Ms. Lee: "Hey Maria, wake up! You need to write the advertisement for the product. Hey, hey!"
Me: "Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm on it right away."
Ms. Lee: "Is everything okay? You don't usually doze off during work hours."
Me: "Yes, I'm fine, really. Don't worry about it." I smile awkwardly.
She knows something's off. As our team leader, she's got that instinct, and she cares for us like family, even though she's not married and is well past that age herself.
Ms. Lee: "Alright, just make sure you finish it before we leave, okay?"
Me: "Yes, ma'am. I'll get it done."
She leaves, and it's 4:30 PM. Our official leave time is 5:30 PM, and I still have a huge presentation to finish—there's no way I can wrap it up in an hour.
I pop in my earbuds and listen to Stray Kids. They may have disbanded, but their music lives on. I think, "Let's start with Bismillah—no way to finish this quickly though."
I begin working on the slides when Bella pops in.
Bella: "Whoa, Chillax girl".
Me: "Seriously, Bella, that was a jump scare!"
Bella: "Haha, my bad! Here, have some coffee." She places a mug on the table.
Me: "Thanks, but I'm good."
Bella: "Alright, I figured you'd say that. So, what are you working on?"
Me: "A presentation. It's a lot of work."
Bella: "You're gonna be exhausted!"
Me: "Yeah, well, it was supposed to be your task, you know."
Bella: "Thanks for taking it on. Consider the coffee my gift. Work hard and good luck!" She leaves.
Rolling my eyes, I got back to work.
Me: "What a pain in ass!".
I stayed until 8 PM, well past our usual leaving time, and still hadn't even finished half of the work. I was utterly exhausted.
I knew I'd rest at home later, but for now, it was time to head back. It was 8:05 PM in Sydney, which meant it was 4:05 AM back in my country. Maybe I could call my best friend?
I stepped out of the room, and darkness enveloped the place as everyone else had already left. I took a deep breath and switched on my torch. Just as I was about to leave, I noticed Ms. Lee walking in.
Me: "Ms. Lee?"
Ms. Lee: "I knew you were still here."
Me: "Yes, I am."