Our world collided

CHAPTER 2: Born to be

Luna-Layla Arsenio walks out of the elevator, her heart hammering against her chest. It led her to the mainframe of Charms Advertising, the very heart of everything she thought of the brand. It was way bigger than she had imagined with so many crowds. It could have passed for complexity. Indeed, this was the brain of commerce. The people, staff and clients, almost scattered everywhere but in an orderly fashion with so much activity going on. You could hear whispers of conversation, everyone's conversation, well-dressed, strapped with suits and neatly knotted ties, moving with so much passion. The heels clicking of every female stride through the watermark floor showed so much poise. The air I breathed wasn't oxygen, my nostrils were thick and filled with ambitious air, I felt it deep on my skin.

“This was my kinda place,” she thought to herself, almost out loud. She helped onto the strap of her leather tote.

The receptionist, right in front of her, looked quite fashionable, beyond all that you could tell, she was in her early thirties. With a curt warm smile, she kindly directed Layla to the next floor. To its right, that is where the orientation had been scheduled to be held. She quickly made her way back, heading towards the elevator. When she got in, she inhaled deeply, she didn't realize she had her breath held for that long. Two months. In two months, she would have finally gotten used to breathing ambitions into her soul. She needed this energy, no matter how high the stakes here are, she wasn't opting for any mishaps.

On reaching the next floor, the doors slid open, and other people that had been with her in the elevator started moving out, everyone dispersing to different directions. She stood dumb for a while, before she finally fixed her eyes on a decor that says “Conference room”. She confidently walked in, and all eyes turned to her. She kinda felt a bit awkward, she didn't see that coming, but oh well, boy, she confidently walked in and made her way to a spare seat. The orientation commenced almost immediately as she was an important figure, they were all waiting for her arrival. Looking around, she noticed most interns were fresh out of university, just like her.

At the front of the room, stood a tall, neatly dressed man in a tailored black suit tapping on the podium mic, to get the attention of everyone.

Welcome to Charms Advertising, he began. His voice resounded through the echoes from the mic, his voice had this deep bass embed tone, strong and authoritative. He began by introducing himself, and said a lot. His name is Helis Colgae, and he is Head of Human Resources and, in the next two months, we’ll all be part of an intensive program that will test your creativity, resilience, and ability to collaborate. Then, at the end, only seven of you will be offered full-time positions.

Interns begin to murmur to one another and exchange glances with each other. The standards were really high here, much more than most of them expected. Layla felt panic for a swift moment, she held her face straight and looked at the speaker's eyeballs, not feeling perturbed.

Colgae continued, “You’ll be grouped into teams for various projects. Each team will have different roles—product design, IT, project management, graphic design, and production. Now, mind you, each role is important as well as essential, and your success is based on how you function as a team. Failure to collaborate is direct failure, period.”

Layla quickly had her eyes almost everywhere in the room, looking everywhere but nowhere particularly, her thoughts wondering who she would be paired with. Then suddenly her eyes spotted two faces she wouldn't forget in a hurry; Tamara and Tamire.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Tamara Moore and Tamire James were her biggest rivals in high school. Tamara was always among the bright students, with a keen interest in designing and sketching, while Tamire was a techy kinda girl, most likely in every situation she had a way to outsmart everyone. They hadn’t exactly parted on good terms, and now, they are here, what could be the odds they won't be teamed up together? Layla heaved a sigh.

Colgae continued, “Your first task has just begun now. I am sure your emails will be beeping right now with team assignments and project briefs. All the best.” he concluded.

Layla’s phone buzzed almost immediately. She unlocked it and opened the email, her lashes batted, as she read the names of her team:

Layla exhaled slowly, she couldn't even read all through the mail, she mouthed to herself, “Of all the people in this room…”

“Layla?” a voice so familiar called out, distracting her strain of thought. She turned, and spotted Tamara walking towards her with Tamire close behind. Tamara’s eyes were as sharp as always, and her sleek bob body type, her face had always been as if she had surgery done because of how perfect it looked. Tamire had always been taller, her dark curly hair cascading down her shoulders, she had her arms crossed over her chest.

“Tamara. Tamire,” Layla said, with a forced smile.

“Well, well, well. It is Luna Arsenio” Tamire said,

“It has to be!,” Tamara added, raising an eyebrow.

Layla took a deep breath. “We don’t have to like each other, but we do have to work together. Can we agree on that?”

Tamara shrugged. “Fair enough. Let’s just hope none of us drags the team down.”

Tamire smirked. “Speak for yourself.”

Irrespective of their differences, they all agreed to meet at one of the workstations around the office space. As soon as they got settled in, Layla opened the brief memo for the project.

“This document has our task in it,” she muttered, picking up the documents that were handed to her as the project manager and team lead. She carefully scans through the document.

Their task was to come up with a marketing campaign that would fly a coffee brand traditional product for the millennials and Gen Z. With a two-week deadline.

“Something that will suit this target audience.”— Layla said.

Tamara leaned forward. “The design needs to stand out. Bold, minimalistic, with a clear eco-friendly message.”

Tamire tapped away at her laptop. “And the tech side has to be catchy and trendy, considering our target audience. An app that tracks your environmental impact with every purchase could be our ticket to start with.”

Layla nodded.

Over the next two weeks, Team 4 worked with so much effort. Layla found herself constantly in-between the team trying to keep everyone afloat, especially between Tamara and Tamire. Tamara’s a detailed person, while Tamire is more practical.

“I keep emphasising the fact that the design needs to be flexible for both digital and print,” Tamara insisted the other day.

“And I’m saying we need to focus on the app’s functionality first. No one’s going to care about the design if the app crashes,” Tamire shot back.

Layla cut them both, with an authoritative tone. “We’re doing both. Tamara, ensure the design to fit Tamire’s app concept. Tamire, make sure the app supports the branding.”

They both grumbled but complied. Layla knew she needed to do everything possible to not allow their history to get in the way of her career and success, and neither would they want that.

They had little quarrels here and there, but soon their project was beginning to look as expected. Tamara’s designs were catchy and modern, while Tamire’s app prototype was suitable for the user experience.

At the end of the two weeks, Team 4 was sure they were ready to present their work. That early morning, every intern assembled early in the conference room. Layla was scared. She kept wondering what if she failed. This was the only shot she'd got.

Tamara did an amazing job with the visuals, explaining their design choices and how they reflected the brand’s ethos. Tamire presented next with a demonstration of the app, pointing out its features and use. Finally, Layla wrapped up with a narrative type of typing and put everything together.

The room was silent for a moment after they finished. Helis sat, looking dismissive, Then nodded. “Impressive work. Team 4, what you've done today is setting a high bar set” he said.

Layla exhaled in relief. They had made it through the first hurdle for sure.

Every team was tested on their project for creativity and teamwork. These weeks got Layla closer and closer each day to Tamara and Tamire, and subconsciously, every dispute they held onto was gradually fading off.

In about three days from today, the best seven will be selected, so there was so much tension in the air.

Flash forwarding to the last day of the program, the day the results would be out, there was so much uncertainty in the air, Layla could feel it on her skin, as she pulled her arms across her chin on her office desk, staring into nothing precisely. She kept looking at her email at intervals. Suddenly, her phone pinged, she gasped.

Layla picked up her phone with a shaky heart, she clicked on the email. Her eyes looked through every word for her name.

Congratulations to the seven successful interns who have been selected for employment based on their astonishing performance in the just concluded intern training exercise.

THE LIST;

Tamara Moore – Product Design Intern

Tamire James – IT personnel

Kessye Blake – Graphic Designer

Jasphire Lee – Product Manager

Joydide Hart – Graphic Designer lead

Clever Cleverly – Production manager

Tessy Aubrey – CRM

Layla froze. Her name wasn’t there.

Her heart sank, her thoughts almost too loud to be heard out loud. She blinked rapidly, fighting tears. There was no other option for her on the table. It was this job or this job, that was all her cards on the table. She didn't even realize she had her hands pressed hard against the mouse. She wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Then she realized something. She’d been looking at the wrong email, that list wasn't even complete. She went through the list again. There were just 6 names. What could be the odds? Right on that thought, her phone pinged again, it was another email.

She helped her breath as she opened it.

"Felicitations. We are pleased to inform you that you, Luna-Layla Arsenio, have been appointed as the Project Manager at Charms Advertising, based on your outstanding team leadership, you expressed so much strength and that was reflected in your teammates.

We hope to see more of that in your new life journey.

Best Regards,

HR.

Layla didn't know when she had her hands over her mouth, she just couldn't believe it, tears of joy slowly strode down her cheeks, she felt euphoria itself. She kept reading the email, again and again to be sure. "I have made it"— she thought out loudly.

With the back of her hands she wiped her eyes, she felt so much pride in herself for all the efforts she made had finally paid off, she made mama proud.

That night she planned on setting a table for two in her apartment, going out to get a pretty cheap wine. She laughed at that thought, "Oh well, that's what I can afford for now, and I am sure mom wouldn't mind" —she said to herself, she wanted to drink both of them, this really was worth celebrating.

She packed up and was ready to head home. She was beaming with so many smiles, she whispered to herself "Mama, we did it".