Mia
Something funny and embarrassing happened to me at work. I couldn’t believe it and my ego was crushed that day. On a normal day, I would have felt relieved but this time, I didn’t feel that way. I felt like I had dung smeared on me and I was irritating to others.
I felt irritable afterwards and my mood was ruined for a whole week.
Sean announced that the company was having her annual get-together abs and the concept of the year’s own was to be there with a colleague and not be alone so it would like there is good relationship among the company.
He had explained that even if we were new employees, just as I was, it wasn’t that bad that someone wouldn’t have a friend among the employees.
The chairman’s directive was for each employee to come with a colleague and it could be anyone but Sean decided to turn everything around and make it more interesting because he thought it would be that way.
He had gone through the company database and discovered that there was an evenly distributed number of male and female employees. He had then told the employees that they had to be at the party with a colleague of the opposite gender and it didn’t mean that they were dating.
I had laughed when I saw that, thinking that Sean must be hungry for some office romance. I liked what he did though. It might be weird if guys had to pair up with each other and would be more fun if we all went with someone of the opposite gender. It was nice that he had made it clear that they didn’t have to be dating or force themselves into a relationship afterwards. That would prevent the unwanted drama that might happen later after the party if one of the partners decided to be clingy.
I wasn’t bothered by his decree at all as I had known those I would be going to the party with. I will either be going with Gerald or Sammy. They were the two males I was close to at the company and they were single as far as I knew.
I expected either of the two to ask me out to be their date right away for the party but they didn’t. I watched with annoyance as Gerald wasted his time asking out all the ladies in the company and they were busy rejecting him.
What was wrong with him? What was he thinking? Sean had said it was a formal occasion and not a license to a relationship. Why was he acting like it was one and getting himself rejected?
As a friend, I cringed with shame and felt embarrassed on his behalf.
I thought that we were cool as friends even though I rejected his advances. I wondered if he preferred getting rejected by the other ladies than going to the party with me because I had sent him out.
I would have said yes to being his date to the party right away if he had asked me. I was excited when I had heard about the party. That would give me an excuse to avoid going home this weekend.
It had been a month since I slept with Quinn and hadn’t been home. I had run out of excuses for mum and she was threatening to send the driver to the company this weekend to wait there for me till I close from work and guilt trip me into coming home with him.
I hoped that she didn’t do that. The driver would find out that I had been staying at home all weekend and would tell mum. She would suspect that something was wrong with me and start asking me questions that I didn’t want to answer.
I really wanted to go to this party. If they weren’t asking me out, I was going to do so. I had what I would love to protect by going after all.
At the cafeteria, I sat and was delighted when the two of them sat with me. I would have the chance to ask them what I was curious about. I wanted to know why they were stalling. It wasn’t possible that they found me comfortable to eat with but not to go out with, even as a fake date.
Sammy hadn’t been asking out anyone and that gave me a bit of relief. Maybe he was going with me and waiting till the last day to ask me to go with him. The problem was I didn’t have that much patience in me. I needed to know on time what my plans for the weekend were so it wouldn’t sound like I was lying to mum when I told her that I had to stay back for a party, especially if she was going to act on her threat to send the driver to wait for me at work on Friday.
He needed to see that I wasn’t lying to her.
I carefully steered the conversation to the party after we had gotten past the usual exchange of pleasantries and teases.
“Any girl say yes to you yet, Gerald?” I asked him.
He shook his head and sighed. “Not really. I don’t know why.”
“I wonder so.” I sighed.
“Don’t you have plans of going to the party?” I asked Sammy. “You have not made any plans of talking with anyone and it’s only four days to the party.”
“I’m in a relationship.” Sammy announced.
“Congratulations, buddy.” Gerald grinned, slapping him on the back.
I stared at him in surprise. When was he going to tell us?
“Don’t look at me that way, Mia.” Sammy said, noting my look. “You are my friend and I was going to tell you but I just started dating her two weeks ago and I didn’t want to broadcast it when the relationship is new.”
I swallowed and nodded. There went my hope of getting asked out to the party by him. I had Gerald only and as I glanced at him, I didn’t think that he still wanted me with him.
“So you are not going to the party?” I asked Sammy. “Does this mean that you would stay at home to hang out with your girl?”
He smiled at me and shook his head. “I’m going to the party, with my girlfriend. I already spoke to Sean about it that I would like to attend the party with my girl and he said it was okay. If you hadn’t asked me now, I planned to introduce her to the two of you at the party.”
Gerald smiled. “It was good that Mia asked you and you told us about her now because it doesn’t seem like I am going to be there at the party.”
“Why?” Sammy asked.
Gerald sighed. “None of the female employees want to go with me.”
“Including Mia?” Sammy looked at me in surprise. “Would you also like to go with someone else than him?”
I shrugged. “He didn’t ask me.”
“I didn’t ask her.” Gerald confessed.
“Why didn’t you? I’m sure Mia would go with you.”
“I don’t know. For some reason, I felt like she was going to turn me down.” He explained.
I had assumed right. I should have known that he still held on to the memory of our failed dates.
I was about to tell him that he didn’t have to worry about that when he spoke.
“I think that I would do just as you have done. I would tell Sean that I have someone I would like to go to the party with and ask one of my female friends to come with me.”
And just like that, my appetite was ruined. Was it that bad to go with me?
“What of Mia? Why don’t you go with her?” Sammy said, still acting the peacemaker.
“No.” Gerald said and I knew he had made up his mind. “I’m sure that she would have someone to go to the party with.”
Sammy was about to say something else and I stopped him. He didn’t have to ruin my last shred of dignity. I was already feeling like an unwanted property placed on auction with the way Sammy was trying to force Gerald to go with me.
I excused myself from the table and went back to work even though I was super hungry.
All through to Friday, no one asked me to go to the party with them and I felt like I was diseased. Not less than six males would have asked me out at the company before but that didn’t happen now. Things had changed and I wasn’t comfortable with it at all.
When mum called me on Friday to ask if I was coming home, I said yes to her without hesitation. I needed a distraction and I didn’t care if I had to run into Quinn. I could avoid him well at home and stay in my room or chat with mum all day till the weekend was over.
All I knew was that I didn’t want to stay at home alone and drive myself crazy by wondering what was going on at the party that time.
I got home and was perplexed at the reception I got from the boys and Albert. I hadn’t been expecting them to jump at me because they had missed me but I wasn’t expecting them to stare at me all day either, looking as if they hadn’t seen me before.
I sighed. I didn’t have the time for this. I ignored them and pretended not to notice the way they bore holes into my skin with their eyes.
I felt like they were being dramatic. I had only been gone for a month and not like I had been gone for years. Even if they hadn’t been expecting to see me back at home, they didn’t have to make it so obvious with their looks.
I was surprised that Albert was acting that way too. I had known that the triplets were weird and wasn’t surprised that they busied themselves staring at me but having Albert join them freaked me out.
It was super creepy and I wondered if I should have just stayed at home and driven myself crazy instead of letting them drive me crazy with their looks and pretending I wasn’t bothered with it.