NOT GIVING UP ON FOREVER

Chapter 81

She rode in a taxi, looking at Mining Great City with tear-stained eyes. The place remained the same. Billboards burned just as brightly. People were just as indifferent to each other's existence and ran about their business in just as much haste.

Her head ached unbearably. She had been crying inconsolably all through the flight. As soon as she entered her dusty apartment, she crashed on the bed and fell asleep.

It was nearly noon when she finally opened her eyes again. The sun flooded the room with bright light, and a breeze stirred the curtains on the half-open window. Anna stretched and looked sleepily around the room.

That's all. The adventure was over. She thought and stood up lazily.

On the bed, she discovered the forgotten-before-travel phone and frankly cursed. How many misfortunes could have been avoided if her forgetfulness had not played this cruel trick! She would have just taken the phone with her, and the whole course of events would have turned out differently. But it was pointless to cherish the thought now. It had happened as it had happened. Anna believed in fate.

While the phone was charging, she took a shower and, for not having food in the house, went down to the coffee shop on the first floor of her house to buy a fresh espresso with a couple of sandwiches.

Her mood was unpredictable. She cried again, then rejoiced that she was finally home and seemed to forget about the events of the day before. The brain itself had not yet decided how to react to all this.

As soon as she turned on her phone and computer, Anna began reading her work e-mails. She found that her workplace was still fixed, but her boss was furious and would have fired her long ago if she had not been such a high-class teacher.

Smiling maliciously that she was getting away with it, Anna began to write a lengthy explanatory letter with many touching details without mentioning her real adventures. Lying was obviously bad, but keeping the job with its generous salary was far more critical, especially now. So Anna, ignoring calls of heaven to repent, continued scribbling and promised tomorrow to show up at work and do best in the triple regime. She would take leadership, manage Olympiads, and whatever needed to be back in the boss's good graces.

Reassured that she was not unemployed and could breathe freely, she picked up the phone. Her hands began to tremble. She expected at least abusive messages from Randall or Teo, a bunch of angry texts from friends and acquaintances, and at least a million messages from Mark.

But her expectations were not met...