Isla sat in class, looking sad. She was worried because she was running low on funds. Melissa walked in with a pack of cookies.
"What's up, girl? Why do you look so sad? Anything going on with you?" Melissa asked.
Isla sighed.
"I need a job. I wasn't paid before I got fired. My mum is mad at me and my sisters are hungry."
Melissa pulled out a chair and sat next to Isla.
"That video is trending. Someone would help you eventually. It was my plan."
Isla looked really confused. She had no idea Melissa was the one who posted the video. She thought bloggers got the news from other sources...
"So, it was you?" Isla asked.
"Me, what?"
"You posted that video online!" Isla yelled.
"Uh-huh, I did," Melissa said and took a bite of her cookie.
"Want some?" She asked and Isla glared at her.
"That video hasn't helped me in any way. My mum saw it, and she felt I was too impulsive. Yeah, I know I was, but you wouldn't have posted it. I haven't even gotten a job offer from anyone." Isla lamented.
"Hmmm. I think I should edit the post and make everyone know you're also looking for a job, and I'll tag you on the post, so anyone could reach you if they want to."
Isla rolled her eyes.
"Can you think of something real? You know this won't work. What else can we do? Where can I work? I can't depend on my online thrift alone. I rarely get customers."
"You should have thought of that before you slapped your ex-boss. Well, I'm making that post and I'm tagging you. I'll also help you search for jobs online. Hopefully, I'll get one for you." Melissa said.
"Thank you, Lisa," Isla said and gently squeezed her friend's hand.
"But, how do I survive now? I haven't gotten the job yet." Isla complained.
Melissa withdrew her hand from Isla's and began to search her pocket.
"I think I have some cash here.... or is it in my bag?" She said.
She searched her pocket, and she found a hundred-dollar note.
"Here, take it. It might not do much, but it would to an extent." She said and handed it to Isla.
"Thank you so much, Melissa," Isla said and tightly hugged her friend.
"Yeah, let me go. I can't breathe." Melissa said and Isla let go of her.
"I'm sorry," Isla said and they both laughed.
**************
Nicholas sat in the office restaurant. It was break time, so he had gone down to get fish pie and tea.
As he sat down, waiting for his order, he began to scroll through his phone.
He saw a video of two ladies yelling at each other and scrolled past it. But he sensed some familiarity, so he went back. He discovered that it was at the fashion exhibition show.
It was Isla and her overbearing boss. He decided to watch the full video and saw everything that happened, including where Madison fired Isla.
"Your order, sir." The pretty waitress said, distracting him.
"Thank you." He responded without looking at her. That was something he learnt from Ethan.
He watched it to the end, and he sighed. He then read the caption written under the video. It said:
BOSS FIRED THE EMPLOYEE BECAUSE SHE FAILED TO GET ETHAN GEORGE'S ATTENTION AND THE EMPLOYEE DID. THE GIRL IS UNEMPLOYED NOW, AND SHE IS THE BREADWINNER. SHE HAS FOUR YOUNGER SIBLINGS TO CARE FOR. HELP!
Nicholas read lazily and sighed again.
He checked the comments section of the post and saw people tagging Ethan's official account.
They were only wasting their time, Because Ethan never used that account.
The person who used it was Nicholas himself. And he only logged in a few times to make a post.
He logged into Ethan's account and saw almost five thousand notifications and unread messages.
He ignored them and went straight to Melissa's post.
Then he commented.
"I need her contact."
In less than two minutes, that comment was getting likes and so many replies.
Nicholas knew that whenever he came back to check for the contact, he might not see it, so he made another comment.
"Text it directly to me."
Then, he logged out.
He quietly ate his snacks and after about fifteen minutes, he was back in Ethan's office.
**********
Ethan glared at Nicholas as he walked into his office casually.
"You have a two-hour break. Why are you back?" He asked.
"Relax, Ethan. I missed you and I know you did too, so I'm here to keep you company." Nicholas said and sat opposite Ethan. He raised his legs up and placed them on Ethan's table.
"Put your leg down!" Ethan said.
"No one is coming at the moment bro." Nicholas said with an annoying smile.
"What do you want?" Ethan asked.
"Well...I was thinking, you know, the incident at the exhibition show. How did it happen?" Nicholas asked.
Ethan sighed and relaxed his back.
"Well, I let my guard down. I can't say for sure how it happened, it all happened so fast. I heard a sound from the corner. Now that I think about it, I think it was to lure me and they were successful. After I got there, I didn't see anything, but I knew someone was there. I was just about to go out to get the standby cop when I was hit in the head by something. So, that was how it happened." Ethan explained.
"What an interesting story. Sounds like a scene from a movie. Why don't you use this experience to produce your own movie?" Nicholas said grinning.
"Get out of my office." Ethan said, but he smiled.
"Well, when you thought all hope was lost, along came your hero, Isla."
Ethan's eyes had an unusual glow.
"Isla. Do you know how she's doing? I haven't heard of her."
Nicholas smirked and brought out his phone. He logged into Ethan's official account and tossed the phone to Ethan.
Ethan glanced at Nicholas before picking up the phone. He saw Melissa's message and opened it.
It was Isla's contact and an appreciation text.
"I don't understand." Ethan said.
"She needs your help. She was fired from her job because of that incident at the exhibition show." Nicholas explained and Ethan creased his brows.
"Hold on. She was fired because she saved me? That's crazy. I remember her boss, this lady with a heavily made up face. She can't just fire Isla because of that. Perhaps, Isla has been doing a lot of shit before. I actually don't care if she was fired or not. Just send her some money as a token of my appreciation. That's the best I can do. If she needs a job, she should as well fix her behavior." Ethan said.
"But, she..."
"Enough Nick! I don't want to hear about this anymore." Ethan said and tossed the phone back to Nicholas.
Nicholas picked the phone and walked out with a disappointed look on his face.
He immediately copied the number and dialed it.....