Annakitty August's Arc

Chapter 2 of 3

Annakitty opened her office notebook and reviewed yesterday's market lessons. The merchants had taught her about profit margins and waste. Now she needed to apply those principles inside the laboratory. She pulled out the current supply orders and compared them to actual usage. Some departments ordered twice what they needed. Others ran short every month. She made a list of questions to ask each team leader. By lunch, she had mapped out where money was being lost. Her supervisor noticed the report on his desk that afternoon. He nodded and said she was thinking like a lead bookkeeper now. The next morning, her supervisor handed her a brass key. He pointed to a dark yellow safe with chrome trim sitting near the records room. The Chrome Ledger Vault would store all financial documents now. Annakitty turned the key and opened the heavy door. Inside were decades of budget reports and spending records. She spent hours organizing papers by year and department. The vault kept everything protected and in one place. Her supervisor suggested formal training to build her skills further. Annakitty walked to the Fardale Accounting and Financial Management School that week. The small white stone building stood quiet in the afternoon light. Inside, instructors taught classes on budget planning and record systems. She enrolled in evening courses starting next month. The classes would teach her methods the laboratory already used. While waiting for her first class to begin, Annakitty sat in a green padded chair near the school entrance. Three other chairs surrounded a wooden table where students could review notes. She opened her notebook and reviewed her latest budget findings. The path to lead bookkeeper required patience and steady work. Each lesson brought her closer to managing the entire laboratory's finances. She adjusted her glasses and smiled.