In the vibrant and bustling city of Akoma Hills, resided a group of friends who were inseparable.
Until they weren't.
The inexplicable disappearance of one of their own leaves them bewildered and desolate, while also fracturing their friendships...
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A couple days had passed since it had been announced that Vanessa's case was a possible homicide. Sadness and uneasiness clouded the city, the same way the thick cloak covered the city last year when she went missing.
Mimmi was still processing the new information, and it was especially difficult to think about it along with the encounter she had at the campsite. She couldn't even allow herself to feel angered by the near-assault because the guilt from seeing the Acolatses was overpowering. She was sad, and as much as she wanted to spend all day ruminating, she needed to come in to work.
"Assignments in two minutes!" Selassie reminded, patting Mimmi on the back as she passed behind her cubicle.
"Huh?" Mimmi broke out of her thoughts, removing her hand from the side of her face. She had been at work for a few hours now, and she felt so unproductive because of how deep in her head she was.
"The meeting with Max and the group is starting and we need to be there like yesterday." Selassie urged, gently grabbing Mimmi's wrist and pulling her out of the chair.
Mimmi was usually the first one at the meetings, and would be the one looking down on everyone who showed up at the last minute. Clearly, the news about Vanessa was affecting her at work, and she very much disliked that.
Mimmi huffed as she followed after Selassie. "What's the point anyway? He's probably going to assign me a case about a stupid fire hydrant."
Selassie laughed while teasing, "Oh, be optimistic. Maybe the fire hydrant will have magical powers."
"Mɛnya wo." Mimmi sucked her teeth in response, playfully rolling her eyes.
The ladies make their way to the conference room, which was already packed with their colleagues, leaving them no seat at the boat-shaped conference table. Luckily, Max hadn't arrived yet so they stood against a wall and situated themselves before his arrival.
A few minutes later, Max waltzed in with a briefcase in hand. The stout, balding man held a straight look on his face, his mustache having the illusion of a frown above his lips. He was always serious and it was rare for his employees to see him smile. No one knew much about him other than his work persona, which left people thinking he was too intimidating, making it difficult to get close to him.
"Thank you all for being here on time." he greeted, placing the briefcase on the end of the table where he stood. "I am going to keep this meeting as brief as possible, as I have another one to attend."
He pulled out his phone from his pants' pocket, and held it up to his face. Max kept his information and case assignments on an online document, which he would read aloud from his phone.
"Okay, so before I give you guys the other logistics, I'll start with the case assignments for this week."
He started calling out names and the cases he assigned them for the upcoming weeks. People were getting pretty good stories, ranging from social justice issues like colorism in the workplace to more specific stories, like one surrounding a convict who was currently being considered for the death penalty. Selassie was given a case about a minor who reported his foster parents for child abuse. Though it's not the happiest topic, Mimmi knew that such a case would allow for much to discuss and write about. She hoped that her assignment was something similar.
