Chapter 4
951 Words
Mila smiled and smoothed things over like she always did.
"Of course I want you there. Look at you, Tessa. You're growing up."
That night, I stayed up alone reworking my presentation until two in the morning.
What I never saw coming was that the next day, the moment I got onstage and reached the most important slides, all the data was gone.
I froze right there at the podium.
Sebastian was sitting in the front row. He looked up at me with that calm, unreadable expression of his.
Mila: [Having the nerve to get up there is only part of it. What really matters is how well you can think on your feet and how thoroughly you know the proposal.]
A message from Mila popped up on my phone under the table.
Mila: [Sebastian and I deleted those slides for you on purpose. Clients throw curveballs all the time, so this is good practice. You build composure by getting thrown into situations like this.]
Dozens of eyes were fixed on me.
My fingers were shaking so badly I could barely work the clicker.
The screen behind me was blank where the data should have been.
I closed my eyes for two seconds. Then I took a breath.
I stumbled through it. I lost my place three times.
It was not polished, and it certainly wasn't impressive.
But I made it all the way through.
When I finished, both Sebastian and Mila looked surprised.
As I stepped off the stage, I got a message from Oliver.
Oliver: [So you're really going to Africa the day after tomorrow? You'd better be sure. You can still back out.]
Tessa: [I'm sure. I already bought the ticket.]
That evening, the department went out to celebrate. After a couple of drinks, Mila suddenly started telling childhood stories about me.
"You guys have no idea how many things Tessa used to be scared of... And water was the big one. When she was little, she fell in and just thrashed around without making a sound. She wouldn't even yell for help. If I hadn't happened to see her, she probably would've drowned."
The others immediately started praising Mila.
"Mila, wow. That's incredible."
Mila nudged Sebastian with her elbow.
"Ask him. He knows I'm not making it up."
Sebastian glanced at my face and seemed to notice how red it had turned. For a second, I thought he might say something different.
Then Mila tugged lightly at his sleeve, and he gave in.
"Yeah. It happened."
The whole table burst into laughter.
I dug my nails into my palm until it hurt.
The courage I had been scraping together for years finally found its way out.
"Can you stop? I don't like having my life turned into a joke."
The table went dead silent.
The coworker beside me leaned in and lowered her voice.
"Don't do this. Mila's related to the boss. The higher-ups specifically said nobody's allowed to upset her."
Then she hesitated and added:
"If you and Mila grew up together, then you probably know the boss too, right? Why does he treat you like..."
I went still.
Back when I fought my way into this company, I did it for one reason. I wanted to be closer to Sebastian.
The first time I ran into him downstairs after I got hired, he did not even say hello.
Instead, he told me, "I don't want people thinking I'm giving you special treatment. If you want to make it here, Tessa, you need to do it on your own."
I smiled a little at the memory.
"We're not close. We just went to school together."
At the end of dinner, someone suggested a water-based escape room with a five-star rating, supposedly amazing.
I did not need anyone to explain who that choice was really for.
When it was time to split into teams, everyone quietly avoided me.
One of the guys laughed and said, "No offense, but if I end up on your team, we're all going down."
In the end, the only people left were Sebastian, Mila, and me.
Sebastian looked at me, then at Mila, clearly uncomfortable. Then he moved to Mila's side.
"Tessa, this could actually be good for you. Why don't you try it on your own? We'll wait for you at the exit."
Everyone else paired off and headed inside.
I was the only one left standing there.
And just like that, I was a kid again.
My mother did not like me. The other kids did not want me around.
Every time we had to pick teams, I was the one left standing there at the end.
Once, when I said I did not want to play anymore and wanted to go home, my mother shoved me right back toward the group.
"All you ever do is shrink back. You make yourself small, and then you wonder why nobody picks you. Be more like Mila. Be easy to like!"
So there I was again, standing by myself.
Sebastian started toward me. "I'll go with you," he said.
Then someone from Mila's group dropped out at the last second. He hesitated for two seconds, maybe less. Then he turned and went to her.
Fifteen years, and I was still the one left behind.
There was a time when I really believed he was the person who would pull me out of everything.
Later, I realized he had always been standing safely on solid ground with Mila, watching me struggle, and calling that help.
One of the employees at the entrance looked over at me.
"You're going in by yourself?"
I tightened my hand into a fist.
"I'll do it by myself."
- Writer
