The Unconventional Choices

Chapter 2

     "Want to take a break and go out for a beer?" My friend Sheila's question gave me a near heart attack at work when I was nervously searching my documents I had forgotten by the Xerox machine while sipping my coffee, and I ended up nervously spitting coffee all over the place.

     "You just spilled coffee all over my research papers I had been working on all week." She accused me as she lifted the papers dipped in coffee.

     "Oh no, I'm so sorry!" I apologized as my eyes welled up.

     "Relax! I have a soft copy of it, I was just pulling your leg." She laughed.

     "First of all, that wasn't funny. Second of all, why don't you say things like 'Wanna go out for a beer' in the middle of work in front of my boyfriend so he wouldn't think I'm such a geek." I yelled at her.

    "Calm down, why are you so loud and jumpy?" She complained.

     "I'm supposed to go to this party with Sunil this evening and I am really nervous about it." I explained.

     "What's to be nervous about? Just be yourself." She casually advised.

     "You mean be the Science girl at a party filled with bankers? I don't even know why he invited me. It's like a Targarian going to a Lannisters' party." I pointed out.

     "You'll be fine, as long as you have your dragons with you." She teased.

   I gave her an angry look but then decided to laugh it out with her.

     "So, are you ready to do this?" Sunil asked as we pulled over in front of Taj Vivanta to face my nightmare.

     "If I'm not ready, don't I have to go?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

     "It's going to be fine." He assured me as he took my hand and placed a soft kiss.

     "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go crash your party." I announced and he gave me a sarcastic smile.

   I tripped on my way a lot as we reached the main door. Luckily, Sunil was right next to me to catch me each time, not letting me fall and saving me from the embarrassment. As we walked in, I saw about a hundred people, all dressed in nice, classy, expensive suits and dresses. I felt a sudden chill run down my spine. It was nothing worse than I had imagined but being present at the actual situation seemed a lot scarier than my worst imaginations.

     "What a great party! When are we leaving?" I asked Sunil in a nervous tone. I didn't mean to be rude but at the moment, that was all I could think about.

    "You'll be fine, they are human beings just like you. Why don't you just go get yourself a drink while I go verify my presence to my boss. I'll be back in two minutes." He casually uttered and disappeared before I could stop him.

   Suddenly I realized I was standing all by myself in the nightmare. How could Sunil just leave me alone in the middle of a huge crowd of aliens? And why didn't he take me along with him to go talk to his boss? Was he afraid that his boss would take away his bonus after meeting me? I immediately shook away all the crazy thoughts out of my mind and tried to act confident. It was not easy to find the bar without anyone's help and along the way, I smiled at everyone I made eye contact with and they all smiled back. As I ordered a cosmo, I realized the bartender was also not an investment banker and it was not just me there from the outside world. Everything seemed normal and fine until a bunch of women approached me.

     "So, you're the Science girl?" One of the women guessed.

     "Oh yes, I am. But in the science world, they call me Tanya." I tried to sound cool and hide my nervousness.