The Competition ~ Bucky Barnes x OC

[1] Competition

We were never going to make it.

The idea was impossible and quite honestly ridiculous. We knew that from the beginning, but still we pushed through and ultimately came to the same heart breaking conclusion. I wasn't going to deny the small, selfish part of myself that wished he would give up, that he would fail and the victory would be mine to take. Was this the sort of person I wanted to be?

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The car sat idle at the curb side. It's engine powered off many moments ago. Josie sat in the drivers seat in silence, her thoughts created enough noise to deafen her completely. She thought hard about the impression she wanted to create this morning; to both her competitors and her potential future employers. Whether she wanted to be shown as confident, smart, funny, popular or even ruthless in her journey to the top.

When her leg began to mindlessly bounce with nerves, she decided it was time to enter the grand publishing firm. The exterior of the building was just as intimidating as the inside.
An amber glow bounced off the glass of the floor to floor windows and she could see the rising sun being reflected from behind her.

Upon approaching the double doors into the company reception area she spied a daunting young woman perched behind the welcome desk. Ironic, Josie thought, as the woman looked far from welcoming with her inky black hair sleeked back into a low bun at the nape of her neck and her pristinely ironed business suit. A pair of simple framed glasses secured on the edge of her long raven hooked nose. Even darker beady eyes peered over her glasses at the sight of Josie, her hand outstretched towards the automatic sliding doors.

The sight of this woman had Josie unconsciously tucking her paper draft tighter under her arm as she went to push the door open. She jumped back startled, almost dropping all her papers as the doors shot open at her movements.  Automatic doors, she confirmed, what an idiot.

She made her way towards the welcome desk hoping nobody else had noticed her embarrassing moment. She was unbeknownst to the handsome man who followed behind her, his slight chuckle had been soundless.

Unlike Josie, he had noticed the many different sign posts, pointing him into the direction of the grand room which will provide instructions and kickstart the competition.

"Excuse me, I'm here for the Young Writers internship competition," Josie tried her hardest to keep her voice even as she stuttered her words to the woman.

The raven women, simply pushed her glasses further up her nose and continued to stare at Josie, not uttering a single word. Josie continued awkwardly, "Uh, would you be able to point me in the right direction?"

She lifted her hand from the desk, her pen still being grasped between her palm, and used this to point to possibly the biggest sign there was.

Josie adverted her eyes and beside the desk she spotted a hand made sign mounted on a tripod almost as big as her.

'Intern competition this way' paired with a solid black arrow.

"Oh thank you," she muttered, scurrying down the halls. This was not the first impression that she wanted to make, but hopefully she can do better within the welcome meeting.

By the time she entered the office room, it was full up. All the time she'd wasted both in the car and reception, did not do her well. She paused in the door way, surveying the room. It was clearly an unused office room as it had the same identical floor length windows as previous rooms she passed. However, the rounded table that she often saw in the middle of the room, had been folding up and pushed into the furthest corner. This was to make room for the dozens of folding metal chairs that had been strategically placed in rows all facing towards the projector on the far wall. Every chair has been filled with people of all different styles and appearances. All within their 20's. All competing for the same objective. A job within the most successful publishing firm in London.