The Past. | Completed.

1. Red.

"Eefa ?" A familiar voice called my name. I turned to see and realized that it was my high school senior.

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Hi. My name is Eefa. Eefa Allen. And I am a reporter at a magazine company called Flora's Fiona Worldwide Media. I'm 25 years old. I graduated from a local university in New Jersey in the journalism and writing department. New Jersey is where I grew up and spent most of my life in. I was born in Brooklyn but we had to move to New Jersey when I was 4 because my dad was dying. And he said he wanted to spend his last moments in his childhood home in New Jersey. Then, when I was 5, he passed.

A few years ago, when I just finished high school, my mom died. She got shot at the local bank where she used to work at. A gang of criminals was pulling off a heist and she was held hostage and got shot later. I remember reading the article in the newspaper a few days after the incident. They didn't even mention her. And I knew that it mattered. And that feeling I got was horrible. I didn't want anyone to have to go through what I felt. That's when I was sure of journalism. I have been writing since I was a kid. But I always thought of them as just a hobby. But at that moment, I decided that it was more than a hobby.

I now live in New York. I am currently living with my boyfriend; Izaaq Gardner. I knew him in high school. We have been together for 3 years now. I have a brother and a sister. Adam and Nia. They both have families now. My close friends are Jaclyn, Nicole, Wyatt, Brandon and of course, Izaaq. Wyatt is Izaaq's best friend since high school whereas Nicole is mine. And Nicole is also dating Wyatt. Jaclyn just broke up with her ex and Brandon hasn't been on a date for a while now. Jaclyn and Brandon are twins. The Travis twins.

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"Eefa?"
"Oh my god. Zachary?"
"Yeah. What are you doing here?" he asks me.
"I, um, work here. What are you doing here?" I emphasized you in my sentence.
"I am here for work too. The first day today." I looked at him and there was a pause before continuing, "Photography," as if reading my mind.
I let a small, understanding 'oh' out of my mouth.
"What about you, You work as?'
"Oh! I'm a reporter," I smiled.
"Cool. I don't know you're into his stuff."
"Well, there's much you don't know about me." I gave him a sarcastic smile. Then, I walked away from him.
"Wait, you're not still upset about it, are you?" he quickly catches up to me.
"About what?" I pretend like I don't know what he's talking about.
"Come on, you know."
"Of course I'm not. Are you?"
"No."
"Good. Then I hope you fit in here." Then, I walked to my desk.

"Hey, Allen. Fiona wants to see you," my boss' assistant called me in.
"'Kay Eve. Thanks."

Fiona is my boss. I mean, obviously. She's the founder of Flora's Fiona.

"Eve said you wanted to see me, Miss Glenn?"
"Right. I need you to use the pictures taken by Red for the fashion fair in Queens. That's it. You can go now."

Okay, I admit. She's not the friendliest boss ever. But, she's actually really caring and great. Also, I have no idea who this 'Red' is. But Fiona likes to give people nicknames. Says she can't work with real names. So now, I've gotta go to the photography section and find this 'Red' person.
Half an hour later, I entered the elevator and pressed the button to level 15. Halfway on level 25, the elevator stooped and the doors opened for someone to come in. At first, I only saw the shoes. It's actually kinda hard not to notice the shoes. Red shoes.

"Oh. Hey, Eefa. Going to 15?" I didn't need to look up to know who that was. It was Zachary.
"Hey. Yeah. I'm supposed to pick up some pictures for my upcoming article. About the, uh, fashion fair in Queens. But first, I gotta find the guy. You know, Fiona has this thing, where she uses nicknames instead of actual names for everyone," I rambled. Without even looking at him.
"So, what's mine?" He asks. Even though I'm not looking, I can tell that he is smiling.
"I don't know. Why?" There was a pause before I continued, "Of course. You are Red. Because of your shoes."
"That's my nickname? I knew these shoes were a mistake. I thought mine would be something cool," he chuckles.
"Cool? Like what?"
"I don't know. Handsome, maybe. I am handsome."
"Can't argue with that."

Now we're both chuckling and I looked at him. And his smile. That smile that ruined my freshman year. But thank god for Kate at level 17.

When we reached level 15, Zachary and I got out and he showed me the pictures. It was really good.

"You're really talented."
"Haha. Thanks," he laughed. I just smiled.
"What?" He questioned.
"Nothing. Just that I know. I mean, I'm very familiar with that sentence."

We both smiled and suddenly my phone rang. I took my phone out of my pocket to see Izaaq calling me. I showed Zachary my finger, motioning him to give me a second.

"Hey babe," I answered Izaaq.
"Hey. Are you at work right now?" His charming, masculine voice fucking gets me every time.
"Obviously. Why?"
"I was thinking of stopping by later. Wanna go out for lunch?"
"Yeah sure."
"Okay. Bye. See ya later. Love ya!"
"Okay. I love you too." And I ended the call.

I turned around to see Zachary holding out the pictures.
"Boyfriend?" He asks.
"Yeah. His name is Izaaq. With a Z and a Q," I answered.
"Hey. So, you wanna go out for a coffee sometimes? To, you know, catch up," he asks with a condescending smile.
"Sure. Tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"Well, thanks again for the pictures," I thanked him and head back to level 30 to work on my article.