The Untold

Chapter 4

It was already 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and I still hadn't reached the office. No luck.

"I'll get someone to help me," I sighed heavily.

I tried to focus on the flat-screen TV in front of me. A massive cloud of ash was erupting from the Popocatépetl volcano, 50 miles from Mexico City, popularly known as the "Popo" volcano. Such a funny name. It lifted my spirits, even if only for a moment, and I let out a quick giggle. The reporter announced that the public had been warned to evacuate as a powerful explosion shot debris up to 1,000 meters into the air, with ash dispersing in a southwestern direction. The danger remained, with the possibility of flying rock fragments and landslides still quite high.

I glanced at my laptop on the desk across from the bed. My presentation slides were nearly finished; they just needed a final check. Suddenly, I heard the song "Dooset Daram" by Arash playing. It came from my Huawei phone, and that ringtone was unmistakable. It was set for only one person: Harry, a guy I had known for some time. We studied at the same university and shared the same project supervisor. He was my senior.

"Hello," I answered the phone.

"Hey, babe, how's everything going? Enjoying work?" Harry blurted out, sounding so happy.

"Everything is okay, I guess," I tried to adjust my tone so I wouldn't spoil his mood, but I failed.

"Hey... is everything alright?" he asked again. He could sense something was wrong.

"Yeah, everything's fine, dear. Don't worry, okay?" I was reluctant to tell him what had happened. I could imagine how terrible it would be if he had to fly over just to accompany me on this awful work trip, especially since he was still pretty new at his job.

"So, how's work?" I steered the conversation to distract him.

"Work is good. I've made some cool friends to keep me company."

"Good, so many pretty chicks to keep you company, huh?" I teased him on purpose.

"Hey, don't start..." he replied.

"Just kidding, alright?" I said with a smile.

Suddenly, I heard his mother's voice calling him in the background.

"Alright, babe, I have to go now. It's urgent."

"Okay, dear. Send my regards to your mom. Bye!"

"Bye!" I heard the call end.

I brought my mouth close to the speaker of my Huawei phone. "Call Shakira," I said, and Shakira's name appeared on the screen.

After a few rings, Shakira picked up.

"Hey there!" Shakira greeted me as she answered the call.

"Hey... are you busy tomorrow? I need a small favor," I blurted out.

"Well... I have some grocery shopping to do in the morning, but I'll be free in the afternoon. What's up?" she replied.

"I've been trying to reach my office today but couldn't get through. I was wondering if you could drop by and meet Susan. I need to follow up on the arrangement we agreed on regarding my accommodation."

"Oh, sure. Give me the full address."

"Avenue Corporation, 8th floor, Elizabeth Broadway Street."

"Noted. So it'll be open by 2, right?"

"Yeah, it should be. It closes at 5 pm," I confirmed.

"Alright then."

"Thanks! I'll buy you something from here, I promise," I told her cheerfully.