Blueprint

P2 - Pendulum

George Masik settles the nerves of everyone in the room, causing a laugh to break out. The man is bronze-skinned, light eyed hospitable-looking light in this somber environment. He takes an emptied seat by the group of interns, establishing a same level eye contact. It seemed to relax everyone. He sat down to most likely avert from a dominant, authoritative demeanor, and place himself at a more appealing, calming level. I noticed the way he folds his hands on his lap, leaning into his chair until his eyes find my observant ones. "You," he points out, and my stomach twists with unwanted attention. "Why are you so far away? C'mon, sit closer so I don't have to yell."

I grab my bag, holding it against my chest and quickly shuffling to sit closer to the group with pathetically stiff movements, besides a blonde with pin straight hair past her shoulders. Slim, serious-looking, and her light brown, rounded eyes glance over to me, a sickly sweet smile sent in my direction. Making my transition as quickly as possible, I look away and swallow down my ridiculous amounts of social anxiety.

George claps his hands together, nodding in content with how everyone is situated. "Okay, so this is how things are going to work. You'll each be assigned a lawyer who feels generous enough to take you under their wing. You'll be their assistant, their go-to, and you better learn quickly. You'll attend their meetings, go to the courthouse with them, attend to their surplus paperwork. The kind of day-to-day operations. Be nice. We asked for volunteers because they're most likely not going to hate you, and that means they're looking forward to your presence. So don't waste anyone's time if you're not looking to learn from this experience." He concludes, gazing around the group of six interns including myself, keeping the eye contact brief and general. "So, why don't we take turns and introduce ourselves?"

Oh no. Nothing beats having to muster the courage to tell them my name without stammering through it. I inhale deeply as the more self-assured types introduce themselves, saying a quick little fact to tag to the introduction as if anyone would remember it. The blonde beside me is named Addison Deans, and she likes cars. Next to her, is a dark-skinned student with a beautifully blue tie. His name is Jonas Avers, and he loves the outdoors and camping. A couple more go until I'm the only one left. It's painfully obvious that I'm yet to go, and I gaze around the room to find everyone's eyes watching me, noting my appearance. I feel my face go hot, and I slouch and hold my bag in my lap a little tighter.

"I-I'm Athena Dulce. I'm also majoring in physics," I manage to say, feeling content.

Until Jonas lets out a soft laugh and questions, "Dulce? As in Spanish for sweet?"

"Cute," someone else says. A light-brown haired intern with electric deep blue eyes. His voice casual, though the smirk on his face is evident.

My eyes averting to my lap, I wonder why they had taken the sudden liking to speaking off of my introduction rather than anyone else's. Am I naturally a beacon of opportunity for mockery? I tell myself to relax, and not take it too seriously. They were most likely just trying to make conversation, and by ignoring them, I had just made it worse. I manage to sit there and not make any more of it, thankfully.

George widens his eyes slightly with a breath blown from his parted lips. Standing to his feet, he announces, "Okay...well, it's nice to meet all of you. So here it goes. I have everything committed to memory, something you should all learn to do. Fast recall is a great skill to obtain — anyway, Jonas, you're with Ms. Diane Blues. She's a fifty year-old mega boss. She always brings us home cooked meals. Awesome woman. You're welcome," he snaps his fingers, pointing to Jonas. "She's in office B3, that's the second floor on this firm. Go, go!"

Jonas grins and grabs his laptop bag, scurrying out of the room past the glass double doors. He's rushing down the hall towards the elevator when he soon becomes unimportant. "Addison, you're with Mr. James Yung. He is sharp, quick, and loves to teach, so have fun with him. His sense of humor is all law puns, so even if you don't get it, laugh. If you do, it'll be terrible, but still...laugh."