Back in Cherrywood

Autumn's Fall

Chapter 5: Stomp The Drama

Liane was sitting at her desk, her left hand pushing against her forehead, her eyes fixed on her laptop.

'Pushy,' she snorted at her laptop, 'pushy? Really?' she whispered to herself in anger. She was still processing the feedback she got on Maya and the conversation she had with Josh earlier. That little prick Adam, he had some nerve. She wasn't sure if she should do anything today, or if it would be better for her to just take her things and go home. But on the other hand, she knew herself, and if she didn't deal with it right away, chances were she'd let it slide when next week's deadlines and tasks and asks would take up her day. She sighed and looked at the time. 3:40pm. She could leave a little early and maybe get dinner with Mia. She had gone the whole week without seeing Mia again, and it wasn't even because of her own schedule. She had managed to be home before 6pm almost every day, but Mia either had late practice or was fiercely studying for the billionth test that week. Liane reached into her purse and grabbed her phone. Mia had been so stressed about her history and physics tests this week, she was just a little ball of stress, Liane actually thought she may give herself a heart attack. Of course Liane thought she was worried over nothing. Mia may not have been excelling in science, but she could pull a solid a B when she put her mind to it. It seemed like the C she had gotten on an impromptu test on the USSR the previous week had gotten her completely freaked out. Liane didn't quite understand why that was such a big deal, her teacher had told her it was only in preparation for the exam this week and if she did well on that exam the C wouldn't affect her grade this semester. But for whatever reason Mia took to it like the SATs. Liane knew Mia's history class was at 3:45pm, so a few more minutes of waiting. For whatever reason, Mia being so tense about that exam stressed Liane out as well. She rocked back in her chair as she pushed her index finger against the crease between her eyes. Was that a headache coming? The week had gone so well overall, and it was almost over. Then Adam had to happen, that little....Liane sighed. Maybe she should talk to Mike about it? He seemed invested in Maya's development and at the very least she knew that a quick chat with him would certainly relax her. It had only been a couple of months, but they had quickly become each other's buddies. Sometimes Liane felt like they were still teenagers, furiously typing away at each other at meetings with their comments and thoughts, teasing each other after presentations, mocking some of Josh' brilliant ideas. Ugh, Josh. Josh was not helping the situation at all. She opened up a new chat window and started typing.

Liane: Hey! You got a minute?

She paused. The message was sent, but not delivered. Was he not in the office today? No, that's impossible, she remembered seeing his name pop up on a video conference call this morning. Had he maybe left early? Oh silly Liane, of course he must have. He has a life outside of the job and endlessly pinging with you. Oh, there we go, she adjusted in her seat as she saw the three little dots move.

Mike: Of course. Want to hop on a call?

Liane didn't even bother replying, she just rushed to the nearest booth and hit the video button, not even bothering connecting to the video conferencing system in the room.

'That was fast,' Mike's bright smile filled her laptop screen, 'what's up?'

The image was a bit distorted, it didn't seem like he was in the office.

'Are you sure you can talk?'

It seemed like he was outside.

'Yes, I'm just in my car, driving.'

'Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you weren't in the office anymore.'

'That's totally fine. I'm just on my way to see my folks in Philly.' Liane suddenly felt really silly. She just assumed Mike was always at the office, always working, always available to talk.