15

Aurora

Mr. King casually looked up from his phone as I stepped into his office. The way his eyes instantly went to my neck was like a soft punch to my self-confidence.

"I see you're all better, Ms. Stone," came his first remark. It seemed that he was in a good mood today because he had that particular annoying look that usually came before trouble.

His facial expressions usually gave him away most times, and I made it a goal of mine to personally study them.

A scowl meant he was in a bad mood, like most people. A stoic face meant that he was eventually going to get annoyed over something, and was still in his deciding phase. A smirk meant that there was trouble, but he wouldn't be as harsh as he would have been when he was scowling.

But he wouldn't actually have called me here just to insult me again, right?

"Where I come from when people check up on you, it is polite to respond," he said, voice still clear and even.

I caught his stare. "I'm good. I'd have said that it's wonderful to