"Celine, please come to my office for a moment?" Mrs. Jane, the Head of Department, approached her desk a few minutes after the start of work.
Celine, who had just started arranging the shoe materials from the preparation department to be checked and then deposited to the sewing department, looked up and replied, "Sorry, Ma'am. Can I call Kylie to continue checking this material first? Because today it have to enter the sewing job line."
Line is a term for the division of the sewing department because of the shape of the work team, which is lined up lengthwise. Mrs Jane nodded as she said she was expecting Celine soon.
"Yes, Ma'am. I'll follow you right away."
She hurried towards the sewing department room and called Kylie, one of the Line members who often filled in for her when Celine was assigned to another department or helped her when multiple jobs came up. Celine was overwhelmed by checking alone.
"There, Kylie! The boss came calling." A person Celine later found out was named Emma, said with a deliberately cynical tone. The pretty-faced girl with straight hair typical of salon work said so while making an annoyed face at Celine, who had just arrived.
Celine, who didn't know the girl's problem with her, was annoyed. However, since she was in a hurry, she ignored Emma's strange attitude and immediately went to Mrs Jane's room after finishing delivering her task instructions to Kylie.
Arriving at the Head of the Section's room, it turned out that Mrs Jane was about to delegate a new task to Celine. She placed a relatively thick file in front of a glass table with several other files and sample shoe models in front of the girl.
"You read that for a while. If there's anything you don't understand, then ask me." Mrs Jane, known for her stern and no-nonsense personality, immediately gave the order.
Celine then sat on the chair provided and began flipping through the file. It was a list of job orders that came into her department, along with the deadline for delivery and all kinds of details about the type, material, model, and so on.
"Mmm... is this our job list for next month, Ma'am?" she asked hesitantly.
"Next week. Not next month," replied the Head of Department while glaring at Celine.
Celine was stunned. She was shocked beyond belief.
"Oh my gosh, but, Ma'am. How can that be? Job K56 is just about to enter the Line, and it's three thousand four hundred pairs; there's no way it can be completed in just a week, Ma'am."
"That's why I called you here. There was an error in scheduling the incoming orders. K56 should only go to the Line after this one is finished," replied Mrs Jane, pointing to the file Celine had put back on the table.
"Let's put K56 on hold first and then operate this new job. Is that right, Ma'am?" Celine asked for confirmation.
"We can't suspend everything; the production report will be empty. Let's keep it running. We'll slip this job into the process of some teams so that each department will work on these two jobs together." Mrs. Jane explained at length.
Celine, who felt she was only a subordinate and had no right to decide anything, nodded resignedly while imagining how complicated the process would be. Working on two jobs with different models simultaneously was complicated and something she had never experienced before.
"Uh, for myself, I only asked for help from two assistants, not just Kylie, Ma'am. It's because these two jobs are different types and models so that we don't mix up the materials." With some trepidation, Celine expressed her objection.
Mrs. Jane gave her a playful look, then unexpectedly nodded, "There will be two people checking the materials, and you are not one of them. Appoint one additional person who looks meticulous and dexterous. You hold this job. Report directly to me. Let Tiffany take care of the K56 job that's already running."
Celine stayed where she was. Mrs Jane had already moved out of her room; still determining where she went.
"Well, what did she mean just now?" she wondered.
She hesitated whether to follow the Head of Department and ask for clarity on her ambiguous instructions with the risk of being yelled at or glared at with equal horror or to go back to her place and start doing what she was told with only her understanding.
Finally, she went to the Line and discussed it with the Head Foreman, Miss Tiffany. She told her everything that Mrs Jane had just told her, and then she asked if it was confirmed that she was said to be the foreman for the new job that was going to be inserted.
"Yes, it is. Yuhuuuu, here is Celine who suddenly became the next foreman," Miss Tiffany mocked her with a smile. But then her smile disappeared, replaced by her usual stern demeanour.
"Already there, hurry up and find your team, take Line's person, don't be inconsiderate. Just take the ones whose work is not vital," she warned Celine. She wanted the ongoing job to have a limited amount of reduced production deposits if Celine took the wrong team because she was responsible for the initial appointment.
"Huuuft ...."
Celine sighed tiredly. It was left to her to rack her brains to empower only a small number of employees in the team for the new job, even though there was just as much work to be done as the old job.
She had been racking her brains all day. At lunchtime, she used the time to eat with Miss Tiffany while discussing how to divide the team at Line. Fortunately, although she seemed fierce, Miss Tiffany was fair and cooperative.
Miss Tiffany also helped direct her on what she should do as a foreman. Well, even though she was only an incidental foreman because she had a job lined up, she still had the same responsibilities as an actual foreman. Therefore, Celine did not want to be careless in her new duties.
When it was time to go home, she could breathe a sigh of relief. She could finally go home and rest at home. She missed her bed. She wanted to sleep all night and only wake up the following day. That would be enough to recharge her energy for tomorrow's hard work.
Leo - her boyfriend - was waiting to take her to a café near her workplace. Celine agreed. She thinks it's not bad; it can refresh her brain, which seems to be boiling all day.
And what she got was even more surprising than just the arrival of a job slip or the fact that she had to become an impromptu foreman. Leo delivered the upsetting surprise guiltlessly, making Celine furious and super annoyed. Her anger was far greater than her heartbreak. Several times, experiencing heartbreak has made him more self-controlled.
Leo's confession that he had just met his ex by accident and decided to take a short walk together in the name of nostalgia for his first love made today complete the most historic day in Celine's life. She will genuinely remember today's date. It will be recorded in her memory, the day she was appointed foreman and her love ran aground for the umpteenth time: January 20th, 2021.
***
"Where are you, Kylie?" Celine briefly supervised Kylie's work at the materials check table, which she usually occupied. Kylie looked up briefly and answered smoothly as she refocused on the shoe materials she was arranging by series. "I only have sizes 37 and 36 left. Tomorrow, I can finish and help Eva with her new job.""Sip, you're my favourite," Celine said as she pinched Kylie's arm anxiously. Kylie, who has an adorable chubby body with fair skin and curly hair that is always put in a bun, pouted her lips cutely.Celine chuckled as she left her desk to go to Eva's desk on the other side. The owner was taking the materials to the Cutting department, so Celine only checked the book containing the size report table and the amount that had been reviewed and deposited to the Line. For the past two days, Celine has never sat at her desk. She had to go around constantly to supervise the performance of the team working on the new job carefully to avoid any mistakes."Eva already got two
A barrage of message notifications and missed call lists immediately filled the top screen of Celine's phone as soon as it was turned on.Sure enough, all of them were from Leo, and some were labeled with Kate's name. She had no intention of reading Leo's messages. Immediately, she aimed at the chat from Kate, which only read, [Test]At length, she typed a message in the chat column explaining the actual incident.At the bottom of the explanation, she ended it with a question sentence,[Well, if you were in my position, would you break up with him? You would too, right?"] She also put an angry emoticon. Sent. Two black ticks."Huff, what a relief ...," sighed Celine as she put her cell phone on the table and leaned her very sore back on the back of the wooden chair with soft foam. It was too much if Kate defended Leo just because they were neighbors. She is a fellow woman; she should know how painful it is when the one she loves turns out to be a cheat behind her, Celine thought si
"Honey," Celine squinted in surprise at her mother's soft voice. She had been there for some time in the corner of the living room. "M-Mom ... you surprised me," Celine stammered, wondering if her mother had overheard her conversation with Leo or not."Are you alright, Dear?" the usually chatty mother asked gently as if she knew her daughter was struggling to contain her inner turmoil.Celine let out a weak sigh. Her mother must have heard her argument with Leo just now. There was no point in denying it, she thought.Wordlessly, Celine slammed into her mother and burst into tears in the warm embrace of the middle-aged woman. She shed the tears that had been welling in her eyes since she saw her mother's worried face.Mrs. Maggie stroked her back and also stroked her long black hair, trying to give her peace. She let Celine cry contentedly so that she could be relieved and lose the burden in her heart."It's okay, just keep crying until you're satisfied," she said wisely. Usually, sh
Mrs. Maggie, sitting next to Celine, immediately poured water from the teapot into a glass and held it out to her. Celine immediately drank in one gulp."Oh, I'm so satiated. I go to the room first," she excused herself, trying to avoid Gina, who was starting to bug her. She thought she would let her mother explain it to her father and Gina later. She didn't want to bring it up or hear about it again.She continued collecting items and photos of her memories with Leo in her room. After blocking Leo's number and account, he deleted digital traces from his cell phone and social media accounts.As soon as possible, she had to move on. Life must go on. She will find other happiness out there. The family she loves, the job she loves, and the achievements she is striving for all deserve more attention than just remembering the past with her cheating ex.After collecting all the prints, Celine put them in a cardboard box to be taken to the back storeroom."Well, now this room is clean from t
Celine spent the next few days focusing on her work. Some of the sneering and dismissive looks she received from fellow employees who seemed to feel envious or rivaled, she considered as self-encouragement to further improve her achievements.The important thing is to give the best, and then the best results will follow. That is an undeniable law of nature.To forget the pain of losing the love of her life for the umpteenth time, she devoted all her energy and attention to work. Kylie, who witnessed how hard Celine worked, sometimes asked her curious questions,"What did you have for breakfast? How come humans don't seem to get tired?"Celine just laughed at her friend's joke. She has grown closer to Kylie since working on jobs together. Little did she know that the giggly girl was quite understanding and caring. She often checked Celine's desk drawer to see if the lunch box was there or not. She said she was worried that Celine would eat late and that she would get sick if her energ
Gina was very upset with herself. She had spoken a sentence that might have been very hurtful to her sister. What could she do? She got angry because her sister didn't want to share her story with her. They are sisters who are women; the age difference is not so far; they should be able to talk to each other without playing secrets, she thought.She had just heard from her mother about Celine breaking up with her boyfriend. The mother also did not tell the exact reason, only saying that they were not yet a match. Gina's curious soul, of course, immediately thrashed. In addition, she was also furious with her sister's habit of changing boyfriends. She didn't know that it wasn't Celine's wish. If only they could open up to each other, Gina would have felt sorry for her sister's bad experiences in romance. Celine's introverted nature was so dominant that even her sister had no idea what she had been through. She preferred to keep her feelings and heartaches to herself. Finally, with Le
Without feeling guilty, Kylie walked on backward. She didn't care about her friend, who was groaning in pain from her arm jab."Who told you to make fun of people?" she chirped.Kylie was pleased that day. It was like she had made a new friend. In the past, she thought Celine was an arrogant girl. After almost a week, she realized that Celine was a fun friend. Indeed, people shouldn't judge someone's personality by their outward appearance. Make sure to refrain from judging a book by its cover. Get to know her better and then you'll see whether she's good or bad.Celine, trailing behind her, was stunned by the back garden Kylie was referring to. She wandered around the yard. The rows of potted ornamental plants in neat rows looked beautiful and organized. The pots were arranged by size from the smallest to the largest. The various types of flowers emitted a fragrant fragrance even to the surroundings. The presence of several butterflies and beetles added to the beauty of the scene th
When Celine finally returned home from Kylie's house, she stopped by the convenience store to buy a bottled orange drink like the one she had drunk earlier. Once home, there was an unfamiliar motorcycle parked on the porch. The metallic blue CBR motorcycle slightly blocked the access to the driveway, so Celine was forced to park her bike in front of the fence. Then, a guy seemed to rush out of the living room and greeted Celine,"Sorry. Let me move it for a moment," said the man while moving forward and directing it more to the side of the CBR motorcycle."Please ..." He invited Celine to enter. Celine also smiled friendly at the guy while muttering a thank you.Celine's curiosity about the male guest was answered when Gina came out and pretended to scold him,"You parked in the middle of the road. You know the motorcycle is a big body, it just fills up the road.""Yes, sorry...," said the boy, feeling bad.He’s Gina's friend. Or her boyfriend, Celine thought later. She then put her