On Monday, just as I was packing up and getting ready to head out from Stomae, I paused, unable to stop myself from listening to what the others near me were discussing. A couple of weeks into my actual internship, I had been moved from my cubicle to another room, where three other people already worked. According to my boss Mark, myself and these other three people would be working for the part of the company that collaborated with 'Energy Advantage', a bigger corporation that dealt with the financial statements and bills of several major companies across the country, as well as the finances of companies in the United States. I had gotten to know. Adrian, who was one of the other three in the room, was a middle-aged man, I would guess in his early or mid-forties, and was married with three kids. The other two, Holly and Vanessa, were only a couple of years older than me. The four of us often took our lunch breaks at the same time, and occasionally our supervisor, Celine, would also join us for lunch.
"... think it should be a great party," Holly was saying. "Matt keeps saying he's going to get completely wasted." Matt was Holly's boyfriend of three years and counting; I hadn't met the guy yet, but he sounded like a real party animal.
Vanessa laughed. "Will is exactly the same way," she said. "He's already helped me pick out a dress for the party, and he never likes to get involved with clothes shopping!" She leaned back in her chair and grinned at me and Adrian; we were both in the midst of packing up and hadn't taken part in this discussion yet.
"So Adrian, what's Paula going to wear?" Paula was Adrian's wife.
Adrian looked a little uncomfortable. "I may not be able to go to the party," he said ruefully. "Can't find a sitter, all of our regular ones are either busy with their university exam preparation or they have some other pressing arrangement." It came as no surprise to me, I was aware that most places in town who offered part-time jobs had their own staff parties on December 6th as well.
Holly's jaw dropped. "What?! But you have to come!" she whined. "It won't be as much fun without you."
"Yeah, man, you have to come. It really won't be as fun," I said earnestly. I was still no closer to finding someone to go with to the party, and with only a little over a month to go now, I was starting to get really worried. I had been counting on Adrian at least being there; he and I had similar interests: we both loved watching soccer, we both owned and played a good deal on the Xbox, and could just talk in general about guy things, considering Holly and Vanessa, and sometimes Celine, would spend a great deal of time in animated discussions about female fashion trends.
Adrian afforded himself a chuckle. "I'm doing my best to find a babysitter," he said. "But if I haven't found one within the next two weeks, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to pass up on this year's party."
Vanessa suddenly chimed in. "Hey, Akash!"
"Hmm?"
"Who are you bringing to the party anyway?" she asked curiously. "I just realized I've never heard you talk about your girlfriend."
"I don't have a girlfriend," I replied.
Holly scoffed. "You're sooooooo full of shit," she grinned. "Come on, who is she? And how come none of us has ever seen her or heard her name?"
I stared at the two girls, and then looked over at Adrian for help, but he couldn't do anything more than give me a look and shrug of helplessness. "Holly, think about what you just said," I said slowly. "You've never heard of a name, or seen her, or heard about her from me. So why would you think I even have a girlfriend?"
Holly opened her mouth but then closed it again, stumped. Vanessa looked confused, too, but then spoke up. "But then who are you bringing to the party?" she demanded. "We all have to bring someone, what about you?"
