LIVING THE DREAM I ONC 2024 [COMPLETE]

Eleven: The smiley intern, the nerdy jerk and the bone crushing hug

Hayley hadn't realized that she was smiling until William, who sat in driver's seat driving them to Vine on Monday, turned to her with his eyebrows raised.
"You're abnormally smiley this morning. Anything interesting happen over the weekend?"

Without bothering to hide the smile, she shrugged.
"Am I?"

William nodded. "You are."

And despite the receptionist sneering at her and almost pushing her into a wall in the womens' washrooms, her smile didn't fade. She went on with her internship duties humming to some music playing on her phone - because she could play music whenever Theo wasn't around to tell her not to.

She didn't know why. It could have been because of the situation at home. It was all smiles and teasing. All weekend, Mitchell had been out somewhere with Austin. Instead, Hayley had spent most of her time with Hannah and Claire, two of the coolest people she'd ever met. Hannah was the big sister she never had. They'd gossiped, talked about boys and crushes and painted their nails - well, Hannah got her nails painted because Hayley wasn't allowed painted nails in a food lab. As for Claire, she had some excellent music taste - of course, it came in handy with her being a music teacher. Plus, Claire drew like a pro and Hayley was considering having a tattoo drawn for her after internship.

"I'd scold you for playing music in the lab but I'll let it slide since you've done almost everything right."

She turned around to see Theo in his usual lab attire, leaning against the lab door and looking around. She'd arrived early, sterilized everything and cleaned around. The lab looked spotless.

"Your results for the milk you analyzed came out positive," Theo continued. "Usually, I don't take on interns because they can be so annoyingly lazy and ignorant. But you've surprised me. And because of that, I'll let you do a few more tests for yeasts and moulds in milk. Don't disappoint me, alright?"

"Of course," she beamed at him

"Good. When you are done cleaning here, you can help me take the solution in the fridge to the centrifuge in lab 3. I already let the gentleman know that you'll be going there."

Lab three was on the second floor and she hadn't got the chance to tour it on orientation day. However, it was general knowledge around all of Vine that lab three had the top-notch lab equipment and almost every lab personnel wanted to work there. They got the big shot projects, got more money and drove the more expensive cars in the parking lot. For some reason, Hayley wondered why Theo wasn't part of the workers in lab three. He had his Masters degree from abroad - like Hannah had mentioned - and was on his way to get his doctorate degree.

She wasn't disappointed when she exited the elevator to the second floor. Unlike the first floor, it was more sophisticated and had terrazzo floors instead of just cement. The doors and lights were motion sensitive and the lab itself? It was the kind you saw in Cyber Schools. Almost every machine in there was automatic. The autoclaves, ovens, incubators, and well, everything was self-timing.

"Hello there," her gawking session was cut short by an unfamiliar voice. She turned around to see a man, slightly shorter and younger than Theo. He, like most of the workers at Vine, had his lab attire on and glasses as well. With a smile, he took a couple of steps towards her. "You are Theophilus's intern, I assume?"

"I am. Can you show me to the centrifuge?"

"Sure thing. This way," he gestured for her to follow him to the one of the many rooms in the lab. "How's Theophilus treating you? I didn't think I'd see a day when he started taking on interns again."

Why is he calling him Theophilus?

"He treats me well, thanks," Hayley rolled her eyes. She wasn't interested in small talk but it wasn't like she could walk out and leave. Besides, she was in a good mood. Nothing could ruin it. "Woah! This centrifuge is huge!"

"Of course. Lab three gets the best of the best. Too bad, Theophilus has tried and failed to make it this side. It's a pity, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Here, place your solution here," the man - and Hayley had just realized that she hadn't bothered to ask for his name - showed her. "As I was saying, Theo is like one of the oldest workers here. Normally, if one works hard, they get promoted to lab three. My guess is that your supervisor is a lazy ass since he's been here for years and he hasn't landed the position yet. I think that's why he's taking interns again to get on boss's good side, don't you think?"

Hayley stood there dumbfounded. This dude talked way too much. But also, that was brand new information! It swirled and rotated in her thoughts all day. Whenever her eyes met Theo's as they worked, she wondered why he wasn't chatty with everyone and never had food at the lab cafeteria like everyone. It probably sucked to be in the same position for years while everyone got promoted.

It took William to snap her out of her thoughts as he drove her home.
"Is everything okay? You look distracted. I liked you better when you were smiling."

She let out a sigh. "How long has your brother worked at Vine?"

"Three or four years, I guess. Why?"

"I was in lab three today-"

William's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"What? You went to lab three? You are a lucky bitch!"

"That's besides the point. A guy in the lab told me that Theo has been trying to get promoted to lab three for a while with no success. I wonder why. Also, the guy was calling him Theophilus, like what even is that?"

"Did you say Theophilus?" William gasped. "Did that guy happen to be wearing glasses?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"That's James. I think Theo has ever talked about him in one of his rants I never listen to. I also think Theo said something along the lines of both of them working for the same promotion and that nerdy jerk got it instead."

Hayley shrugged. "He looked pretty bitter to me when he spoke about Theo. Shouldn't he be happy that he got the job?"

"Let's not talk about them. Tell me about your weekend."

And just like that, Hayley's smile retuned as she recalled all the events of the weekend.
"Do you know of a certain Hannah Dickinson?"

"I- Hannah Dickinson? Yes! How do you know her?"

"I don't want you to freak out," Hayley reached for William's free hand and squeezed it. "But, that Hannah is standing in front of my house right there."

That was all it took for William to suddenly brake and without even bothering to park properly, he took off in Hannah's direction. The last thing Hayley saw before she exited the car was the two of them tackling each other into bone crushing hugs.

Happy March. Thanks for reading:)