In the vibrant office landscape, two women from different walks of life find themselves drawn to each other.
Emily, with her short bob and quick wit, and Sophia, with her flowing locks and compassionate soul, embark on a journey of self-discovery an...
I walked into the classroom, my breath coming in gasps like I’d just run a marathon. My heart was pounding so hard, I was half-worried it would set off a fire alarm. My mind raced with a hundred questions—most of them along the lines of “What am I doing?” and “Is it too late to fake my own death?” I pushed open the door and blurted out my introduction so fast, I think I broke a speed record. The students blinked at me like I’d just spoken an alien language. And there was Ashvin sir, sitting in the back like the Grim Reaper of teaching assessments, silently judging me.
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Somehow, I managed to stumble through the lesson without tripping over my own feet or inventing new words. The second the class ended, the interviewer swept in like she was about to announce the next plot twist. “Wait outside,” she told me and Ashvin sir, with a dramatic pause that could win awards. “I need to ask the students if they were satisfied with your teaching.”
Oh great, I thought. Here comes the part where my entire career flashes before my eyes. But to my surprise, I caught glimpses of students nodding. Maybe they were just glad I didn’t try to sing my lesson or something.
I walked down the four flights of stairs to the first floor, legs feeling like they belonged to a baby deer learning to walk. The immigration team and the interviewer were already at the front desk, looking like they were planning a secret heist. My nerves were tighter than my budget at the end of the month, but in the back of my mind, all I could think was Emily. I glanced around, hoping for a glimpse of her smile to stop my internal meltdown.
Just as I found her—smiling, of course—the interviewer decided it was her moment to shine. “You were late today, so you only handled the morning class,” she said, smirking like she’d just caught me trying to smuggle snacks into a movie theater. “You’ll need to take the evening shift as well. Office hours are 9 to 5, and tomorrow, you need to be here at exactly 8:50 a.m. to open the class. We’ll decide on your fate after that.”
Fantastic, I thought. Why stop at one torture session when you can have two? Just as I was planning out my resignation letter in my head, I spotted Emily laughing with her colleague. Her laugh was like a life raft in my sea of misery. If I survive this, maybe one day I’ll actually have lunch with her instead of just daydreaming about it.
As if on cue, our eyes met for a split second. She nodded and smiled at me, and for that one second, I felt like the main character in a rom-com where the universe pauses for the big moment. Unfortunately, the universe didn’t pause long enough to stop me from almost tripping over my own bag as I turned away.
It was finally time to go home. I used the office phone to call my brother, then collapsed on the reception sofa like I’d just returned from battle. When my brother arrived, I told him the whole story, and he burst out laughing.
“You? Teaching? And not tripping over your words or your feet?” he said, still cackling. “Sophie, you’re one-of-a-kind.”
