Natalie

1. Coincidence? Fate? Destiny?

(hotel lobby) - 7:00 am - Paris, France

"Oh my god Jaz! No way."

Jasmine looked around for the familiar voice, the only one that ever used the nickname 'Jaz'.

....

"Natalie?" Jasmine couldn't believe her eyes.

The young women hugged as they each wore a surprised expression on their faces wowed by the coincidence of their meeting in... France... of all places.

"I couldn't believe it, I was like ... is that Jasmine?!" Natalie further expressed her shock.

"Yeah, I heard my name being called I was like, no one calls me Jaz anymore, who is calling me hahaha" Jasmine explained her side with a chuckle.

"So you're also here for the case competition?" Natalie asked with a smile.

"Yeah, my university decided to join the competition with a last-minute decision, we barely found plane tickets and hotel rooms for all of us," Jasmine explained

"Ooh yikes, hey at least you're here,"

The girls smiled at each other, genuinely overjoyed at the sight of their old friend from their high school days.

------

Jasmine and Natalie went to middle and high school together and were often seatmates in class. They were really good friends when they first met in seventh grade, but that friendship sort of died down as they grew closer to graduation.

Their talks included all kinds of stuff, from boy gossip to exam discussions to girl gossip to staring competitions.
Yup, ...they'd get bored on the school bus and decide to see who could go longest without blinking, they were both pretty strong contenders.

However, they always had a special, unique friendship. They weren't friends like any ordinary two girls who met at school and found a bond. They were on and off, like a weird twisted relationship where neither one could understand the other. Maybe one side questioned if they could ever be more than friends, and that made the whole aspect a bit... complicated.

Natalie was the more popular type of girl at school. She was friends with almost everyone, and she was known for being incredibly smart, and stunningly beautiful. Her gorgeous Arabian features with the thick, dark eyebrows, long lashes, and an adorable smile made her irresistible. She also had a charming charisma and confident personality that attracted everyone to her.

Jasmine, on the other hand, was pretty average, in all aspects of her life. She was beautiful, but not too beautiful where all the schoolboys would ask her to prom, like they asked Natalie.
Jasmine was a soccer player, so she had her fit physique; and she had long, luscious thick hair that she'd always get compliments on. She was smart as well, but not a straight-A genius student who never put the book down. Jasmine too, was friendly with almost everyone at school but was more introverted and kept close to a small group of girls.

Throughout high school, the two girls had their similarities and differences, they just never managed to find the true meaning of their friendship before graduation came and they went their separate ways.

Jasmine traveled abroad to study at one of the largest business schools in North America. Natalie, however, stayed in the same country they grew up in and went to the highest-ranking university in the region.

Both girls studied Business at university and are now in their final year. Now, 5 years after their high school graduation, they have coincidentally met again, at a business case competition open to worldwide universities. The competition is situated in Paris, France.