, with a delectable menu and beautiful decor that matched the views, but they also booked every senior member into the hotel for the night. And that meant fully paid-for spa treatments in the morning too. Yes, Kat had a lot to be grateful for. She’d been at the company for only six years and had worked her way up from intern (AKA human coffeemaker) to project assistant, and finally at the beginning of last year to account manager. It wasn’t easy, and it required many late nights and working weekends.

“Oh! Kat, you’re here!” Melissa, the overachiever and incredibly energetic event manager, beamed at her, heading in for a hug. Kat smiled and hugged her back. Mel was a delight, although many of the team members would speak about her behind her back, complaining about her being ‘too much’ - which was a term that Kat despised, especially when used about a woman who was just friendly. But when you’re working in an office of mostly men, full of people who have been brought up in much stiffer households and attended the most expensive schools, you get those kinds of comments. Kat chose to be extra nice to Mel and brought her Krispy Kreme doughnuts whenever she heard something mean said about the woman.

 

“How you doing, Kaitlyn?” Donny, the other account manager from Kat’s department nodded in her direction. Whether or not he knew that he was getting her name wrong, Kat wasn’t sure - and she didn’t care enough to correct him. Kat knew that some of the other account managers disliked her. She was also seen as a bit of an overachiever, perhaps even a suck-up for all the extra work she did. But in truth, it was all simply so that Kat could feel like she actually belonged in this workplace. She didn’t attend UCT or Stellenbosch University like the rest of her team; she got her diploma at a local college back in KwaZulu Natal. So the only way that Kathryn Green from small-town Margate could really compete with people like Donny was to work three times as hard.

Suddenly, the room around Kat lit up with Christmas-colored lights, and Mariah Carey’s popular festive ballad started playing. Kat smiled. These events may be tiresome, and her feet might be cramping worse than the first and only time she agreed to hike up a whole mountain. Still, she couldn’t deny the holiday spirit that was flowing in this room, nor the proud feeling she had for making it through one of the toughest years in her short career. As a naive 22-year-old moving to the big city, Kat’s dream was to get a secure job that would allow her to start a savings account and still help her parents if needed. Now, only four years later, she had enough money saved to keep her alive for a year - possibly even two. That was all thanks to her anti-social tendencies and extreme discount shopping habits. The point of this money was to take some time off work to write her novel. Ever since Kat had been a little girl, reading Enid Blyton and Louisa May Alcott, she had wanted to write books as well. She wanted to share her stories and write about girls just like herself and her two sisters. She wanted to write her grandmother’s story - a young widow living on a Free State farm, raising her five sons, and working for 20 years to keep her farm going. Until she won a little money in the South African Lotto and took her five boys to Spain, then returned home, sold the farm, and set her family up on the South Coast. Kat knew how important storytelling was for the human experience, which is why she applied for the internship at a PR company - to help tell people’s stories.

As the night progressed, and the whole team was treated to champagne, a five-course meal, and a Secret Santa game that helped break the ice and induce a room of laughter, Kat couldn’t help the introspection happening inside of her. Maybe it was the feeling of the new year coming. Or perhaps it was the book signing that she attended last night, the entire time imagining herself in that same spot, signing her own books. Whatever it was, Kat was feeling intense homesickness that hadn’t been there since her first year interning. She was heading home in a month anyway, so it was a little silly - but the two weeks home for Christmas didn’t seem like enough this year. Suddenly, as Kat watched her colleagues dance and her bosses trying hard not to check their phones, she imagined herself in a different position. Back home, helping out at The Green Bean in the mornings and writing in her parent’s garden cottage through the night. Sunday roasts, Friday movie nights, and early morning running along the beach road seemed like a much better way to spend the following year. But it would be silly to leave now, wouldn’t it? If Kat gave up her job, she’d have to work all that harder when she came back (if she came back).

Adrian, Kat’s boss, was slowly making his way around the room, and she could see that she was next. Kat loved her boss; he was funny, fair, and made it his mission to ensure everyone knew how much he appreciated them. Adrian was a big part of why Kat had managed to work her way up the ladder so fast and still loved her job (because she did love her job). And Adrian’s wife Candice was a bonus in this situation, as kind as her husband and a vibrant woman, owning her career and being the ‘boss babe’ that Kat admired.

“Kat!” Adrian boomed, coming to her. “How are you tonight? Did you like your Secret Santa gift? Oh, and I hope you’ve booked into every one of the spa treatments tomorrow? You deserve it!”

“Hey Adrian,” Kat smiled. He truly was the best. “I’m alright, thanks, how are you enjoying things? Your gift seemed a lot more exciting than mine, so I’m a little jealous,” Kat joked. “And yes, thank you, I’m looking forward to the pampering tomorrow.”

“Good.” Adrian gave a hearty laugh, which was his default in most settings. This was the most positive 60-something-year-old director Kat had ever met. “And listen, not that I want to talk work now, but I have a proposal for you.”

“Oh?” For some reason, Kat could tell her heart had started beating faster, which made her think of her grandmother again.

“Yes, I know you’ve been doing sensationally with your team, but we have a new international client, and I was wondering - would you be interested in taking on another account?”

Kat took a deep breath; this could make her career. “Wow, Adrian, what an honour to be asked.” She looked around at the beauty of the room and marveled at where she had come in such a short time. “But unfortunately, I won’t be able to. I’m going to put in my notice, I appreciate everything this job has given me, but I’m going to go back home and work on my novel next year.”

Her voice was shaky. Kat didn’t know she had made this decision, but as soon as it was out of her mouth, it felt right. Adrian smiled wisely, “Well, Kat, we’ll be sad to lose you. But you’ve been speaking about writing this book since you started as my young and eager intern. So, I’d say it’s about time!”

With that, Kat’s heart slowed down - and she heard her grandmother’s voice say, “It’s better to live where the heart beats slower than try and keep up with something not meant for you.”

CONGRATULATIONS, TAMMI SAYMAAN!

KREST Publishers (PTY) LTD is a publishing house based in Durban, South Africa, that publishes writers from all around the world. You can be a KREST writer too ... visit our website www.krestpublishers.co.za