Early Bird (Erkençi Kus)(Part 1)

21. My name is SANEM

Sanem stepped into the one of the empty offices on her way back from the archives and after handing Deren the files she asked. She was sick and tired of everyone calling her anything other than by her given name and she had a master plan on how to put a stop to it.

She looks around before closing the door and walking to the table. Placing down the A4 cardboard paper, she uncaps a marker pen with her teeth and then writes what she wants to be known. Smiling deviously, she makes two holes at the top corners and ties a string to it.

Five minutes later, she has it around her neck and is walking through the main office. Standing at the entrance on the step, she takes a deep breath and then walks into the fray.

"Excuse me! Everyone! Can you please look at me?" No one looks but one or two employees. "Please read this here!" More faces now lift to look at her. "'Sanem, not the other one!'" She moves to the closest person. "Look, Sanem, nothing else," she says pointing at it. "Read it! Read it good! Sanem! My name is Sanem! Not the other one!"

They start to laugh as she moves through, pointing and repeating the words. They nod though, just to get her out of their faces and she moves on.

"Good! It's clear to everyone then?! Sa - nem! I won't answer to anything else! If you call me by anything else I will ignore you! Sa - "

Sanem stops when she sees Deren walking up behind the low wall and passing behind her with an irritated sideways glance. Sanem carefully folds the sign inwards to hide it.

"Sanem," JJ rushes closer and laughs nervously. "Sanem, what are you doing?" The group goes back to their work seeing as she was no longer talking to them.

"What do you mean? I'm working."

JJ looks down at the sign and lifts it. "And what's this?"

"I'm just making a statement."

"Well stop making it," JJ grabs her hand and she frowns, starting to complain. "You have ink all over your face." He drags her along. "Go and wash it off before someone sees you."

Sanem turns to him at the entrance as he pushes lightly. "That's the whole point of this JJ, for someone to - Whoa!" Sanem trips over her feet, tilting over right into the waiting arms of Can, who had been passing by, looking for Emre.

Sanem stares up at him, her eyes blinking slowly at how close his face was to hers. He doesn't let her go, and looks down at her. Everything feels intense and she looks down, flushing.

Can inhales the scent coming from her hair through his nose as he holds her upright, her hands on his arms. When she looks up at him again, he looks over her head and then asks quietly, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she says back and he nods, letting her go. She clears her throat. "Well, as okay as I can be, always crashing into you like this... I'm sorry."

He opens his mouth to say he didn't mind when his eye catches on the big yellow sign around her neck. He stands back and looks down at it curiously. "What's this?"

Sanem closes her eyes, embarrassment flooding her features before she yanks it over her head. "It's nothing." She hides it behind her.

"Oh," he lifts a brow and she nods, smiling. He reaches back, stepping closer as she takes one away from him. "Let me see."

So close to me... "I don't think so."

He looks at her nervous teeth digging into her lips and then tries to reach for the sign again. "May I please see it?" he asks.

"But I don't want you to."

"I'm asking you to show me."

"Uhm..." She spins and brings the sign around, holding it away from him before he can take it. "No really, I think you should just forget about it."