Afterparty

"So, Miss Charlotte Eschete, you don't have an University's degree?"

"Uhm, no, but I'm sure you received the test's results and that they were more than what was asked."

"Yes, indeed. However, this kind of test can be easily forged and so, we require you to do another one, personally, just to ascertain your true capabilities."

"Ok, no problem, do we do it now?" Charlotte said, reaching for her satchel.

"Oh, no, we won't do it right now, after this interview, we'll see if you're eligible and do the examination again." He said, looking downwards to a pile of files he had in the desk.

They were in a room, mostly used to interviews. It was white, with a lamp in the ceiling and a window to look at the exterior, just behind him. Behind Charlotte was the closed door she used to get in, it was made of wood, something pretty extravagant if one must say. The desk was transparent and it could accommodate around 4 individuals in each edge with enough space for each one to have a personal computer and a notebook to write, of which none were present. He was wearing a well groomed suit and glasses which made one feel that he was a strict person.

"Ok, I understand." Charlotte said as she put her satchel down.

"So, Miss Charlotte, tell me more about yourself, about your hobbies and what you do regularly." He said as he looked down.

"Yes, so I've started university 3 times…"

*****

"OK, that will be it. Now, we'll be calling you if we find you fit for this job." He said as he extended his hand, waiting for a handshake.

"Thank you, I'll be waiting for it. Goodbye, Mister Dunn." Charlotte smiled as she took his hand and faring him well.

"Goodbye, Miss Charlotte. Please allow me to escort you to the exit." He said as they went outside of the room.

Charlotte smiled and allowed him to accompany her to the elevator, albeit a bit cautious.

Once out of the elevator she shared with a slave corporate, she sighed and went out to the street. The building she just went out of was a multi-dynamic one where multiple small and middle companies reside in. Charlotte found it just for this job because she needed to get some money just so she could do her personal projects and, of course, survive this "chaotic" world where money was everything.

Sighing again Charlotte muttered "This is the fourth one this week… Damn, why is it so hard to find a good job to work from home…"

She has been going to multiples offices and searching online so she could investigate on the truth of the world, that which she has seen only from someone long ago and no one else knew about. "He" was the one who gave her the reason to improve and go beyond the reasoning of this decadent world.

"If only I could continue living at home, heh." She said with a self-depreciating smile.

She just remembered the fight she had with her parents two weeks ago. All because she stopped going to university. She found it suffocating and depressive. Something she didn't have the time nor the energy to deal with.

*Bzzzz bzzzz bzzzz…*

"Sheesh… Hi, mom." She finally answered her phone that has been buzzing as background music for the last 5 minutes.

"Hello dear, how was it?" Concern could be heard on her mother's voice

"Good, I guess."

"That's not too good to hear… You know I can tell it didn't go well with your tone."

"Yes…"

"You can come back anytime you want, you onl-"

"I'm not going back to uni, you know that, right?"

"… Why are you so stubborn…"

"I don't feel like putting with that shit in there. We already talked about it."

"Obstinate girl, grow up already, won't you?"

"Mom, if you only called me to tell me that, I'm hangin' up."

"Yes yes, I only wanted to tell you Ellen's called you all day long."

"Oh, really?" She paused for a second and looked at her phone's screen, going to the missed calls, she indeed saw Ellen's name displayed there, 8 missed calls in total from her. "I didn't notice, thanks mum."

"Please, tell me anything that's bothering you, you know I want to help you however I can…"

"… Ok… Bye…"

"Stay well, dear."

"…" She hanged the phone, concluding the conversation between mother and daughter.

"Really, first she throws me out and now wants me to go back… Though I understand why she's like that, she worries too much, I'm fine y'know~."

Looking through the missed calls in her phone again, she dialed Ellen's number while mumbling, she heard her voice after two or three tones.

"AH! Charl! Why didn't you answer my calls!?" Charlotte had to keep away the phone for a second to conserve her ears' life.

"Eh, I was in an interview, I know I told you?" She said after making sure Ellen wasn't shouting anymore.

"Ah, right, how was it?"

"T'was okay, I guess, though, they want me to do another test, fumu."

"Eh, now? What about tonight?"

"Nono, no worries, it's for another day, I'm going there now, where is again?"

"I sent the address in Talkie, look it up, I'm waiting for you!"

Talkie was an application developed by the United States of Atalasia, U.S.A. for short, so it could connect every person immediately without being in need to register in another platform, only using their numbers. Charlotte seldom used it, only opening it to answer any of her friends and didn't engage in pretty much any conversation.

Finding the address and checking where it was, she realized that it was pretty near, only two stops away in the metro or a half an hour walk.

"I might as well walk, no use wasting money I don't have."

She smiled wryly as she started to walk.

*****

"Trissy's Lieu. Who's this Trissy anyway?"

Charlotte said as she watched the sign of the bar in front of her. It was the bar her friend had chosen for celebrating her engagement. Truth be said, she wasn't that fond of drinking, but for her dear friend, she's going to tolerate it, even if she was going to get a hangover out of it.

"The founder. You know, I was tired of waiting for you!"

She heard a voice coming from her side, so close it made her jump to the other side.

"Woa! El! Where did you come from!" she protested as she stabilized herself.

"Heh! Girl, I felt when you got here so I came to say hi!"

Ellen, El for short, was a tall and well-endowed woman, had blond hair, green eyes and slim figure, just like a model, her expression showed her eagerness for today's party. She was wearing black red tight jeans and a white loose shirt, combined with a pair of normal looking but new shoes and a purse which made her look like she was going to a photo studio. Her hair was tied in a high style ponytail and had glasses on top of her head.

"Yeah, right, so? Were you waiting here alone?"

"Yes, I was first and you're second, only Dord is still to come. By the way, weren't you in an interview?" Ellen asked while rising a brow.

"Yes?" Not getting her remark, Charlotte tilted her head.

"Eh, so you changed before coming here? I thought you were walking…"

"Eh, no. I came here walking yes, straight out of there. Why?"

"You… You went like that to the interview?" Ellen was skeptical, she couldn't believe her dear friend.

"Uhmm. Obviously." Charlotte was getting a little confused hearing Ellen ask her like this, not knowing any better, she nodded her head.

"Girl, how many times have I told you, please be aware of the occasion!"

"Eh, but you told me that this dress was a good choice to go there."

"No! I told you that this dress was perfect for coming here, tonight, to celebrate! Not to go to an interview! This is a casual dress, for partying and drinking and dancing! Not a formal one! Agh, why do I bother, really."

Charlotte was wearing a sky-blue dress that went just below her knees, with combining shoes and a bracelet Ellen gave her not too long ago, Ellen was the one who said this was a perfect dress for any occasion, insisting that no matter what, no one will ever tell any bad thing about it. She had freckles which accentuated her innocence, and made almost anyone drop their guard around her, short hair which she had been grooming all this week for the continuous interviews, she'd normally wear something more formal to the interviews, but today was special, so she wanted to go with the better than always recommendation of Ellen's.

"Come here. Take this," Ellen said as she handed over her beer to Charlotte, "I'm going to tell you about the dress code for everything!"

"No, don't worry, I'm fine as is…"

"Not today girl, you ought to know!" Ellen said as she dragged Charlotte inside the bar, requested another drink for herself, and finally sat down on a table in the middle of it the bar.

"Ehhhh!" Charlotte cried as the corresponding time she was going to wait for their friend was going to be spent in an inhuman talk about fashion.

*****

"Yaho~ my beauties!"

!!!! Charlotte looked back as she heard this voice.

"Dord! You're finally here!" Charlotte said getting up from her seat and hugging her dear friend.

"Why did you take so long?! I had to endure this torture for days to come!" She said with tears threatening to go out.

"I got in time, you're simply too early, and from what I see you'd already drank some beers."

Dordives, Dord for her friends, was an energetic woman, always smiling and valuing her friends more than anything, she was taller than charlotte for half a head and shorter than Ellen by roughly the same amount, she was wearing a white short frilled skirt with black high knee socks and a grey short sleeved shirt, she had long brown hair which she liked to leave unrestrained and a small beige purse.

"I had to or else I'd go insane."

"Now now, you poor little girl, what did this monster do to you now?" Dordives said while looking at Ellen.

Making an 'am I being wronged?!' expression, Ellen smirked while saying "Well, this girl has known me by no short time and still knows nothing about fashion and what not! Can you imagine, she went like that to her interview today!"

"You know, it was your fault, I can't do anything in there." She said with pity at Charlotte after looking at her setup.

"Noo help me, I can't stand it, it makes my head hurt!"

"I'll be back."

Dordives said as she went to the counter to get herself some good ol' beer, meanwhile, Charlotte was abused again and the will in her eyes was diminishing at an astonishing high pace.

Getting back to the duo, Dordives said while smiling wryly.

"Really, for a genius like you, one'd think you'd at least be able to maintain a normal sense of dress."

"I don't care about that! And who said I was a genius!" Charlotte retorted while pouting. "I only want to know what else is there in the universe and how to get there, no one else want it, only going for the immediate gains and what not, how foolish! Hmp!"

"Yeah yeah, whatevs, our little oddity." Ellen said, comforting their little friend, and then she looked at Dordives. "So, how's your partner?"

Not expecting the change of subject, Dordives was momentarily at a loss, then she smiled weakly.

"Good, I guess, it's the best of the worst, I think…"

"That's a traditional family for you, it's surely not only perks uh." Charlotte said as she started her third beer of the night.

While they were chatting, three men approached them and started trying to talk to them in a language none of the ladies knew. Charlotte got fed up after a while, looking at them right on the eyes she said in Atalasian.

"Hey, can you please speak gerciesse or at least, in Atalasian?"

The trio looked between them confused, and seeing that they couldn't maintain a proper conversation, they left.

"Really, why try to talk if you can't even speak the same tongue." She said as she sat down in her chair again.

"Hahaha, really, you're too impatient." Ellen said as she shook her head. "I was having a little fun trying to understand what they meant."

"Well, it doesn't matter, she can protect us from bad people!" Dordives said, smiling and looking at Charlotte with stars in her eyes.

"Eh, no thanks, it was just bothersome."

"Heheh, hey! Don't you wanna live in my place? I can hire you to be my bodyguard!"

"… You know, you're taller and more fit than me, right? If someone's gonna protect som'ne from an'ne it gotta be you!"

"It's a good thing to considerer." Ellen said after finishing another beer.

"'t'was supposed to be like this, no? And what's're to consider?" Charlotte asked while feeling her words were getting more blurrier with time.

"You know, you are knowledgeable in around 5 languages, not to mention what others you started studying and didn't finish, know your way with computers and are one of the few ones I know could hold a convo with a professor."

"Yes! It'd be awesome to have you with me!" Dordives said as eagerness was more apparent in her eyes.

"Eh, I dunno, I'nly talk 'bout what I believe is logical, hep." She said while frowning at her hiccup at the end.

"And you two get on the same page and talk about it for hours on end! That one last year in Guignon was hell!" She shivered, just remembering it made her afraid of it happening again.

"Hahaha, we're there for a conference about getting started in our own company and she found an old professor of hers…" Ellen said as she remembered that certain event.

"STOP STOOP! Please, no more, that's scary! We had to wait for almost two hours after the conference 'cause of their 'little' discussion!"

"'t'as little indeed…" Charlotte muttered as her two friends were talking about it in detail.

"Thnk'd consider irt. Tho' I need'pace'n time."

The other two looked at each other and smiled.

"Yes! I'll wait for you however long it takes!" Dordives said with stars in her eyes.

"Now, stop it, you know she's not like that." Ellen tried to speak softly but couldn't as there was too much noise and to be heard she had to speak louder. For her own good, Charlotte was a little too tipsy and wasn't paying enough attention to hear.

"Yes, but I can only dream, and having her in my house is just perfect!" Dordives mouthed near Ellen's ear, getting far from her, she winked.

"… Only, don't be mean, hey Charly! Let's go back now, it's late already and I have some clothes to work on tom'rrow!"

"Oh, yes, it's pretty late uh…" Charlotte said while looking at her empty glass, she just finished her 6th one, while Ellen was in her 8th and Dordives in her 6th despite arriving latter than the other two.

"Really, you get drunk too easily… Let's walk to air our heads, where's your new apt again?"

"Oh, eh, dunno, 'ere, look at the address." She said as she passed Ellen her phone.

"It's not so far not so close, an hour or so walking… Hmm, hey, Dord, can you get her there? I can't go with you tonight."

"Of course! Count on me!" Dordives patted her chest in reassurance.

Saying their farewells and chatting a little bit before going their separate ways, they each started walking. It was a little tradition of them, since they were in school: if they were going somewhere together, it was night and it was not too far away, they'd walk the road and talk about silly stuff and what not."

*****

Once they were at her apartment's stairs, Dordives bid Charlotte farewell and took a taxi, it was only 1 a.m. or so, but she lived too far away to walk, even if they still were together.

"Text me when you get home, ok?" Having gotten better while walking, Charlotte reminded Dordives.

"Okay~Bye!"

Starting to walk while drinking some water she just bought at the vending machine in her apartment's entrance she climbed to the 9 floor where hers was.

Once getting inside and getting prepared to bed, she realized her computer had some words in the screen. She'd left it on for the last two weeks while computing a script she created. It was her research and her sole motivation in her life, anything else could be changed and it'd make no difference to her. It was her only memory of "him", even if she couldn't remember his face nor his name anymore. It has been close to 15 years now and her thoughts haven't changed a bit.

She went to the monitor and read aloud:

"Theory matching: succeeded"