LAURA, THE INVISIBLE WOMAN

Chapter 1: The Incident

Laura is an average woman. She is a woman of average height. She is of average weight. She has an average job with an average income. She lives in a medium-size house. She drives a medium-size car. She even has an medium-size dog! Basically, Laura has an average life.
Laura also has a simple life – a life without incident. She has a university education. She lives and works in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is an administrative assistant with a sales management team. She often leaves work very late. She never speaks badly of her company. She is a model employee and a perfect professional.
Laura loves where she lives. At the weekend, she likes spending time with friends and family. They often go to sports clubs, the movies or even a stage performance. And just last week, she and her husband saw a great film series. But sometimes, Laura wants quiet time. That’s why some weekends she goes out of the city.
Today Laura is driving to the country with her friends, Raj and Sophie. The friends plan to have a barbecue.
Laura stops her car at a park outside of Edinburgh. It’s a beautiful area with several trees. Sophie looks around. ‘This is a great place for a barbecue!’
‘I agree,’ says Raj. ‘Do we have enough food?´
‘Of course,’ answers Laura. ‘I know how much you like to eat!’ They all laugh. Then Laura adds, ‘Let’s start cooking!’
Laura, Raj and Sophie take the food out of the car. They turn on some music and prepare for the barbecue. Laura finds some sticks and makes a fire. She waits for it to get hot. As she waits, Laura checks her messages.
‘Oh no!’ says Laura. She has a message from the director at her office.
She forgot to post something for the production department. They need it right now! Laura just applied for a new job in the production department. She has an interview on Monday. She has to fix this right away!
Laura looks at her friends. She holds up her mobile. ‘Hey, guys,’ she says, ‘I’ll be right back. I need to make a work call.’
‘Oh, come on, Laura,’ says Raj. ‘you’re always working …’ Raj is right, Laura,’ Sophie adds.
‘I know – I know …’ says Laura. ‘But I got a message from the director. And she’s not happy.’
Laura goes over to some nearby trees. It is evening and it’s getting dark. The trees are very tall. She can hardly see anything.
Laura calls her office. She speaks with another administrative assistant. The assistant asks her to wait for the director.
While she is waiting, Laura looks around. Suddenly she notices something. Among the trees, there is a strange light! Laura puts away her mobile as she goes over to the light.
The light is coming from a beautiful metal ball. Laura has never seen anything like it! The ball is covered with patterns. She reaches out to touch it. The metal is cold. It actually feels nice.
Laura picks up the ball. Then, as suddenly as it started, the light goes out. The ball feels very strange in her hand. It’s almost too cold. Laura doesn’t like the feeling. She drops the ball. Then she goes back to the barbecue.
Laura approaches her friends. They are talking about her. ‘Laura should turn her mobile off at the weekend,’ Raj says.
‘I agree,’ Sophie adds. ‘It’s not good to work so much. The body and mind need quiet. She needs to relax sometimes.’
Laura walks up. ‘Are you guys talking about me?’ she says, laughing. ‘OK! OK! I’m ready to relax!’
Raj and Sophie say nothing. Raj checks a problem with the barbecue. Laura’s friends ignore her completely. They don’t even look at her.
‘Why aren’t you looking at me?’ Laura asks. She waves at Raj. She puts her face near Sophie. Then she really tests them. She dances around and waves her arms. Sophie looks around, but then they continue to ignore her.
It’s like Laura’s not there!
Raj and Sophie carry on talking about Laura. ‘I wonder where she is,’
Raj says, ‘she’s been on the phone a long time. I’m getting worried.’
‘You know her,’ says Sophie. ‘She’s probably reviewing financials or contracts or something. She’ll be back soon.’
Then Laura realizes something. Her friends can’t see her! As unbelievable as it is, she seems to be invisible! It’s like she’s in some TV series!
Oh my gosh! thinks Laura. I can’t believe it! Then she thinks, But why? Suddenly, Laura remembers the strange object in the trees. Is this because of the light? she thinks. Am I invisible because I touched it? She isn’t sure.
Laura doesn’t know what to do. Finally, she makes a decision. ‘I don’t know how long that light will affect me,’ she says. ‘I’m invisible! I have to enjoy it!’
Laura watches her friends. Raj takes the food off the barbecue. Sophie puts cold drinks on the table. Laura listens to their conversation.
‘Well yes, Raj,’ says Sophie. ‘Laura works a lot, but it’s normal. And hey! This is her big opportunity. She may be company president someday!’ ‘Yeah, but she doesn’t earn enough,’ comments Raj.
‘That’s true,’ agrees Sophie. ‘But her pay will improve. She’ll get what she is worth. They’re starting to realize that she is their top employee. Who knows what she can achieve.’
‘Yes, I know. But I just wish she could relax more.’
‘I know. Me, too,’ says Sophie as she continues to cook.
Laura is surprised. She didn’t know how much her friends respected her. Everything they are saying about her is so nice! She smiles happily.
Suddenly, Raj’s tone changes. ‘Seriously though,’ he says, ‘where is Laura?’
‘I really don’t know,’ replies Sophie. ‘Let’s go and look for her.’
Laura’s friends turn off the music. They walk towards the trees. They walk directly towards the strange object. It’s lying on the ground. Raj sees it first. ‘Look, Sophie. What’s this?’ He bends over and picks it up. He begins to examine it.
Sophie gives him a strange look. ‘I don’t know… but I wouldn’t touch it!’
Raj looks up surprised. ‘You’re right!’ He throws the ball into the trees. The two continue looking for Laura.
After some time, Raj and Sophie walk back to the barbecue area. Both stop in surprise. Laura’s car isn’t there! Raj looks at Sophie. ‘What is happening here? Is this some sort of game?’ he asks.
‘I have no idea,’ replies Sophie. ‘No idea at all.’
Meanwhile, Laura is on her way back to Edinburgh. She wants to enjoy the effects of her invisibility. The best place to completely experience it is in public. As she drives, her friends make an important phone call – to the police!

Chapter 2: The Lie

Laura arrives in Edinburgh. She parks near Princes Street. She walks throughout the city. No one sees her. She can’t believe it. She laughs quietly. ‘This really is amazing!’
Laura thinks about what to do. In her mind, she makes a list of all the things that might be fun. She starts laughing. For the first time in her life, she is not average!
Laura continues her walk down Princes Street. There are several small stores there. Many shoppers and store staff are around this evening.
Laura walks into a store. Although people can’t see or hear her, some people can feel her. She has to be careful. She picks up some shoes and a dress. She looks, but then replaces them. She likes being invisible, but she doesn’t want to steal.
Next Laura goes to a popular restaurant. There is a long line to get in. She walks easily past it. She walks right in. This is fun! she thinks. She really enjoys being the Invisible Woman.
She stays at the restaurant for a while. Then Laura has an idea. She can go to her office! Her manager is working today. It would be fun to see what she is doing. Especially if she doesn’t know Laura is there.
Laura races to her office. She enters the building. She looks at the security desk. The computer screens are clear. The security cameras are not recording her. She’s safe!
Laura waits for a minute. Another administrative assistant comes in the building. He is going to the same office. She follows him into the lift. Soon, she is on the seventh floor. Time to look for her manager!
The door to the lift opens. Laura’s manager, Ms Smith, is in the central office. She is speaking to several other managers. ‘Our employees work very hard,’ she says. ‘We offer some people bonuses. Some staff even get stock. But most employees get only a percentage of our profits. However, these days it’s not enough. We need to change something in this organization. We need to build up our business. Our employees need to earn more money.’
Laura can’t believe it. Ms Smith is fighting for her employees! she thought. I never thought that would happen!
‘For example,’ Ms Smith continues. ‘I have an employee. Her name is Laura. She’s worked here for five years. She puts in lots of hours. She has never asked for a raise. She’s a good employee. But we can’t pay Laura more money right now. Why? Because company profits this quarter are low. We need to keep our money just to stay open. Something has to change!’
Oh my gosh! thinks Laura to herself. My manager just said that I’m a good employee! In front of everyone! That’s really going to help my career! Then she thinks, It’s too bad about the company profits though. But how can that be? Antonio is working on that big technology project. I assume that will help profits.
Laura wants to know what’s happening. And now is the perfect time to check. She is invisible after all. She has access to everything!
Laura goes to Antonio’s office. Antonio is a computer programming manager. I don’t want to steal his ideas, she thinks. I just want to know why the company is losing money.
Antonio has been really successful. He started as a sales associate. He always made his sales goals. So they brought him on the management team.
Now he’s working on a big project. It’s supposed to involve a lot of money. The company’s money issues should soon be fixed.
Laura decides to look in Antonio’s files. She can still hear her manager talking outside. ‘Antonio, tell me,’ begins her manager, ‘I know you’re working on that big technology project. It’s the one based on the network program we worked on as a group. This project has potential, doesn’t it? It could actually make the company rich, right?’
‘I’m really sorry, Ms Smith,’ Antonio begins, ‘but the project won’t be possible. It costs too much. It’s a huge investment. And the network programming is very advanced. We just don’t have the technology.’ While she listens, Laura finds the project file. Antonio has done a lot of research. His documents show that. But Antonio is obviously wrong. According to the data and the documents, the project has a lot of potential right now. The technology is not that advanced. She looks at the papers again. Antonio is lying. The project is very profitable.
Why doesn’t Antonio want to do the project? she thinks. It’s a really good project! Why is he lying? Then she sees something. It’s another file. In it, there is a letter. It’s written on paper from a competitor!
Laura quickly reads the letter. Antonio has sold the idea to the competitor. He’s planning to quit his job to work for them! How can he do that? she thinks. If we don’t get this project, I don’t get my raise!
Laura decides it’s time to do something about Antonio! She takes Antonio’s letter from the competition and the project file. She leaves both of them on her manager’s desk. ‘There,’ she says. ‘Ms. Smith will have a nice surprise in the morning. Antonio, too – hopefully it will be the police!’
Laura leaves the managers to their meeting. It is getting late. She decides to go home to see her husband. Recently, they have been arguing a lot. In fact, they had a big argument about work today. It will be interesting to see her husband when she’s invisible. Maybe she can learn something!
Laura drives home. She enters her house carefully. When she comes in, she hears her husband crying. What’s wrong? Laura asks herself. Then she hears him speak.
‘Are you sure, Officer?’ he says sadly.
Her husband Craig is speaking on the phone. He is talking to the police!
Then Laura realizes. She has technically been missing for many hours. Craig is probably very worried.
Craig puts down the phone. He starts to cry harder. Laura realizes something else. Craig loves her very much. She looks at him. She can see he is really suffering. Laura makes a decision right then. Despite their problems, she wants to sort out their relationship!
Laura wants to reach out and touch her husband. Then she remembers – she’s invisible. He’ll be afraid. For the first time, Laura starts to consider her situation. Being invisible is generally fun. It has advantages. However, she doesn’t want to be this way forever!
But how can Laura become visible again? She suddenly has an idea. Of course! The metal ball! she thinks. She needs to touch the object again. It might make her visible. She has to go back to the park!
Laura gets in her car. She drives through the streets of Edinburgh. It’s late. There aren’t many cars. Still, Laura drives through quiet areas. An invisible woman in a visible car would be hard to explain.
At last, Laura arrives at the park. Sophie and Raj are still there. However, there are several other people, too – including the police! What is going on? she thinks.

Chapter 3: The Object

Laura is back at the small park. There is a crowd of people. The police are also there. What are all these people doing here? Laura thinks. Then she realizes. They are there because of her!
Sophie and Raj are among the crowd. They are talking near a table. Laura walks over to them. As she walks, Laura looks around. Everyone is there – Laura’s friends, her relatives, the police, and volunteers from Edinburgh. Even Craig is just driving up!
‘Think, Sophie,’ says Raj sadly. ‘Where could Laura be? I mean, we were right there!’
‘I have no idea,’ Sophie replies. ‘She’ll come back. It’s just so strange…’
‘Yeah. One minute she’s talking on her mobile and then she’s gone!’
‘I know,’ says Sophie. ‘I’m really worried…’
Laura listens. She feels really bad. She doesn’t want to hurt her friends or husband. She doesn’t want to waste people’s time. She just wants to get back to the metal ball. She’s done being invisible!
She hears Raj again. ‘Hey, Sophie. Do you remember that metal ball?
Over by the trees?’
‘Yes?’
‘Well, I have a theory.’
Sophie looks at him. ‘A theory?’
‘Yes,’ Raj continues. ‘What if it’s more than that? What if it did something to Laura?’
Sophie continues to look at Raj. She seems confused. But Laura is not confused. She’s worried. She doesn’t want her friends to know anything. She just wants to touch the ball and become visible. She doesn’t want to explain!
Raj looks closely at Sophie. ‘Maybe the ball is special. Maybe it made
Laura sick. Or maybe it even took her somewhere! You never know…’ Sophie shakes her head. ‘You and your theories, Raj…’ Then she pauses. There is no other explanation. Maybe…
‘Think about it. Laura went missing near it,’ Raj adds. They look at each other. Then Raj says, ‘Come on! Let’s go look.’ Sophie finally agrees. ‘OK. Let’s go.’
The two friends start walking over to the trees.
Oh no! thinks Laura. What if they take the object? Or give it to the police? Laura runs ahead of her friends. She has to find the object first!
Laura gets to the trees first. The metal object isn’t there! Where is it? she thinks. It has to be here somewhere! It didn’t fly away! She keeps looking.
Raj and Sophie come closer. ‘It has to be around here. I threw it right over here,’ says Raj as he points to the trees.
That’s it! thinks Laura. Someone moved it! What if they lost it? I need that ball! Laura runs to where Raj is pointing. Raj and Sophia walk to the area, too. Suddenly, Raj stands up. He has the metal object in his hand!
Laura looks carefully at the object. There is no light at all now. She doesn’t know what that means. She just has to find a way to touch the object again. She knows it will make her visible.
‘Hey, Sophie! I found it!’ calls Raj.
Sophie runs over. ‘Wow! What is it?’ she asks.
‘I have no idea,’ replies Raj. ‘It’s round and made of metal. But I don’t know what it does.’
‘Do you really think it did something with Laura?’
‘I doubt it. It just doesn’t make sense. It’s just a metal ball. So much for my theory…’ Raj throws the metal ball into the trees. Laura watches it carefully.
‘Come on,’ says Sophie as they walk away. ‘Now let’s check with the police. Maybe we should call the hospitals or….’
Laura waits for Raj and Sophie to leave. She wants to touch the object. But she doesn’t want to hurt her friends. If she suddenly appears, they might be really afraid!
At last, Raj and Sophie are gone. Laura goes over to the trees. She picks up the metal ball and touches it. At first she feels nothing. Then the strange object starts to light up. Laura

starts shaking. The object is completely lit up again. At last, something is happening! she thinks.
Suddenly, the shaking stops. The metal ball is still lit up. Is that it? Did it work? Laura wonders. She soon gets her answer. 'Laura! Laura!' she hears. ‘Is that you?’ It’s Sophie and Raj. They can see her! She’s visible!
Laura’s friends run towards her. She still has the light in her hand. Uh-oh, she thinks. She quickly lets the ball go. It moves slowly into the trees. Soon, she can no longer see it.
‘Laura, where have you been?’ calls Raj. Laura turns around.
Next Sophie adds, ‘And what was that light? It was so bright! That’s how we found you!’
Laura doesn’t know what to say. Telling the truth would make things so difficult. No one would believe her. An invisible woman? Really!
Suddenly Laura hears another voice in the crowd. It’s Craig! He runs over to Laura. He hugs her tightly and kisses her. Then he looks her in the eyes and says, ‘Where were you? I was so worried!’
Laura is speechless. ‘I was in… In… I…’
More voices call out from the crowd. It’s her manager and several others from the office. Laura can’t believe all the support. So many people are there to help her!
The people stand around Laura. They all start talking at once. ‘We were so worried!’ repeats Craig.
‘Where did you go?’ says Raj.
‘You won’t believe what happened at the office!’ says Ms Smith.
Laura puts her arm up. ‘Please… Please… Give me a minute.’ The crowd becomes quiet. Laura looks around. ‘First of all, allow me to say thank you. Thank you so much for all your help. I really appreciate all your support.’ Then she continues, ‘I’m sure you are wondering where I was.
Well, the truth is…’ Laura pauses. Should she really tell them the truth?
Would they believe her? Would they think she was crazy?
Laura begins again. ‘The truth is… I got lost,’ she announces. ‘I was talking on my mobile,’ Laura continues. ‘I didn’t look where I was going. Suddenly, I couldn’t find my way back.’ She smiles and says, ‘Thanks again and good night.’
Laura and Craig walk to her car. She is ready to go home. They walk past Raj and Sophie.
‘But what about your car?’ Raj calls out. ‘It was gone! We saw it!’
‘And what about that light?’ asks Sophie. ‘What was that? And you know, we saw something in the trees. It was a metal ball and…’
Laura keeps on walking. She might have to explain things later, but not now. Her experience as an invisible woman was amazing! She learned that she has kind friends, a good manager and a great husband. She also learned something very important: it’s great to have a totally average life!