"Miss Callista, you're assigned to interview our new applicants tomorrow, so be here on time. Please don't you dare to be late even for a second." The woman nodded in response to her head's instructions, holding some papers.
"Yes, sir," she replied before excusing herself and heading to her table, which was filled with folders. She took a deep breath, looking at a stack of application forms in front of her.
She needed to review them carefully to select suitable candidates to hire this month. She was assigned to interview the applicants because it was August, and unfortunately, the company had openings during this time.
She was a psychology graduate who passed the board exam in her first year. However, finding a job was not as easy as she thought. She was often asked for experience, which led her to the HR department in Quezon City. It wasn't bad, though; she had joined a good company with decent salary and friendly people.
But of course, she still needed to get along with everyone, as not everyone was kind to her, including their department's OIC, who always seemed to have a grudge against her for reasons she didn't understand. Since she started working there, the OIC's attitude towards her had been consistently unpleasant, even though she hadn't done anything wrong.
She adjusted her hair and rolled up her sleeves slightly to start reviewing the applicants' overviews, as she planned to speak with them directly tomorrow and had limited time to read through them.
—
"Oh, how was your first day as an assigned interviewer?" her friend Alex asked, standing near her cubicle with a cup of coffee in her left hand.
"Not enjoyable. Why did they have to do the hiring in August? It's so inconvenient," she replied irritably, adjusting her glasses, which were almost falling off. She was busy reviewing the applicants who would be coming tomorrow for the two vacant positions in their company.
Her friend just laughed before gently tapping her shoulder. "Don't worry,
"Mars, you'll get through it," she said, tapping her shoulder again and continuing to drink her coffee, which she had been doing since earlier. "But wait, I heard you're being scolded by your grumpy head again." As she resumed their conversation, she pulled the nearby swivel chair closer, as there weren't many people in their department due to the lunch break, and most of their colleagues had already left. Meanwhile, she still had work to do and needed to stay late to finish it.
There are so many people looking for jobs nowadays, but the offer here is good. She thought to herself as she continued to separate the calls for tomorrow.
She didn't answer but shook her head, then laughed softly. Her colleagues at work were used to hearing them every day. She didn't really know why she was being scolded by their head; she hadn't done anything wrong except being late all the time.
"He hasn't gotten used to it yet; he starts lecturing me even before I can take a sip of my coffee. I haven't even sat down at my desk yet, and my ears and heart are already hurting from what he's saying," she laughed softly, placing the folder she had just finished on the other side of her desk. She would call them tomorrow to come in because they met the company's criteria.
"Oh, come on, haven't you ever experienced being loved and adored by someone?"
A sudden thought about Zander crossed her mind, her ex-boyfriend from their distant past. The image of their last encounter lingered—a cold and silent room, the weight of unspoken words hanging in the air, and the distant look in Zander’s eyes. The breakup had happened a long time ago, yet the residual ache still lingered, adding an extra layer to her already challenging day.
"Oh, by the way, his voice only reaches the accounting department now, right? Before, it was the whole fourth floor, right? So weird! And hey! Slow down on your coffee; you might get a stomach ache again and turn pale! Then you'll have a pile of work again, and Miss Witch won't let us touch your work because she says it's your job." Her friend chattered away, as this had happened several times before.
She had been overwhelmed because she got sick, thinking she wouldn't have anything to do, but she was wrong because when she arrived, she was scolded and saw the pile of work. Almost everyone in her department apologized to her because they couldn't touch her work.
She tapped her friend because of what she said. "Crazy, someone might hear you, and stop using that gay lingo of yours; you're starting to look like a gay person, just a little bit, and I'm having coffee again now," she said, raising the mug she was holding. They were currently in the pantry, taking a short break.
"I'm beautiful enough to be gay!" She almost shouted in response, raising her eyebrows, before standing up and fixing her skirt, which was only above her knees, and her yellow long sleeves, which she had folded. She wasn't wearing her coat anymore because it was their lunch break.
"Okay, just be quiet, please. I have a headache," she replied, her tone showing irritation.
Her friend didn't say anything and just stayed quiet. It was true that she had a headache because of her migraine; she hadn't had a proper rest because of the amount of work she had.
"Here, drink this. I’ve told you many times to stop staring at your damn computer for hours. You know you’re weak in that aspect. I’m not mad; I just care about you. I love you, okay?"
She opened her eyes wide, startled by the sudden intrusion into her thoughts. Elara blinked for an unknown reason, suddenly remembering a voice and a person she had long forgotten.
Damn it.
The following day, she arrived at work early, hoping to avoid another lecture from her department head as her headache was pounding fiercely. She spent the morning assisting her youngest sibling, who was now in fifth grade, with a school project. Her other sibling, a college student studying HRM, was also busy with studies to support their youngest. She had only returned home the previous day, as her mother had requested, after nearly six months away.She settled into the designated hiring room, one of two interview rooms, alone at a long table with two chairs in front. Besides the flower vases and glass windows on each side, she adjusted the AC to alleviate her headache and brought a cardigan in case she felt cold.At eight in the morning, her coworker informed her that the interviews were starting soon. She finished her water to ease her headache, realizing that conducting interviews in this state wouldn’t be ideal. She regretted not eating the breakfast JC had brought her; maybe t
Every chapter is a mix of flashback and present time.Five years ago.I tightly held the strap of my bag as I walked down the long hallway, the surroundings unfamiliar to me. It was my first day as a college student, and I couldn’t help but feel nervous about what life would be like inside.My building was at the far end, and I was running late, so I hurried my pace. It was frustrating—why did I oversleep today? Mom didn’t wake me up, and they weren’t home when I left, so I also felt hungry since I hadn’t eaten since last night.When I arrived at the room assigned to me, everything was chaotic, although our professor was already seated. I took a seat at the front since it was the only vacant one left.Like the usual routine on the first day, there were introductions to the lessons for the whole semester and getting to know each other. I didn’t know many people yet, so I just kept quiet as I walked towards the canteen near our building. The weather was hot, making it lazy to walk, and
Time flies, and our midterm exams are approaching. I’m often with Kim now; she’s still flirtatious and talkative, but I’m starting to get used to it.We’re on our way to the park; our first class for the day ended early. I’ve been planning to talk to Adri, but I don’t seem to be in the mood. Maybe I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. If I were someone else, I’d probably be scared.“What’s wrong?” I asked, pretending to sit on the bench we passed by. Walking is tiring. Luckily, this spot is under a big tree, so it’s nice to hang out here. It feels good because it’s cool.“It’s annoying because of Aldrin,” she said with a frown. She’s referring to her boyfriend, whom she started dating before college, so probably they’ve been together for three or four months. From her look, it seems they had a fight, or worse, they’re close to breaking up. It’s obvious that the guy isn’t that serious about her. She’s just blinded. That’s the problem with people who are too in love; they can’t see th
“Elara?” I was brought back to reality by a tap on the shoulder. Alex greeted me, looking puzzled by my distraction. He really looks so much like Kim, maybe that’s why I felt comfortable with him so quickly, just a few days after starting work at this company.“Why?” I asked, my thoughts were too deep at the moment.“It’s your off, it’s already 8 pm. Are you going to work overtime? If not, let’s go out together.” I smiled and nodded at his suggestion, checking the clock on the side of my table. He was right, it was almost eight in the evening.“Alright. Let’s go.” I replied and quickly tidied up my table, which was littered with papers.“By the way, do you know the last applicant earlier?” I paused, trying to remember who he was referring to. It was Jaxon.“Why?” Instead of answering his question, I asked one instead.“Earlier, before he left the company, he asked for your number, but I didn’t give it to him since it was private information.”“Thank you.” I replied, taking a deep brea
“Stop it. That’s enough. This is different, you look ridiculous,” I said and threw the bread I was holding at the person beside me. We arrived early today, with thirty minutes to spare before our first class starts, so we decided to go to the mall to kill time. School can be boring sometimes. “Sorry, Ely, but I really feel giddy about Zander,” she replied, still busy tapping away on her phone screen. I sighed as I watched her acting silly, smiling to herself. “Just remember what I told you, if he ever hurts you.” She paused for a moment to look at me, but then quickly went back to whatever was buzzing on her phone. “Don’t worry. He won’t hurt me, he said it’s just me.” “Yeah, just you. You’re the only fool in your relationship,” I retorted. “Wow, you’re so bitter! Get a boyfriend yourself!” she teased. I shook my head and tied my hair back. “No way, I’ll focus on my studies first. What will I tell my parents if I get a boyfriend so early? We’re just first-year college students,
“Oh no! That ugly doll is staring again.” I almost fell off my seat if I hadn’t grabbed the edge of my table because of the strong blow I received.“Why?! And I told you not to call me that!” I almost shouted back, tucking the fallen hair away from my face.“Because you’re a witch! What’s your problem? You’re always staring into space? And why? Elara is too long! What a waste of my saliva!” JC, the witch, yes, he’s gay, he’s my co-department head, and I was with him during my last year in college, asked.“Nothing, I’m just tired. I’ve been interviewing for 3 days straight, and please, fix your attitude.” I just replied, not in the mood to chat right now.“Anyway, oh yeah, congrats girl, the President liked the applicants you selected, but before I forget, he issued a memo.”“What memo? I’m not doing anything, why would he issue a memo to me?”“Not sure, but he said to see him before lunch.” I quickly checked the wall clock near my desk.“Shit, it’s already 11 am.”He nodded as if to s
“Wait, you’re early today, Elara?” Kaila greeted me as I entered the 4th floor, she’s the earliest one to arrive in our department, sometimes she’s the one who opens the air conditioning in the office and even in the pantry, and she turns on the PCs.I shook my head and sat down, taking a sip of the coffee I bought from the vending machine. “I haven’t left yet, I just went downstairs to pay for my bath, anyway, I have spare clothes in my car.”Her eyes widened at what I said. “What? Oh no! What if something happens to you?” She asked, leaning slightly towards me to inspect my face. Maybe I look okay today? I don’t know, I hope so.“I have to finish things up before I go home,” I replied, taking a sip of my coffee. I sat down and started encoding the data we would need for the next week.“Okay then, I’ll go to my cubicle, I still have a report to finish.” She excused herself and left my cubicle. I just nodded in response while still busy typing.I didn’t know what time I would finish h
“Hi Elyyyy my friend!” I paused typing my report on my laptop when someone suddenly spoke on my phone. I saw Alexis’ name on the screen, as it was set to auto-answer when on my speed dial.“Oh, you witch, why are you only showing up now? Why have you been absent for two days?” I scolded her. The background went silent, so I furrowed my brow.“I just had some things to take care of, you witch, and I filed for a three-day leave,” she said, laughing on the other line.“So, you’re absent until tomorrow?” I asked while still typing on the keyboard. I’ve already done half of my work for the day; I’m almost finished, and I still need to make copies of everything before organizing them in the cabinets. It’s past six in the evening, overtime again.“Mhmm,” I sighed, knowing what she was going to say next.“There’s a problem,” I concluded.“Huh? Who? Where?” I sighed even though she couldn’t see me.“You,” I said, which made her silent. “Gotcha,” I added, then laughed.“Freak,” she laughed back