"Do you fancy MAC racing, miss Lily?"
The question make Lily almost jump from where she sat "I am sorry, Mrs. Abigail, what did you asked?" She replied almost stuttering still startled, by the sudden question.
"MAC racing, my dear, do you like it?" the gentle voice of the elderly woman, repeated the question as she smiled at Lily, in a motherly yet elegant style.
"I do, Mrs. Abigail, but to be honest, I have had little time to watch these last seasons" MAC racing was one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the galaxy, watching a race with speeds over 1000 km/h as an average, is not something you just ignored. You may not like MAC racing, but you knew about it, especially in Beta Prime, and Lily truly liked it "Are you a fan as well Mrs. Abigail?" Lily eyed at the older and elegant woman, and wondered if perhaps she had a love for adrenaline?
"I must confess, I used to avoid it, but my late husband love it, so, I knew more than I would have liked" the elderly woman smiled gingerly at Lily "I started watching it more often after he passed away" Mrs. Abigail expression darkened for a moment, but it quickly changed to her usual smile "It may have been a good thing, I would have never rooted for his team, knowing what I do now" the elderly woman, smiled and Lily wanted to know more about Mrs. Abigail relationship with her late husband.
"What team did he liked?" Lily wondered filled with curiosity.
"The Rocket Launchers, they fell off the circuit a season after his passing" Mrs. Abigail explained, Lily had not heard of the team "at least they manage to hold inside the circuit for their last remaining fan" Mrs. Abigail sighed "Lily my dear, would you like some tea?"
Lily nodded, Mrs. Abigail was already placing a cup of tea, on the coffee table that was closest to her. They were in a large open space, filled with comfy chairs, couches of various colors, and several coffee tables. There were bookshelves on the walls, with a great variety of tomes, including comics and mangas, paper was seldom used, but here was a ton of it, sustainable of course.
"Thank you, Mrs. Abigail," Lily took the tea, and moved to a comfy chair, closer to the elderly woman. She gave a small sip to the tea, and was surprised to taste chamomile, she had expected something more exotic. She took another sip from the tea, and relaxed as she felt the warm coming from the drink.
"Do you have any team you favor, miss Lily?" Mrs. Abigail asked ash she placed her tea on the coffee table and looked at Lily as if they were old friends. Lily had always liked that about Mrs. Abigail, how natural she felt when talking to anyone, yet she always had her style.
"When I saw the circuit more often, I used to like Nova Nebula" Lily admitted, when she was 15, she never missed the MAC Pro Circuit or MPC as it was generally called, but life changed quickly "What team do you like Mrs. Abigail" Lily asked with curiosity after hearing about Mrs. Abigail like on MAC racing, but the older lady just smiled at her "Is something the matter Mrs. Abigail?".
"Nothing my dear, I am just glad you are more relaxed" Mrs. Abigail answered as she drank from her tea. Lily felt embarrassed, Mrs. Abigail made you feel very familiar, but the simple change of topic, had made calmed her down, she was still nervous, but now she could keep it under control.
"Thank you, Mrs. Abigail, I do feel more at ease" she needed to be calm and ready, the greatest opportunity she has had depended on the result of the evaluation she was about to have. Lily eyed at the elderly woman; she must have noticed her nervousness. "Was I really that obvious?"
"You were looking in every direction and your lips are swollen from your biting, but I like to think I am really good at reading people" Mrs. Abigail, smiled at her again, an took a sip from her own cup.
"I really like this space" It was the second time Lily was waiting at this lounge. The first time she had come was for a job interview. She had been surprised by the offer, and had come with no real expectations, two hours later she had left, with and incredible opportunity. She had been so nervous and confused she had not noticed the curious lounge, and the style was completely different.
"I do as well, hence why I moved my office here" Mrs. Abigail said with a smile. The first time Lily had come here, Mrs. Abigail office, was a separate room from the lounge, the office had lost its walls, and became part of the lounge itself.
"You know Mrs. Abigail, I had not believed the job you offered me, not until I received the first payment" Lily confessed a bit embarrassed. "My education had consisted solely of certified public education courses and taken on management and administration from the collage public courses. I guessed I needed and advantage to land a good job, so I saved from my jobs in order to hire a good job-hunting agency, I figured it was a fine investment" Infinity Inc had assured they could get a job offer in less than 2 months, hers had come just three weeks pass her inscription.
"I applaud your idea, my dear, but the question is, did it deliver?" Mrs. Abigail asked with a gentle smile.
"I did, best investment I ever made" Lily replied smiling. She had a daughter, and she was very young, which meant she needed childcare and she was inexperienced, still she had very good grades for all that her education came solely from courses, the agency had indeed delivered.
"It is wise to invest in oneself, miss Lily, not so easy to do with your responsibilities" Mrs. Abigail was genuine about her compliment.
"Thank you, Mrs. Abigail, for everything" The job she had been offered was in reality a training opportunity. The company was called Strive Works, it was dedicated to train and educate personnel. They had covered her demands, salary, and childcare, and she had a received a year of training and education. The courses were at first centered around administration and management, but then they changed to very different topics, but all of them were incredibly good and challenging. The year had felt unreal, and as most things, it would end. She had come for the last evaluation, hence why she was nervous.
"Now my dear, drink more of the tea and relax, I told you, you need to calm down" Mrs. Abigail admonished her "It is good you came early; punctuality is a rare trait on young people, but I believe it recompenses does who practice it" Lily nodded at the comment, and suddenly a thought occurred her 'LILY YOU KLUTZ, Mrs. Abigial might know about the evaluation'.
"Mrs. Abigail could you perhaps share some insight on the evaluation" Lily asked half looking and a bit embarrassed.
"Now, now my dear, I am not supposed to tell you" Mrs. Abigail answered with a serious expression.
"I am sorry Mrs. Abigail" Lily was embarrassed and quickly turned to her tea.
"For the last time, calm down my dear, I am not supposed to not tell either" Lily turned to find Mrs. Abigail had a mischievous smile on her face, Lily's face brightens up and looked expectantly at Mrs. Abigail "Drink some more tea first my dear" Lily made a slight frown, but Mrs. Abigail was adamant on her drinking the tea. She took a small sip of tea, and she noticed it had honey in it, she took a deep breath and turned to Mrs. Abigail.
"Well, as you recall my dear, when you first started you were part of a trainee group of 7 people of those 3 were separated on the first 4 months, and 1 more a few months later"
"Yeah, I was wondering what happened to them?" Lily intervened.
"Would you like me to keep going or would you like to know about them?" Mrs. Abigail was always calmed and affectionate all the while being graceful about it, but her tone just now, left you no doubt about what you should answer, she was still polite about it, but Lily knew recognized the tone.
"No, I am sorry Mrs. Abigail, please continue" Lily replied.
"As I was saying, from your original group, only 3 of you ended the planned routine. Now, why do think is that?" Mrs. Abigail asked as she sipped form her cup.
"We were being tested from the beginning" Lily had always felt they were being tested from the beginning; their performance assessed with each change in the training topics.
"I always knew you were one of the smart ones my dear" Mrs. Abigail said gently "Yes, you were all being assessed from the start"
"If I have already been tested, then why am I being evaluated again?" Lily asked confused, there was no point if they had results already.
"Did the mail, you received said you had an evaluating today?" - Mrs. Abigail asked as she sipped her cup once more, with her mischievous smile. Lily hesitated for a moment, before she looked at her pcom, it was an old model, but she did not need more. She quickly found the mail.
"From: Training Department
To: Lily Marceau
We are happy to announce you that, as of today, you have officially finished the training routine set for you. You will have an interview about our assessment on your performance during the training.
This will take place on the main training facility, Room 1A at 10 a.m. It is important that if you have any inconvenience with the time, please send a memo directed to Mrs. Abigail, stating the reason why you can't assist and check with her for a reschedule."
Great, she had misread the mail. She had an interview, not and evaluation, the question was with whom? And for what?
"No Mrs. Abigail, you are correct, I misread the mail, I have and interview about the results of the assessment, but my question in part stands, do you know with whom I'm having this interview?" Lily asked.
"Now dear, I've already told you, calm down. That is why young people sometimes make mistakes. You have to take your time on the things you do, in order to them properly" Mrs. Abigail was all smiles now "You see even though you made a mistake, you came here early, and your punctuality allowed us to amend your error, it is almost 10, so your interview will be in just a moment, now, drink your tea dear"
"Thank you, Mrs. Abigail, I do try to punctual" She took another sip from the tea "Still, could you tell me who is interviewing me?" Lily adventured, but before Mrs. Abigail could answer, *Beep Beep, a quick sound interrupted them, the com console on Mrs. Abigail lit up. Mrs. Abigail turned towards it and pressed the keyboard; a voice came from the com console.
"I am ready Mrs. Abigail, please send her inn, as soon as she arrives" a deep voice called.
"Yes sir, she is already here, I am sending her inn" Mrs. Abigail replied to whomever would be interviewing Lily, with that the com console screen went dark again.
- Now dear, please go to office 1A, it is the one next to mine, just knock on the door". Mrs. Abigail had once more that mischievous smile.
"But Mrs. Abigail, no one uses that office" Lily felt her nervousness returning.
"Why would we have an office no one uses?" the amused face on Mrs. Abigail was not lost on Lily "Go on dear, you'll do fine, and it is a very good thing you like MAC racing miss Lily" Mrs. Abigail smiled and turned to her cup of team.
Lily took a deep breath, and went to office 1A, she had always felt curious about it as it was the only closed room, all other had windows on them and even the instructors often talked about it. She felt her heart racing, as she stood at the door frame, she knocked once. The door was opened by a young man, Lily had a bizarre feeling, she was sure she did not know the man, but she was certain she had seen him before.
"Please, come in, miss Lily" the man's deep voice and gesture make her move, and she stepped inside the 1A office.