The frame that had stood on the wooden desk for a few months disappeared in a box amongst books, posters and pencils. Kyra opened the last drawer of her desk and took out her small voice recorder, which she put in the same box.

Her eyes wandered all around the room as she sat down on her chair with a sigh. That was it. It was time for her to leave Musireviews forever. The transition was quite impressive. She had started everything at the editorial board of different independent magazines, and now she was ending up as a reporter for the official magazine of Parlophone Records. No more, no less.

She noticed the old turntable in a corner, and the corners of her lips rose. She went up to it and opened the box next to it, which contained all the records she had reviewed. Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty, Steel Wheels by The Rolling Stones, Guitar Town by Steve Earle, Sign O' the Times by Prince, and many more that were unknown. As her fingers slowly flipped the records like the pages of a book, her eyes landed on the final one. It probably was the only record she was going to take home with her.

Her breath slowed down when her pupils recognised the figure highlighted by a simple white background. The brown curls, the long nose, the thin mouth, the dimple in the chin... The corners of her lips rose, and her cheeks felt unexpectedly warm. She did not fully understand why Brian disliked this cover. It was simple, but she found it extremely charming. The only thing she regretted was that he did not look at the camera.

A knock on the door brought her back to reality. Kyra cleared her throat.

"Come in!"

The door opened slightly, and Cedric peeked in. His medium length hair was clumsily tied with a hair band, and his long green shirt was all wrinkly. He had apparently not slept very well, seeing the rings under his eyes and his pale face.

"Hi, Ky. Packing your stuff?"

"Oh, hi, Cedric. Yes, I've just finished packing."

"I guess you're ready to leave, now..."

The sad tone of his voice broke her heart a little. She stood up, holding Back to the Light carefully against her chest, grabbing a bag to put the record in it. She took a deep breath and faced her boss and friend.

"Don't worry about Musireviews," she tried to comfort him despite the crack in her voice, "you're going to make it big without me."

"As I told you, I don't care if I lose the magazine. It's you who shouldn't worry."

"I'm sorry that I'm letting you down," she whispered, staring at her hands. "I know that you counted on me, and I'm giving up on you."

Cedric rolled his eyes with a grin and went up to her. He pulled her into a tight and friendly embrace, rubbing her back.

"You made the right choice, Kyra. I know you're happy to start this new stage in your career, and I'm glad. You deserve better than that job at Musireviews."

"Thank you for understanding, Cedric."

Cedric smiled and patted her back. His eyes found the open box full of records, and he let out a silent chuckle. "Don't forget all your records. Would you like me to bring them to your house one evening?"

"No, no, keep them. You could play them during your little parties. They're all yours."

"Which one did you put in the bag?"

Kyra blushed and pulled away lightly to grab the record that was in the plastic bag. She took it out and carefully handled it to show him. His fingertips rested on the cover as he examined it with a curious look.

"You didn't tell me you got Brian May to sign your copy of Back to the Light! You both got on well together, didn't you?"

"Oh, well, it was entirely professional. But he was purely adorable with me, even if at first he was a bit mistrustful about me."

"How could he? You're amazing. Wherever you go, you bring joy to the room."

Kyra laughed and watched Cedric carefully putting the record back in the bag. He took a look at her boxes and smiled at her.

"Are you ready to go?"

"I think I am, now."

"Let me help you with your boxes."

They both grabbed the boxes and the bag, after Kyra put on her coat and wrapped her scarf loosely around her neck. Before leaving the room, she turned back and looked all around her for the last time. She wanted to remember this place, from its floor to its ceiling. Oh, the ugly colour of that wallpaper. With a grin, she reminisced about the many times she had considered to squirt paint over it to hide its hideous colour.

With a trembling hand, she switched off the light and stepped back, closing the door. That was it: she had just had her very last moment in her office. The comforting thing was that she knew another one was waiting for her somewhere.

Without a word, she followed Cedric to the staircase, which they walked down prudently. Kyra held on to the guardrail and craned her neck to catch glimpses of her feet, making sure she would not skip a step and trip. She saw Cedric put her boxes down on the secretary's desk, and her eyebrows knitted together. He was standing there, his hands on his hips, looking like he was waiting for something.

She quickly joined him and suddenly, voices thundered in the small hall.

"Don't leave us, baby, don't tell us it's over after we trusted you, and did our best to work next to you. Is this what we get for loving you, baby? Is this what we get for loving you, baby?"

Kyra covered her mouth with her hand as she saw all her colleagues gathered before her, raising their glasses and singing their parody of Is This What I Get for Loving You by The Ronettes. She started to laugh with teary eyes, and put down her boxes and bags. She went up to all of them and hugged them, exchanging a few words with them as well.

Cedric came up to her with a wide grin and offered her a flute of champagne. He leant in and whispered in her ear.

"I'm afraid they're all waiting for you to deliver a speech."

"Oh damn, I'm not good at speeches at all!" she complained.

However, she clumsily stood on the chair one of her colleagues held for her. She cleared her throat, and with a light knot in her stomach, she spoke up. Her audience turned silent, and stared at her with anticipation.

"Well," she started, "here we are. Today I'm leaving after nearly five years working here at the editorial board with all of you. I'm not leaving without that lump in my throat. Those five years meant a lot for me, especially because they marked the first turning point in my career and in my life. You have all been warm and welcoming to me when I arrived, and I knew I would never have to be afraid to mess up anything, or to ask questions. You were there for me, and I was there for you. Our team was, and still is, unique. We've had our ups and downs, but that never stopped us from working together and sharing our passion for music and writing. Before I came here, I thought I loved music. However, now, I realise that it was merely a crush. You all contributed to make this crush turn into passion, then into love. I owe you so much. Also, I will never forget all those moments we spent laughing and joking, when we needed to relax."

Everyone in the small crowd smiled, and Cedric leant against the wall, watching and listening to her with a single tear running down his cheek. Kyra sniffed and took a deep breath.

"I feel guilty, and I feel like I'm betraying you all for spreading my wings and flying away. I am truly excited to start this new job, and it makes that feeling even worse. Anyway, I don't know what to say, so thank you, each one of you, for those wonderful years, and I hope the team will be stronger without me. Oh, and also, hire more women."

To rapturous applause, Kyra jumped off the chair and her closest colleagues went up to her to clink glasses with her. Soon enough, every one of them came up to her to clink their glasses. Cedric came pushing a table to the hall, and Kyra helped him to carry it. He disappeared in a corridor and came back with a big cake, which he placed on the table. He took a knife and handed it to Kyra.

"It's your duty to cut the farewell cake, now."

Kyra chuckled and cut the cake neatly. She immediately recognised what type of cake it was. Her favourite. Layered lemon-flavoured fondant. A very simple one, but the kind of cake she would eat at any time, either a slice or the whole thing. She took the plastic plates that Cedric brought and served everyone, handing them the plates afterwards. After she handed Cedric his slice, she took the last one and took her first bite with a grin.

The minutes flew by quickly, soon to turn into an hour and a half. All the glasses had been emptied, and the two cakes had been eaten. Perhaps all the words needed had been pronounced as well.

Kyra put her coat on and wrapped her scarf loosely around her neck once again, and while she was saying goodbye to her now former colleagues, Cedric took her boxes to her car, having borrowed the keys. Kyra was carrying the record with the handles of the plastic bag encircling her wrist. Cedric came back and handed her the keys. With tears in her eyes, she looked up at him and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Thank you for everything, Cedric. Working with you was an amazing experience."

"It's me who should thank you. You made the magazine alive. It's going to be different now, but don't worry, I'll follow your advice. I'm going to hire more women."

Kyra chuckled and disconnected herself from him, wiping under her eyes. She sniffled and grinned, looking all around before lowering her eyes.

"It's time for me to go, now."

"We're going to miss you, Ky."

"I miss you all already."

Kyra turned to everyone and waved at them one last time, before walking silently to the front doors, which opened before her. The cold breeze slapped her face and made her wince a little. Before she even took a step outside, something crossed her mind. There was a joke she made every time she would leave a meeting, or just leave the building. She had to make it one last time. She spun round, and seeing all the pairs of eyes rested on her, she guessed they all expected it.

She inhaled deeply, lifting up her chin, and brought her index and middle fingers to her temple. With those same fingers, she suddenly pointed at the group, a grin lighting up her face, while stepping backwards.

"Kyra, out!"