., and I stood before the glass walls of Starlak Co

he lobby, which was polished with

lak Corporation. How may I hel

n interview sch

me to another room where ot

ower of Starlak Corporation was more intimidati

hich Emilia insisted I wear after th

my chest tightened, running through e

lways pressured me to apply to other places, but I couldn't let it go. Eve

t-free in Emilia's apartment, I could fin

elling

a pill befor

r expressions. I answered every question they threw at me. Confident. Prepared.

ect; a sense of confidence, yet fear, encompa

dreaming about my life here,

She looked precise, controlled, who loo

have all of you here. With me are the results from the interview and you

her hands, I knew my name had to

an honour working wi

excitement as I a

st was

anot

anot

ted; the rest of you can try

There is another list, right?" I didn't know why or wh

, Miss?" Elena st

elling

ice of someone who'd delivered this exact speech many times before. Unfortunately, the board

until they sounded exactly like my father's voice, and something in me - exhaustion, maybe, o

must be a

I wasn't meant to question

I prepared for it. So either I did something wrong that I'm not aware of, or the reason isn't reall

per to each other, but in all,

t biased in their decisions. It's simply a board decision, Miss Well

aybe I was just too afraid to accept the fact that I'd lost once a

o my chest. I stopped by the cafeteria to ge

tears. Good for nothing. How can I change my life whe

I was going, not minding the conversation

t my coffee slipped out of my hands,

e you're going."

clean it off." I grabbed a napkin from my bag and started dabbing his shirt befo

ut hard. "Get your hands off me. W

ground in the same company that had just rejected me. Now, I accidentall

ere. She doesn't have a pl

and bleeding from the last tw

I'd never seen on a person before - emerald green, burning straight thr

to. "Who the hell do you think you are? With your cheap

ut of Starlak Corporation, past a lobby full of str

*

n't ask questions, just held me until I was ready to talk

s circling back - not to the interview, not even to the coffee-st

he was

elf hovering over my mother's contact

you close them, you tell yourself yo

- an email; the subject startled me awake

aiting for the words to rearrange themselves into a reje

so loud the whole neig

s me as I waved the

. Now the same company is offering me a position

e, and no part of me

i

e came, but no

lations, Ama. You don't