Isaac

I slow the SilentHawk and come to a stop, waiting for the light to change.

C'mon, c'mon, I think as I drum my fingers.

I am running so late. On my way to Solere, I swung by Violetta's Cafe to drop off something for Gran and discovered smoke billowing out of the kitchen. One of the heating elements in the oven had melted, causing a small fire. I helped Violetta extinguish the fire and drove all over town looking for a new part. I finally got it installed, but the cafe will be closed for a few days until it airs out. At least she won't miss the catered event.

Gran kept thanking me profusely. It makes me feel guilty, though, because who did she turn to when something went wrong when I was gone? I should have come home more, just to make sure she was okay. At least I'm here now, I guess.

It still feels strange going back to the cafe. I can't help but think of Polly when I'm there. I can still imagine her dead body lying on the checkered floors. Gran had Polly's body removed so I didn't see it until the viewing, but I'm still haunted by the memories. I don't know how Gran returns there day after day. It can't be healthy for her to be constantly surrounded by the memories. I wish she weren't so stubborn about staying in this space.

When I brought up the idea of her moving the cafe earlier, she firmly shut me down. She doesn't think the locals would come even if she moved, and everyone passing through wouldn't know where to find her. I suspect running the cafe is a bit too much for her now, but Gran is way too independent to ever admit that.

Maybe after the fire, she'll reconsider.

The light changes and I take off. The SilentHawk has surpassed my expectations. David still needs to try it out, but I would be inclined to team up with company building them.

I park the SilentHawk in my usual spot and walk into the building.

The building is crammed with people there to check out the contestants and their ideas. There are reporters everywhere. It's a madhouse, and I'm sure David is loving every minute of it.

Entering the Fishbowl where the contestants are manning their booths, I see all the exhibits and flash back to my 6th grade science fair. A large poster on the wall signals the mentorships with papers taped neatly beneath. Curious, I drift in that direction.

"Hey, Isaac!" a woman's voice says. I look over to see Beth's friend, Sophie. She smiles and waves. I raise my hand to return the greeting, then double take at what I see in her arms. Did she really bring her dog? 

I glance around looking for Beth, but I don't see her. Not surprising, considering how crowded it is in here.

As I near the sheets of paper, I see a mentor's name is typed across the top of each. Beneath it are contestants he or she will mentor.

Glancing at the sheets, my eyes find the one with my name on the top. Scanning through the names, one stands out.

It's a mistake. It has to be.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to see David standing there, grinning broadly.

"Late much? So what do you think of your lineup, bud?" he asks.

I glare at him and his eyebrows shoot up.

"Why is Beth's name on my list?" I ask, unable to keep the anger from my voice.

David looks up at the list, then back at me quizzically.

"Beth's been having a rough time. I thought it might make things easier for her if she was teamed up with someone familiar," David says.

"It's not that, it's just ..." I pause, realizing I'm drawing attention. I see Sophie just a few feet away, listening intently to our conversation. Great. An audience is the last thing I need.

"Can we take this somewhere private?" I ask David through gritted teeth.

"Let's talk in the conference room," he says.

I nod curtly.

There's a possibility David won't change his mind. I mull over the possibility of working with Beth and feel panic at the thought of being near her on a daily basis. There's just too much past, too much pain. I can't do it. I only agreed to do this in the first place because I'd convinced myself that Beth would be so busy mentoring others that I wouldn't see her much. This changes everything.

We enter the room and David kicks back in a chair with a creak. I am way too agitated to sit, though.

"How could you insult Beth like this? You're really okay with putting her in the role of some "wet behind the ears" newbie without any experience? Don't tell me you've already forgotten everything she did for Solere! You know as well as I do that this company wouldn't be what it is without her. She even came up with the name! The very least you could have done is offer her a mentor position!"

"I did," David says.

"Furthermore...wait, what?"

"I offered her a mentor position, but she turned me down. She said that she has a product that she wanted to enter into the contest, and that was the only way she'd be willing to be involved. You know how stubborn Beth can be. She doesn't want any favors. That shouldn't surprise you, of all people!"

When he puts it that way, it does sound like the Beth I know. I sit down.

"I guess I owe you an apology," I say.

"No worries. So are we good now?" David asks. "I really should get back in there."

"Wait. I don't think I should be Beth's mentor," I say, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.

"Why not?"

What am I supposed to say? Because she broke our engagement? Because I'm still attracted to her Because I know that attraction can't go anywhere because she's is still completely under her family's thumb and I'll be in a constant state of frustration. This is impossible. I can't say any of it.

But then I think of something.

"She says she doesn't want any favors, right? If I know anything about Beth, she's going to do well in this competition. People might get suspicious that I'm giving her special treatment since we've worked together in the past. The smartest thing to do is to pair Beth up with someone she doesn't know. That way we won't be accused of favoritism."

"I hadn't really thought of that," David says, leaning back in his chair and running his hand through his hair. "The last thing I would want to do is undermine Beth's chances. I'm still not convinced that working with you would hurt her chances though. It's not like you are judging. Besides, she left the company so early that most people don't even know she was involved at one time."

"It wouldn't be hard to dig it up. It's public knowledge. Beth's even in that Inc. article. It would be easy for the media to work that angle, and we want to appear as impartial as possible. Heidi probably shouldn't mentor her either."

David shrugs.

"Well, I suppose we could switch you if you're sure. If I were mentoring, though, I'd be fighting for Beth to be on my team. She's the whole package, you know?"

"Trust me, my reasons have nothing to do with her abilities. I just want her to have the best shot possible." I say it sincerely because I mean it. Beth deserves a chance to succeed with this, and she's definitely better off without me around to distract her.

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Please hit that star and vote! Muchas Gracias!

So, thoughts on Isaac's actions here? Is he justified? Is he overreacting? What do you think?

I encourage you to take a moment to listen to the music and read the lyrics (they are part of the video). The words touched me and seem to apply so well to Beth and Isaac's predicament.

I just wanted to send a sincere thank you for your kind words as I've been dealing with depression these past few months. You were all so thoughtful and supportive, and it means the world to me! I appreciate you guys more than you'll ever know!

Dedication goes out to an amazing Wattpadder tamoja. Tammy is like a ray of sunshine and knows exactly how to make everyone around her feel awesome. I have been "camping" out with her and a lot of other awesome Wattpadders for Camp NaNoWriMo, and she has come up with a brilliant scheme to write about our adventures and kill us off in her story through inventive means that only a devious mind like Tammy's could devise. So if you want to see me killed off (along with several other of your favorite Wattpad authors), click on Tammy's dedi link and check out Tammy's story Camp NaNoWriMo! :)