A Good Decision and Goodbye
1029 Words
The classroom was filled with murmurs and the occasional sound of pens tapping against desks. The professor’s voice droned on, but she struggled to focus.
It was almost the end of January.
Most of her classmates were busy finalizing their internship applications, flipping through documents, checking their emails every few minutes. Some of them whispered excitedly about getting callbacks from prestigious companies, while others looked stressed, still searching for placements.
She should have been doing the same.
But she wasn’t.
Her plan had always been simple—do her internship at the company where she was already working. It was convenient. Her supervisor had even agreed to let her balance both her job and the internship so she wouldn’t have to look anywhere else.
But now, everything had changed.
Singapore.
That single word kept looping in her mind like a song stuck on repeat.
The opportunity was right in front of her, and yet, a part of her still hesitated.
Would she really be able to do this?
Could she handle being in a completely new country, away from everything familiar?
Was she even worthy of such a big opportunity?
Her stomach twisted with doubt.
But deep down, she knew what she had to do.
She couldn’t let fear hold her back.
She had spent most of her life just surviving, doing what she needed to get by, never thinking too much about dreams or ambitions.
Maybe it was time to try.
Just try.
She took a deep breath, pulled out her phone, and quietly slipped out of the classroom. She walked down the hallway, passing groups of students huddled together, their voices a blur in the background.
Finally, she stopped near a window where the hallway was quieter.
Her hands felt clammy as she dialed her supervisor’s number.
The call barely rang twice before the familiar voice answered.
"Have you made up your mind?"
She swallowed the nervous lump in her throat. "Yes. I’ll take it. I’ll go to Singapore."
A pause.
Then, a satisfied hum. "Good. I’ll start arranging the necessary paperwork. You’ll need to prepare as well—passport, visa, accommodations. There’s a lot to be done."
"I understand," she said, gripping her phone tightly.
"You made the right choice," her supervisor added. "It won’t be easy, but it’ll be worth it."
She hoped that was true.
When the call ended, she stood still for a moment, staring at the screen.
It was real now.
This wasn’t just some hypothetical idea anymore.
She was going.
---
Later that evening, after school, her friends invited her to hang out.
She hesitated before saying yes.
A part of her wasn’t in the mood to socialize, but she figured she should at least tell them about the internship.
Maybe they’d be happy for her.
Maybe they’d be supportive.
She should have known better.
They met at their group's usual spot where she rarely goes—a small café near campus. It was cozy, with dim lighting and the comforting smell of brewed coffee in the air.
She sat with her usual group, sipping a warm drink as they talked about school, professors, and random gossip.
Then, the topic shifted.
Internships.
"Where are you guys applying?" Ben asked, stirring his coffee lazily.
"I got into a marketing firm downtown," Steve said, looking pleased with himself.
"Nice. I applied to a few places, but I’m still waiting for responses," Sophie added.
Then, they turned to her.
"What about you?"
She hesitated briefly before answering. "I already have an offer."
"Oh? Where?"
She took a deep breath. "Singapore."
Silence.
Steve and Eliot exchanged looks, their expressions unreadable at first.
Then, Eliot scoffed. "Singapore? Seriously?"
She frowned. "Yeah."
Eliot leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "We’re still applying to local companies, and here you are, going straight to an international one?"
Even though they lived comfortable lives, even though they had privileges she never had, they hadn’t secured any major opportunities yet.
And here she was, a nobody, getting an offer to work abroad.
"You must have connections," Steve muttered.
Her stomach twisted. "What?"
"I mean, come on. You don’t just get an offer like that out of nowhere. Someone must have pulled some strings for you."
Her grip on the table tightened.
She knew they often looked down on her, underestimated her.
But to say this?
To imply that she didn’t deserve the opportunity? That it wasn’t because of her own skills or efforts?
Sophie sighed. "You don’t know that. Maybe she really earned it."
Steve snorted. "Doubt it. She got lucky, that’s all. Don’t get cocky about it."
Well, It’s somewhat true that she was fortunate to receive the offer,
but something inside her snapped.
She had endured their passive-aggressive remarks for years. Their condescending attitudes, their subtle ways of making her feel less than them.
But this?
This was the last straw.
She stood up abruptly, making the chair scrape against the floor.
Ben looked at her, concerned. "Where are you going?"
She exhaled sharply. "Don’t include me in your hangouts anymore."
Silence fell over the group.
No one spoke.
No one tried to stop her.
Good.
For once, she was choosing herself.
She walked out of the café without looking back.
For her peace of mind, she was done with them.
She was done trying to please people who never valued her.
She was so done.
---
As she walked down the dimly lit streets, the cold air stung her face, but she barely felt it.
Her mind replayed the conversation over and over again, and each time, she felt a little more frustrated.
How could they say those things?
They knew what she had been through.
They knew how hard she had worked just to get where she was.
Yet, they still refused to see her as someone capable, someone worthy of success.
Doubts crept into her mind—what if she wasn’t truly capable? What if she didn’t deserve the good things this world had to offer? But in the end, there was only one way to find out. She had to try.
She was going to Singapore.
She was going to take this opportunity.
- Writer
