Chapter 1: Where everything had gone out the window

"You were supposed to have handed this to me two weeks ago, Miss Trent."

"I know, Diana, but I did send you an e-mail more than a month before the deadline telling you about my health issues and that there was a big chance of me not meeting the deadline, to which you wrote back Ok and that was that."

"It's Professor Garcia, please, and you should have gathered by my curt response how unpleased I was with your e-mail and respected the deadline. Everyone in the lab knows you're not really sick and this are just ways for you to get out of working."

"Professor Garcia, when I applied to work here I submitted my health history to you and explained in detail what could happen and you were okay with it. Every time I need to go to the hospital I send you proof of the hospital visit and my doctors have already sent you documents pointing out that, sometimes, I can't leave my house due to flair ups. How can you say I'm making things up?!"

"You're far to young to get sick so frequently, Miss Trent, and cancer? You are not in any at risk group…"

"My disease is a predisposing factor! I sent you the diagnosis!! Are you saying I fabricated the documents?"

"I will take a look at your final work as fast as I can so you can submit it, Miss Trent, but may this be the last time you hand in something late, or I won't accept you for your Masters."

* * *

How on earth could Diana, oh sorry, Professor Garcia, think I would actually want to continue working with her after all this? Or even in a lab that apparently has the best actors in the world, as everyone acted as if they were very friendly and understanding…

This sucks.

"Hey, babe! where are you coming from?"

"Oh June, hi. I just came from delivering my final project for revision to Professor Garcia."

"How did it go? You don't look like you just talked to Diana."

"Professor Garcia, June. Apparently that is the correct name. She said a lot of things that I had always been afraid she'd been thinking and now that I have confirmation I'm just more certain that research really isn't form me. I don't know what gave me the confidence of trying this out in the first place…"

"Is this about that bastard, again? Look, you've already spent four years with that dumbass talking you out of your own life, now that he is not here anymore are you going to keep the echoes?"

"You make it sound like he is dead."

"Unfortunately he is not, that way I would be 100% certain you would never get back with him."

"June, I'm an idiot but not to that extent. But he has been stalking me lately, which is freaking me out a little. Anyways, this time it's not only him, Professor Garcia basically said I was inventing my health issues to get out of working. Maybe there is no place in research for someone like me and I should just find something to make a living."

"Wait wait wait, hold up, too much information. I need to process this to choose who I'll throw hands at first. And what do you mean 'there is no place'? When there is no place we carve one, remember?"

"June, I don't have the energy for that anymore. Anyway, I have to go, I'll see you nect week okay?"

* * *

"Claire, I really liked your work! The idea is really interesting and the methodology was well developed for the objective you wanted to achieve."

"Thank you, Professor Flores, that means a lot!"

"Yeah, my idea was good wasn't it? But the work could be better if Miss Trent had put more effort into it and worked harder. Unfortunately she was 'sick' a lot during this period and couldn't work properly."

I can't believe she is doing this to me during my defense. She does realize she is my supervisor and, if the work is seen as poorly developed, it falls on her too right?

"Professor Garcia, If Claire worked while sick this is even more astounding, as she did a lot in even less time. You should be proud."

"Yes, thank you Professor Flores. I'll take it into consideration.

"Claire, I swear to God, If I see Diana in front of me I'll slap her!"

"Calm down, June. My mom not coming for the same reason is enough."

"What, aunty said she would slap Diana? She should have come, I would love to see that, maybe it would force some sense into that thick head of hers. Does she not see she was talking against herself?"

"THANK YOU! That is exactly what I was thinking the whole time. She was my supervisor, after all. If the work turned out bad, it was partly her fault too… Oh, she's here. I need to talk to her, give me a minute. And stay here! I don't have the money to bail you out if you assault her."

"Hi, Professor Garcia. You wanted to see me?"

"Hi, Claire. I hope you didn't feel aggrieved but what I said, I was just telling the truth. Anyways, that's not why I wanted to see you. The Masters selection is coming and you haven't contacted me yet about the project. I won't be rushed because of you again."

"I didn't contact you because I won't be continuing with a Masters."

"You what?!"

"Our last conversation enlightened me to how unfit I am to do research, so I decided to graduate and look for something else to do. It wouldn't be fair to keep you spending time and resources in a terrible student now, would it? Thank you for all your guidance through the last for years, I hope you won't have to deal with someone like me again. I'll make the corrections to the text and send to you when it's ready."

Hopefully this will discourage you from supervising someone in the same situation as me and breaking their spirit, too. One of me is enough.

"Let's go, June."

"Why does she look like she is about to explode? I can almost see smoke coming out of her ears…"

"I just told her I'm not continuing with her for my Masters."

"You did what?! Never been so proud of you, Claire, and I saw you dump the thing with my own eyes."

"I think I shocked her into silence…. Let's go, I need something sweet."

"Come on, I will get you anything you want, just tell me!"