When life seems too hard, remember there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Chapter 1.

Zia is a struggling university student. She works as a part-time retail assistant to cover her rent and other utilities while she studies. Currently, she lives in a tiny run-down studio. If she didn't take student loans to cover her university tuition fees, even paying for the place would be impossible for her.

Feeling extremely exhausted from being on her feet all day, serving customers non-stop, all she wants to do is to soak up in a bath, but even that is impossible. Her boiler broke down about one month now and it's already winter.

When she got home, she quickly boiled the kettle. She has to fill her tub with at least 10 litres of hot water so she can wash. The faster the kettle boils the faster she can wash up. In between boiling hot water and pouring it into her tub, she fried an egg and microwaved left-over rice for dinner. Since she's saving up, she can't afford fancy food, so this is a luxury for her right now. After washing up she wore 2 thick socks and layered her pyjamas. She lay on the edge of her duvet and rolled towards the middle so that the duvet is wrapping around her like a hotdog roll. Ahhh finally I can rest she thought.

As she was finally drifting to sleep, she heard banging noises coming from the studio next to her.

A loud thud, thud, thud accompanied with Ah! Ah! Ah! Woke her. Ughhh not again she thought. She tried to cover her ears but even her bed is shaking. As she is wrapped tightly with her duvet, she rolled to the side of her bed unwrapping the duvet which annoyed her on another level because now the heat she painstakingly generated is escaping. Piece of sh*ts she thought. She got up and took a baseball bat she bought from the charity shop. To make sure she can hit the wall as hard as possible, she stretched her neck and shoulders. Gaining momentum to hit the wall with all her might, reality hit her as thoughts came running through her mind and stopped her, I mean what if I break the wall? What if the bat goes through the other side? Will they ask me to pay for repairs? Can I pay for repairs? I mean I do have earplugs. Huhhh she sighed feeling defeated. She went to her drawer and took the earplugs pretended like she can't hear anything and went back to bed. Just wait until I have money, I will tear that wall down she promised herself as she drifted back to sleep.

.

The next day she got up early to go to the library where she started frantically looking for graduate jobs. This is serious business; my mental health is at stake. Honestly, it doesn't matter to her what job she gets as long as it pays her enough so she can move to a better apartment. As she was scrolling on the job website, she saw an advertisement for a personal assistant work:

Personal assistant Job requirements:

- Educated at university level.

- Available to travel with client if necessary.

- No experience required. Training will be given to the successful candidate.

Starting salary: £50,000

She examined the advert. It clearly listed the job role, but she was more focused on the job requirement. Hmm I can apply to this; the starting salary is extremely good for a graduate role. She sent her application. She continued her job hunting for 2 more hours. After, she started to write her thesis completely forgetting about the jobs she applied to. Worrying about it will not get her the job, the moment she sends her CV the results are out of her hands. If something is meant for you, it will come.

Zia went on with her days – working, attending university, studying. A week has passed since she applied for the graduate roles. Today, she received an email inviting her for an interview. It was for a clinical scientist role; she does biochemistry at university, so the role aligns perfectly to her specialism. She was excited. This is it, this is my chance, with this I can climb up the career ladder and earn lots of money. Mwahahahaha she laughed evilly in her head feeling that luck is finally on her side . She accepted the invite, envisioning her life once she gets the job. Hehehehe she can't help giggling, the image of herself walking in expensive clothes and bags made her feel giddy.

Finally, the interview day approached. Zia nervously straightened her skirt before entering the building. She feels nervous. Will she be able to perform her best? Will they like her? A stream of questions rushed to her, and she felt nauseous. When you're desperate for something you feel even more scared to make a mistake.

She walked to the reception: Hello, I am Zia Green. I am here for my interview. The receptionist looked up at her and looked through her list. She looked at her again and said: Please go to the second floor. You will be ushered to the waiting area; they will call you when it's your turn. Zia thanked her and followed her instruction.

After about 30 minutes, someone gestured for her to get in the interview room. The interview was straightforward, they asked her about her motivation, some soft skills, and technical skills. Overall, she felt positive about the interview. She left the building feeling refreshed. The tensed muscles relaxed as her anxiety slowly went away. Today was pretty stressful, I think I deserve some bubble tea she thought with a grin on her face. She felt happy so she called her best friend: Hey girl, I think the interview went well hehe. Her friend gigged with her and said: Well I am very happy for you girl, I told you there was nothing to worry about. You'll get the job.

Do you think so? Zia asked feeling even better now that her friend is flattering her.

Of course girl you are one of the smartest girl I know. Anyways stop thinking about it now, did I tell you I went on a date the other day?! Her friend gossiped.

OMG! Zia screamed you have to tell me all about it! With that, they chatted for hours completely forgetting about their problems.

The next day, as if mocking her for being excited she felt a big lump on her chest as she read her email:

Dear applicant,

After long deliberation, we have come to the conclusion that you are not the best fit for the role…

She felt warm tears rolling down her cheeks. She wants the tears to stop but she couldn't control them, instead, she started sobbing even harder.