Several months later

New York City

Monday, 15:45

Her eyes never leaving her book, Sierra Danvers made her way to the kitchen, poured herself some chilling lemonade and went back to snuggle in the warmth of her cozy blanket on the couch.

Her mind was racing, her heart was with the handsome fictional character. She was so into her thriller novel that she didn't hear the door opening, didn't hear the steps inside, barely acknowledged the silhouette of a teenager passing by her side to head towards the window.

The girl pulled the curtains, letting the bright sunlight in and blinded, Sierra protested, "Ileana!" Her eyes shut in pain and Ileana Danvers rolled her eyes, a little bit annoyed, "I bet you haven't done a thing the whole day!"

"Reading is a thing! And..." She memorized the page number she has reached and closed her book reluctantly under the impatient gaze of the girl. "...for your information, miss, I've done some volunteering work at the animal shelter today."

"Again?! When are you going to get a real job?"

Sierra stretched her arms lazily, a little thought poking her at the way her niece said those words, "I'm waiting for a call. Why? Is something bothering you?"

She exclaimed, creasing her fists, "I don't want to move out, Sierra!"

"Oh..."

She explained, trembling as she mustered the courage to finally tell her, "I'm sick of packing my things. Sick of changing schools...and definitely sick of you not being able to pay the rent in time."

Sierra nodded and pointed towards the kitchen, "There's spaghetti in the microwave." Ileana let out a scowl of frustration as she ignored her so rudely. She tossed her backpack to the settee, removed her hairband to let her hair free and made her way to the kitchen. Why was her aunt always this dense?

Sierra closed her eyes. It was never about the rent. Maybe for once, she could take the risk and stay right here but it won't do. This girl was stuck with her for a while and it wasn't really her fault. She never anticipated that things would turn out to be this way.

The ringtone of her smartphone pulled her out of her thoughts. She answered the unknown number and an unfamiliar female voice responded, "Rose Emerit from the education department of Torres Corporation. Am I speaking to Ms Sierra Danvers?"

"Yes..."

"Good. So, you've applied for the post of mathematics substitute teacher and you've been shortlisted. A 12 p.m. interview is scheduled for tomorrow. Good?"

The voice of the woman seemed strained and robotic as if she had repeated this phrase a hundred times. "That's...great!"

"Tomorrow. 12 p.m. Thank you." Before she could thank her back, she already ended the call. Raw and direct. She stared at her phone for a second and then twirled around herself, doing a little dance.

Ileana asked as she peeped out of the kitchen, "What's up?"

She musically said, "Guess who landed an interview with Torres Corps!" Her niece's spaghetti slipped from her fork and she exclaimed, "Really! That's...amazing. Their hospitals and schools are literally ranked top. Oh my God, I'm so happy for you."

Sierra laughed at her genuine excitement, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I didn't even secure the post yet!"

"Oh you better!" She pensively said, calculating her future journey. She'd better take a taxi than her untrustworthy car. "I'd probably come late tomorrow. Will you be okay?"

Ileana winked, "Without you? Of course. The question is will you be okay! This ought to be tough!" A teasing smile instantly crept on the corner of her mouth as she focused back on the spaghetti and Sierra shook her head in anticipation. She could feel anything right now and nervousness would not be one of them.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tuesday, 11:15

Torres Corporation

She was ready and nervous...but mostly ready. Dressed professionally in a white blouse and black skirt, carrying a blue file, she followed the direction indicated by the receptionist.

She had pictured a quiet and still atmosphere and to think she was greeted by the dynamism and liveliness of this place. People rushing here and there, stacks of files in their hands, phones ringing constantly. It was a little hectic world of its own.

She entered the elevator along with a few people, secretly recognizing two school book authors and a famous lecturer. Upon reaching the twelfth floor, she checked her watch real quick. She was early. Hah.

The moment she looked up, she was astounded by the number of candidates present before her. She tried not to feel intimidated as a few of them sent her just another one of those annoyed looks. They were flipping furiously through their own files, some casually discussing with each other, trying to ease the tension.

She made her way to the closest seat, realizing, as she politely smiled at the candidate next to her, that it'd be a lot harder than she anticipated. Seeing how things were going on, she instantly knew she had hours to go.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Oh my God, Ileana...he's looking over here!" Ileana bit into her chocolate muffin, ignoring her friend, Sarah who was excitingly trying not to look at a boy and his band. The latter squeezed her hand which rested on the table and she gritted, "Ow, Sarah. Come on!"

Her friend inhaled sharply, "He is making his way. Here. I can't breathe. He's so hot." Ileana pursed her lips. Freddie Morgan was all about good looks. A pity his accomplishments or personality were not as remarkable. How could that even turn her friend on?

He shared a good laugh with his friends and then approached the table and said in his most casual voice, "Yo girls, party at my house tonight?"

Ileana hardly considered him, "No thanks. I'm good."

"I'm in! Oooh, I'm so totally in!" Sarah exclaimed, standing from her seat, "It'll be so awesome!" He laughed, putting an arm around Sarah's shoulder and drawing her close, "Now that's my babe. Maybe you can convince your shy friend what she would be missing out. Girls usually beg to get invited over."

Ileana grimaced as she heard that, "Is that so? Well I don't beg and I'm sure they're all going only for the free food anyway..."

The boy gawked at her furiously, "You little piece of sh--" Sarah coughed hard, "Don't listen to her, Fred! She didn't mean it!"

Ileana tossed the last piece of her muffin in her mouth, annoyed as she didn't recall it being so small, "Oh I totally mean it!"

Freddie was about to curse her when his friends called out to him. He threw her his darkest glare and walked away. Sarah plumped down on her seat again, "Are you insane to turn him down?!"

Ileana grumbled, "God, the only good thing in this school is its cupcakes. I'm gonna buy another one. I'll get one for you too!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And as the queue diminished at a rather fair speed, she felt more and more nervous. A woman of possibly the same age as her walked in and within five minutes, she just stormed out, wiping her teary eyes. What on earth could have happened? Did she panic? And later, the man who was venting about his top-notch skills barged outside, cursing about 'not acknowledging his talent'. Some did come out with relieved smiles though. They left one by one. Some took a quarter hour. Some took mere minutes.

Her heart thump loudly as it was her turn. Just another casual interview. She reminded herself. Nothing complicated. She walked inside, greeting the gentlemen and women who were seated behind a long desk. Damn it. Was this a board interview?! Impressive.

Her eyes fell on the charismatic man, comfortably seated in the middle of all those professionals. Somehow she knew. He was the boss.

She naturally introduced herself and a middle-aged woman said right after, "Alright, we know who you are Ms Danvers. No need to get into the details. Assume we're high school students, you're our educator and you are to teach us...um, let's say the maths topic: differentiation. Make use of the board behind you. Kindly proceed." She felt awkward. That...was not what she expected?

She cleared her voice. Di..ffe...ren...tiation. Great. The information she already knew suddenly weighted heavy on her mind. Where to start? How to start?! She gathered her courage, and acted out the scenario by introducing the topic in a clear and detailed way, ensuring herself that her standing posture was perfect. And with all those eyes on her, she felt severely judged.

James Torres, CEO of the company, did not really pay attention at first. Not when she came in, nor when she introduced herself but when she started her lesson, he found something appealing about her. She had what previous candidates failed to demonstrate. Passion. And the fact that she didn't fear to show it.

Though he found her clothes to be somehow too professional, they mattered little compared to her poise. Her gestures were elegant. She had a clear, smooth voice and he could listen to her without falling asleep as she wrote several equations on the whiteboard.

Testing candidates was an absolute necessity before sending them to teach in his elite schools even if a mere substitute teacher was required. Here at the company, they did not play with children's future. Seemed the others were charmed too. Her pedagogy was indeed exquisite.

At the corner of his eye, he could see the HR manager jotting down crucial points while his secretary simply listened attentively as if engrossed. And he wanted to make things harder. A little disturbance just to see how she'd cope? Why not.

He suddenly raised his hand, interrupting her and said, "I don't understand the last part, ma'am."

There was there a silence so awkward that he could feel his managers looking at him with questioning eyes. Sierra gazed at him, a little bit surprised and said, "Alright, I'll go over it again."

She pointed to the really basic example on the board, elaborating her explanation. Within her, she felt ridiculous but these people looked so serious, she didn't know what to think about it. Was she doing it right? Was this what was expected from her?

The man again interrupted her mid-way, barely did she mention the formula, "I still can't understand. I'm confused." She saw the people beside him, sending him sly glances. Was that a test? She cleared her voice, "Class, review your examples and try the next one by yourself. I'll get back to you in a moment."

She walked towards that impeccably dressed man whose rich thick hair was tousled. She held the edge of his chair, bent beside him and smoothly asked, "What is not clear, Tom?"

His cologne smelt so divine and looking at him so close right now, she realized how handsome he also was. He turned his head slightly, his breath brushing over her cheek, "Do I look like a Tom to you?"

She bit her lips, standing straight again, taken aback at the shiver that ran up her spine, "I...I'm sorry, what is it? I'll get use to your name the more I work with you?"

He gazed at her, made a dismissal wave with the hand and the HR manager said, clearly amused, "Ms Danvers, thank you for the clear lesson. We'll inform you of our decision soon."

"Oh okay. Good day to you all." She forced a smile, avoiding further eye contact with Tom before speeding out of the room, ignoring the other candidates and making her way directly towards the elevator.

That went so bad. She cringed, thinking about that nightmarish and humiliating moment. Why on Earth couldn't they ask normal interview questions or better, give a written test? Ugh. They didn't even check the documents in her blue file. God. A traumatizing experience.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

17:00

Ileana was speaking to a classmate over the phone when she heard some noise outside. She jumped off the couch and hurried to the window to peep. It was only Sierra arguing with a taxi driver.

She was thankful it was just her. She was always paranoiac that a thief might come again. Only that...this sort of thing happened when she was living back with her parents but still, she could only be careful.

God, it was really late! As she spotted her aunt coming out, Ileana went to open the door and incredulously asked, "What took you so long?!" Sierra said, briefly looking at her, "Haha. I lost my way twice and I ended up taking an exorbitant taxi."

She closed the door behind her, shook off the low heels from her feet and sighed in relief, "They called some thirty minutes ago. Guess who landed the job at Torres High School."

Ileana was confused for a moment and then realization dawned upon her, "Wow. That was incredibly fast! It's amazing!"

She laughed, "After that drastic interview, it sure hell is amazing. It's for a short period though." Sierra put down her bag and let herself fall on the couch, "There's a tiny insignificant problem."

"Um?" Ileana didn't like the sudden change of tone in her voice. Sierra held her eyes meaningfully, "You'll have to attend that school." "What?! Why? I'm good where I am. How are we even going to pay those atrocious fees?! It's a private school!"

"Listen. Your mother has given me your responsibility and I have to take care of you. If I am to accept that job, which I already did, I'd have to go there early every working day and you—"

"I can take care of myself."

Sierra smiled patiently at her, "No you can't. Anyway, have you finished packing your things? I found a cozy apartment near—" "Sierra please...why do you never listen to me?"

She guessed she saw that coming.

Ileana sighed, "I'm tired of all this. Please let's stay here. I don't want to move out or change schools again and again. Why do you do that? I want a normal life. We can barely pay the rent!"

Sierra carefully said, her voice soothing, "I understand how hard this is—"

"You don't!"

"Ileana..."

"No. Let me drown in my sorrow!"

Sierra grimaced, "Don't be so dramatic." They both suddenly laughed and she said, extending her arms, "Come here, sweetheart." She caressed her niece's hair. It's been almost a year since they've been living together and their bond was so strong that sometimes she would forget the problems that led them to adopt this unstable situation. It was for the greater good, she reminded herself. "I saw the fees. They're not that bad..."

"If you say...but I don't want to leave from here. I love this house. It feels like...I'm home with mom and dad." "...alright, dear."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

11/12/2019