Who Is My Trouble?

The Beginning Of the Journey

As we reached the country, I couldn't see anything but myself closing my eyes on a pillow. A long flight with barely 2 hours of sleep while staying up for more than 48 hours was not an easy thing to hold on. I couldn't think much of anyone around, or the crowd that I was surrounded with as I just went to the counter and signed in for the hotel booking, leaving my bags in the lobby and taking the elevator up to the 34th floor. My room number was easily remembered as it had the floor number followed by my age; 3424. The room was as follows; a short corridor that had the bathroom on the left side and the whole room wide open from the passage itself. The closet was on my right hand, facing the bathroom, a desk beside it. Then, there were two single beds in the big room, with a television in the middle of them. The large windows were peaking at the seaside instead of the city, which was a beautiful thing to observe. I chose the left bed of the room, which was to the side of the windows instead of the corridor and the door. I changed my clothes and wore my pajamas, jumping to bed, and having a great sleep.I woke up around 6 o'clock and found that my roommate has also arrived along with his and my luggage. He and I never talked out of work, and to be more specific, than the domain that we were in, which was the reason for us coming to the exhibition. He was a little junior in the field who knew nothing about all and sometimes looked like an ignorant; however, once I looked at him, I felt that there must be something that could come out of him. Thus he needed to be mentored to keep the legacy that I have been founding, and his only mentor must have been me.Even though both of us participated as a mentor and her protege, he was also competent. I couldn't underestimate him in his first battle, as he needed to do his best to prove to me that my work and investment in him did not go to waste.I got up, showered, and paid attention to the schedule that was left on the desk by the hotel. Our stay was divided into a 10 days plan. Thus we were scheduled by the hotel and the transportation. It took me a while to get dressed and apply light makeup on; I wore a red sheath dress with a black shawl, black high heels, and a small red purse -- with having mascara and red lipstick on, wearing a necklace filled with pearl, fitting it with my earrings and bracelet, to match my medium blonde layered hair and reflect into my blue eyes. I ensured that I secured my passport, money, and essential files inside the locker before I descended to the dining hall.It was crowded. People were everywhere, standing by the buffet, sitting on their tables, or having drinks and walking around. I could hardly find anyone who I already knew, or at least my colleague. I went towards the buffet and grabbed myself a bite as I was starving from a long exhausting trip. I couldn't find empty tables, so I joined a group of people who seemed to be my competitors. I heard them overtalk few discussions about their own criteria and strategies, but that wasn't a mere factor that could distract me from enjoying my food. As I was done, I had a walk around the luxurious hotel. I stepped out to have some fresh air along with smoking a cigarette. I pulled myself in and got myself back to the room to re-read the hotel's schedule. I opened the door with my card and quickly got my hand on the program to get out of the room until I was stopped by seeing him standing in front of the windows that were exactly opposite to the desk. "Oh, hey!" I broke the awkward silence, "I didn't see that you were here. Sorry for coming this quick without paying any attention -- I thought that you were down having dinner, didn't you have yours yet?" He walked towards me after a short giggle that got cut out by his answer, "Yeah don't worry," said he, "I don't eat past 5 usually, so no, I didn't join the hotel's dinner." I took off my shawl and placed it on the desk gently. Then, I walked to my bed, in which he stood in front of, and took off my heels. "You are on a diet, I suppose." I giggled as I rested both my hands behind me. "Not really," he walked to the couch that was opposing my bed, beside the television, "it is just a habit that I got used to." I nodded to show interest and agreement to what he said, "Did you see the people down in the hall? It is pretty crowded. I couldn't find myself a table even!""Oh really?" he asked with astonishment, "did you know who were the people down there?""Not really. I just got fed, observed the place, and came upstairs to get an eye back on the schedule, as I wanted to get myself a few drinks.""Drinks, huh?" he interrupted with laughter. "Well," I moved my hands. I placed them on my knees, "if tomorrow did not have us a heavy meal cooked -- I would enjoy having myself a couple of drinks for tonight, yet if we had a bulky schedule, I wouldn't risk the chances. I would rather wait.""Luckily, you don't have to worry about that. I checked the schedule, and tomorrow, we will only be meeting the other teams and going through the competition rules. It wouldn't take us more than 4-5 hours.""That's amazing!" I yelled as I stood and rushed towards the desk, making sure of what he said, "drinks tonight?" I turned back to him with a severe tone yet a smile on. He seemed hesitant for a second, he tried to utter a few words that apparently failed him, but then he stood up and agreed to my invitation. I wore my shawl again, as he was getting a cap to wear on his head even though it was an evening. Both of us entered the elevator, and to our luck, we met Mr. Eric, who was one of the leading figures in our competition. He wasn't so tall, at least to both Seth and I, he was shorter than us, black, bold, yet a very genuine man. "It is my pleasure to meet you, Mr. Eric," I shook hands with him as soon as the elevator door closed. "I always wondered and hoped to meet you finally as a competitor," Followed by my handshake, Seth repeated what I said in his own way. However, I knew he didn't value the man standing in front of him. "What brings you here, my fair lady?" joked the man, "I see that you are finally a competitor. I remember every time we had this competition, you used to come as an observer. You had a dream, and today you are achieving it." I giggled a bit and wanted to reply to him, but we were already on the ground floor and had to part from each other. "I hope that I achieve it with a high score Mr. Eric, I really do," I replied as we walked off the elevator. Seth remained silent but spreading his bright white smiles to all the people around, admitting to himself surely that he had no idea who he was waving to. We went to the counter and got ushered to where the pool was at. We took the elevator and ascended to the 7th floor in which we observed a substantial crowded pool. We walked beside the pool and took the staircase that was the entrance to a bar. I ordered myself a drink while he hesitated to do so. Yet, I eased off his disturbance and assured him that there wouldn't be anything that would affect his focus."Who was that guy?" he asked after we ordered our drinks. "Mr. Eric?" rhetorically, I asked, "Do you know why we are here today, Seth? Let me tell you. When I was a young kid, I always looked up at women who would stand and speak in front of the world. Girls at my age would focus on hot guys, makeup, hairstyles, fashion --whatever, you name it. On the other hand, I focused on the capability of a woman to speak in front of the world and deliver the voice of what we most believe is the truth. There are many voices in this world, I agree, but not many of those people have the chance to be heard, and this is why -- we are here. Seth -- you see -- I was a young kid when I found out this organization. Every four years, there is a competition, some people name it as a championship.In contrast, others call it an election. I was around 12 when I got the chance to attend this event as a visitor. With every 4 years passing, I fell in love with the competition. I was driven with the passion for visiting one day as a contestant.Think of it that way -- this is not only a fulfillment of a dream, but it is now a chance for me to become a diplomat, now that's how you hit the list!" I hit the table as I took a sip of my drink, "Being a diplomat is not an easy thing, but it is life-changing. Today, what brings us here is 4 years of full dedication to a program in which we designed to solve 'the impossible.' According to the competition -- that's your job too, I mean, this is why you are here and what you will be competing with me. Yet, I will simplify it for us to have a clear conversation. We are given around 150 solvable cases, 35 fictional cases, 14 nonfictional cases, and 1 unsolvable case to set a whole political program on. Each team would represent these cases based on their country, and apply their own agenda trying to solve these cases concerning the country's regulations.Now-- if someone came out with the most convincing and convenient methods that would benefit both the parties; the government and the citizens --then, voila! You become the winner, and you become one step away from being known as a diplomat." I took another sip of my drink while noticing his nod to my short tale. "Let's put all the politics aside," said I, "two-five-ze-ro- thousand dollaaas! Two hundred fifty thousand dollars is the grand prize that you get as the winner. So even if you hate politics, you wouldn't really hate the money, would you?" I finished my drink and ordered another one. "You know Seth," I continued, "bringing you here to be my competitor is for sure an odd thing. I mentor you and coach you and feed you with my own tricks for you to finally play them on me." He giggled as he finished his drink, "You know I can't win over the master." I gazed at him for a while but didn't show any shaky distraction, "If the master loses, it better be for the son than the coward."It didn't take me long to finish my second drink, which I preferred to be my last for me to continue with my tale. "Mr. Eric has been one of the main elements of this organization. He worked as a judge for many years. Eric is now a great politician in this country. I once met him when I was 16 and told him that he would announce my name as the winner one day. That indeed made a great impression on him. Thus he remembers me till this day.""What if you did not win?" asked Seth as we were descending the stairs and making our way back to our room. His question indeed, shook me a bit. It was one of the most insecure questions to ask a person about his loss after years of devotion. I couldn't show my weakness to his question, for my duty not as a competitor, but also as his mentor, I needed to keep my strength and let him cross no more with my cards. "If I lose, then I shall see a valid reason for someone else's victory," I replied with a monotoned voice as we entered the elevator. Both of us entered silently to our room. I walked to the closet as I wanted to prepare for bed while Seth jumped to bed to check on his phone. "Won't you at least take your cap off?" I giggled as I walked to my bed, wearing my silk buttoned purple pajamas. "Oh well," he got out of bed, "I was just waiting for you to be done as I need to shower. Have a good night." I checked on my phone before finally dozing off, then managed to make a quick revision on the schedule that we were a part of for the next day.--I woke up and saw that his bed was empty. I knew that he was already having his breakfast down in the hall as I missed the alarm by the hotel. To my surprise, I walked into the bathroom. I suddenly saw the door open to face his shirtless body with a towel around his waist. "Oh!" I eyed him top to bottom, "I thought you were down.""No," he broke a smile as he walked to the closet, "I showered instead as I knew you had a hard time getting up. I didn't want to go down there alone -- you know better than I do." I giggled to his decision and excused myself to the bathroom. I wore a black tuxedo and had my hair fixed as a tight ponytail. I had light makeup on as I didn't have time or effort to waste it on having a sharp look. As I was preparing my papers and checking on my notebooks to adjust them in my black leather suitcase, I paid attention to what Seth was doing. "A black suit, too, huh?" I asked as I was wrapping up. "Oh yeah, I don't like it believe me," he replied as he was fixing his tie in front of the giant mirror on the wall behind the bathroom. I stepped closer to him to check on my final look, then sprinted to my closet, remembering that I forgot to put my perfume. "Papers, books, laptop, all with you?" I asked as a reminder before we stepped out to the elevator. "Yes, all good," he replied.We walked strictly to have our breakfast before our long day. "Listen," I proposed as we sat on the table, "Today, we will have a revision on everything we worked on for the past 4 years. Remember Seth, there are many people in this hall, but not all of them are contestants. We submitted our work along with many other people, and luckily, we were among the 100 chosen winners to this huge event. Today is the first morning, but for the rest 9 mornings, we will have a heavy schedule in which each day we will be listening to 11 people for 1 hour each, conducting their speeches based on the questions that are addressed by the judges to their work. You know Seth, we submitted our program at the beginning of the 3rd year. We got the approval after 8 months, to be given 4 more months to prepare for any objection that could face us while delivering our speech." I had a bite as I noticed Seth looking around at the crowd. "What about the last one?" he asked. "Good question," I replied as I took a sip of my tea. "The least powerful program in all the hundred participants will be announced today in the opening speech. He will conduct his presentation for us to witness how the system would be and for the judges to know how the presentations should be evaluated." Seth seemed to be at ease, but suddenly he was shaken and nervous, "What if I was the one?""Oh, don't worry," replied I as moved towards him, "I am your mentor Seth," I whispered with a sharp tone.