Alright, Xander, focus! I instructed, mentally slapping myself. Professor Yoh's going to have good information today. You just need to pay attention so that you don't miss it! No daydreaming, no distractions, no texting and definitely no dozing off! If you want to learn how to be successful in business, start by being professional today! My mental pep-talk continued as I walked towards my Business 101 class.

"You okay, man?" a dull voice asked from my left.

I turned to see my only friend from my business class walking just a step behind me. His bold square glasses poked out of a mop of brown hair that bobbed on his thin shoulders.

"Oh, hey Paul! I'm fine. I'm just trying to psych myself up for class today."

Paul glanced at the approaching classroom door and somehow managed to crease his eyebrows low enough for me to see the gears turning under his curtain of hair. When his face returned to normal, he asked "Why today? Are you failing or something?"

He wasn't far off, and I laughed a little louder than I meant to! It's true that I wasn't doing well in the class, but I wasn't failing. Awkwardly scratching the back of my head, I replied, "No. My grades are okay. I'm trying to get a promotion at work and hoping that Professor Yoh might have some helpful advice."

"I guess we'll see." Paul shrugged. We entered the classroom and made our way towards the back row. "Oh, before I forget, I can't make it to game night tonight."

"How come?"

"I have loads of homework to do."

I eyed Paul skeptically. "It's Friday." He was always making excuses to not hang out. We got along fine in class, but it seemed like we were drifting apart in our personal lives ever since we finished high school.

"Sorry man. Next time."

"Okay, but you owe me. I'm gonna have to play those two all on my own."

We found our seats. Paul always sat in front of me, rather than by my side, maybe to avoid the temptation of not paying attention. "Here we go," I mumbled as the professor entered. I was determined to keep fresh and stay focused.

"Hello class," Professor Yoh said, disinterest blanketing his tone as he ambled to the far corner of the room, facing his students. "I'm ready to teach, so I hope you're ready to pay attention." He said this at the start of every class. I didn't know if he thought it was funny or just a way to start class, but I always had the same impulse to it; I stretched in my seat and yawned. He pressed a button on a remote in his hand to boot up the lesson's PowerPoint presentation. "We're working on chapter five. That's page seventy-three in your textbooks."

Since Paul wasn't going to be joining in on our game night, my mind started listing three-player game options that Tommy and Michael might be interested in playing. I was great at Super Smash Bros and could probably hold my own against the other two, but did I really want to give them the satisfaction of beating me? I shook my head. I could beat them, even if it was two on one. Challenge accepted! Suddenly, I realized what I was doing and silently scolded myself. I was supposed to be paying attention!

"If you're in a situation where you have to deal with a difficult employee, use the method shown here." Professor Yoh pointed to a graph in his PowerPoint presentation and started reading it word for word. I scanned the slide for anything helpful. This seemed to be his favorite topic; what to do with bad employees. We never talked about what to do with bad bosses, or, you know, anything else business-related. Shouldn't we learn about that stuff too? Based on this class, you'd think that bad employees are the only challenges managers deal with. We didn't even talk about customers.

I was starting to think that I should change my major. I wasn't really interested in business anyway. The question was: What would I be into? The first thing that came to mind was something video game related, but I didn't think that would work. I've always loved video games and would have a blast working with them day in and day out, but I'm not artsy, creative or detail-oriented enough to be able to compete with people in that field.

The next thing I considered was getting into legal stuff, but I dismissed that as soon as it occurred to me; too boring, not to mention over my head. I leaned back in my chair, twirling my pencil around my thumb as I considered other possibilities. My strengths weren't really things people made careers out of. Speaking of strengths, I should probably warn the guys that Paul couldn't make it tonight.

I took out my phone and messaged them about Paul being a no-show. They would both be at work and I knew they wouldn't be responding until their breaks, so I slid my cell back into my pocket. Looking back at the professor, I put my head in my hands and tried to be interested in what he was talking about. The slide he was reading was headlined "The Four Types of Employees".

The room was warm. The Michigan summer sun beat through the open window to my right. I started drumming my fingers on my temple to remind myself to stay focused.

"Now, it can be tricky to organize your personnel. In some companies, you'll have to work around their schedule. I suggest taking notes..."

I woke an hour later when the class started packing up to leave. I hastily followed suit and left the room. Paul was waiting for me by the door.

"Pretty good one today, huh?"

"Oh... uh, yeah. It was great," I lied.

"So you know what you gotta do for your promotion, right?"

"Umm...how about you clue me in. I seem to have overlooked that part."

Paul slumped slightly. "You fell asleep again, didn't you?"

"I wouldn't have if he didn't have such a monotone!" I said defensively. "You know what I mean? It's just hard not to doze off when he sounds like the most unenthusiastic narrator for the world's most boring subject."

"It's not that bad."

"That's debatable."

"Were you at least awake to hear the end?"

"Why? Are we having a quiz or something?"

Paul's gaze narrowed, annoyed at my obliviousness. "No. It's not about the class at all. Apparently, some people are going missing downtown. You live downtown. Just be careful, okay?"

"Oh, sure." I knew Paul was just worried about me, but he often takes things a bit too seriously, especially with the nearly weekly PSA's from Professor Yoh about one danger or another.

"Well anyway, if you want that promotion you just have to be assertive. Show the good that you've done for the company, but also show that you want to grow. You need to show them that you won't be impossible to replace, otherwise they'll just want to keep you where you're at, but you also want to make it sound like you're valuable."

I stared at Paul as he tried to explain what I should do. "So... I should explain that I'm average?"

"What? No. How did you come up with that?"

I raised my hands up in frustration. "What do you mean? You said that I have to explain that it's not going to be easy to replace me, but also not hard. So, if I fall somewhere in the middle that would mean that I'm average."

Paul put a hand to his glasses and closed his eyes. "You're hopeless."

"That's rude," I said flatly. Still, he was right. I hadn't been learning anything from this class. I wasn't really interested in it. But whenever I thought of my future, I realized that I didn't know what I wanted to do. Nothing seemed right for me. In a way, I felt like a puzzle piece that wasn't a part of the picture everyone else was trying to make.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. How much time do you have before work? I can help you come up with a 'promotion plan'." His air quotes almost made the offer seem insulting, but I was familiar enough with his social awkwardness to look past it.

"I work at three."

"Three?" Paul sputtered, "You've only got thirty minutes!"

"Oh, shoot! It'll take me about twenty minutes to get there. Crash course! Go!"

Paul spent the next ten minutes trying to walk me through the steps on what I would need to do to speak with my boss about the promotion I was trying to get. He might have been flaky when it came to getting together, but he was a great friend to have in a pinch like this. Back in high school, he would help me cram for tests that I wasn't prepared for. We'd take the night to work on everything that I'd need to pass and we didn't stop until he thought I was ready.

"You ready?" Paul asked as we exited the college and turned towards the parking garage.

"I think so," I said, a bit unsure of myself.

"Last thing. Why do you want the position?"

"Huh? Isn't it obvious? It's more money."

"Is that it?"

I shrugged. "Yeah."

"I gotta be honest with you. I don't think you're going to get it."

I almost missed a step. Wasn't he supposed to root for me? "How come?"

"They're going to ask you that question and if your answer is money related, it won't do you any good. Others are going to have reasons like: 'I want more responsibilities', or 'I feel like I'm not being challenged enough where I am'. Your reason is honest, but not really what people are looking for in a worker."

"Well, I'll try to think of something on the way."

Paul paused, looking at me; at least I assume he was looking at me. His hair was completely covering his eyes. "Well, good luck," he shrugged. "And remember to be careful!"

I shrugged back, "I'll be fine. Don't be so paranoid, man."

We parted ways as we neared Paul's car and I started walking east. I lived downtown so I didn't see a need to own a car. The school was just on the outskirts of town and my work was about ten blocks away, closer to home. Everything was within walking distance, so long as I scheduled myself enough time to walk from place to place.

I pulled out my phone to check the time and I almost tripped when I saw the clock. It was 2:50. There was no time for a twenty minute walk! If I wanted to be even considered for a promotion I couldn't be late. I started running.