"Hello... sit down please." A firm woman's voice ordered. I know I've already fucked up being late.

"Hi, look im so sorry i know im late but-" I got cut off.

"Don't worry about it!" She spoke in a surprisingly chirpy tone, "you're human... it happens. Anyway my name is Yusra, I'm the founder of this company!" (authors note- see what i did there xx)
I replied with a nervous smile and handed her all my documents. I tried not to let my anxiety get the best of me and imagined my child-self sitting in the chair next to me, holding my hand tightly. She was much stronger than I am now.

"Your CV looks good Miss Ayesha, pretty strong in your English and Psychology!! But ek baat batao... you dropped out of your last year of College right?"

I knew I would get questioned. Told you I'm a fortune teller. "Yes I did, I was in quite a rough patch at the time and I wasn't able to balance everything at once... so I dropped out of college to try and build myself up again." That was somewhat true but in a posh sense. The truth is I did it because I gave up. I gave up balancing everything and trying to act like I had my life together, acting like my trauma wasn't constantly eating me up. I dropped college because I wanted one less thing to juggle in my life, not necessarily to 'build' myself up again like I had just said.

"And in fact that is a very valid reason Miss Ayesha! I understand people have their own struggles in life. I'd like to offer you some help. At AZ INDUSTRIES, we also do apprenticeships. You work for 30 hours a week with us as a project manager, and you can retake your final year of college doing English and Maths once a week. Fees are on us, if we can see that you're willing to dedicate yourself to us. So, are you in?" Yusra explained and asked me with bright eyes.

My body was present but my mind was wondering, detached. Can I do this? Do I want to do this? Can I really be a normal working woman? I looked to the chair next to me; Choti Avni was looking up at me with sparkling big eyes and a sweet reassuring smile. I'm doing this for her. I'm doing this for the 10 year old girl that used to hide in her closet just wanting the deafening screams and loud banging of the walls to go away. I'm doing this for the 12 year old that got separated from the only person her fragile heart was open to; the 12 year old that was emotionally numb.

"I-I'm in." I replied hesitantly but I felt ready.

"Great! It's great to have you on our team Miss Ayesha. You and 5 others have been selected to be part of the Project Management team. I'd like to see how all my trainees work in different situations, hence this is what is going to happen: I will randomly pair you with one of your new co-workers - don't worry, they're all working at around the same skill level as you. You will have 2 weeks to plan out the most effective and profitable way to sell our new product- details will all be sent on your email as to who you are working with etc tomorrow at 10AM. At 12PM tomorrow I want you here for a group meeting where you can meet your partner and other co-workers."

I shook hands with her and headed out. Eager to tell Neela Maa, i started skipping out the damn place with an actual smile on my face; that was very unlike me. I wondered who I could be paired with, I hope it's not a man... maybe i should have told her I feel more comfortable working with other women. No, that's too bitchy on the first day. Besides, my social skills are on level 0, I don't know how long I can avoid male interaction.