Episode 1
Elara's POV
Griiiiin… Griiiiiiiin…
The sound of my phone ringing woke me up. It had been ringing for almost a minute. I checked the screen — an unknown caller. Still half asleep, I answered.
"Hello, Elara speaking," I said politely.
"Elara, this is Stacy from Gree AI. You submitted your CV last week, and today is your review."
Hearing that, I jumped up immediately, completely forgetting to check my mail or follow up. Oh gosh!
"What time?" I asked quickly.
"10:00."
"Okay, I'm on my way," I said and hung up before she could finish.
It was already past nine. How was I supposed to complete a one-hour journey in less than an hour? I rushed around my room, making noise and pacing as I got dressed in a fitness dress for my interview — the one I like and feel comfortable in.
It's been a long time since I had an interview. I've been getting rejected for the past six months now. I earned my Computer Science degree two years ago from the same college my best friend is currently attending. We're the same age, but she isn't very brilliant academically, so she had to repeat her course. We live together, and she always cheers me up whenever I get rejected or have a bad day. I do the same for her too — we always have each other's back.
During these two years since graduation, I've had a few interviews, but most of them didn't like my casual dressing. I don't like corporate attire either, so we always end up clashing because I don't bend my rules.
Once, I was being interviewed and the interviewer yelled at me for arriving late. I yelled back, and security escorted me out — that was my last interview.
I stacked all my documents and stumbled out, heading for the bus station.
I rushed into the building, already five minutes late — technically more than five, but who cares?
I found my way to the interviewer's office after meeting Stacy at the front desk, who kept staring at my dress like what the hell. I walked in and the lady looked at me from top to bottom before finally saying,
"Young lady, did you miss your way?"
The hell? I don't wha—
I swallowed hard.
"I'm here for my interview, ma. I didn't miss my way. I'm Elara," I replied, on my best behavior.
"You came in dressed this way? And Elara… what are you again?" she asked.
"Elara Brooks," I said, and she started typing on her laptop.
Well, it was never really about the dress. It was about me refusing to shrink myself for their comfort.
"Okay, your grades are good. You're even more than qualified," she said, looking up at me, "but you have issues obeying rules, and you often question authority, based on your records here." She said this, moving her hands slightly.
I stared at her hard.
"Yeah, you didn't think we would check deeper on our workers? It's very important," she added, giving me a funny, deadly stare.
"Whatever," I said, packing my things and stumbling out furiously.
I spent the rest of my day at the animal shelter along the way home. My favorite animals are dogs. I talk to them, train them sometimes, and get paid a little because some of the keepers allow me — they know I'm good at it. It could have been a full-time profession, but there are no vacancies, and my bills are all over the place. Still, the little I get is enough for feeding and some other things.
Since I live with Kasey — her parents rent the apartment for her because of college and take care of the bills — let's just say I'm lucky in that aspect.
Heading home, I called Kasey and told her how my day went. She was sad and tried to cheer me up.
"You know what? We're going out tonight. There's this disco party — we're going together," she said loudly on the other end.
She knew I was going to turn it down, so she quickly added,
"I'm not taking no for an answer, Elara. I can't have you reflecting bad days all by yourself," she said in a very comforting tone.
"Fine, I'll be there," I said, rolling my eyes and sighing.
She giggled and hung up after saying she'd text me the club address.
I got home and started preparing for the night out. I showered and changed into an elegant, sexy, short red gown. It was tight, showing all my curves — my hips were well showcased, and I've got a tiny waist. I picked up a pair of black heels and added a touch of lipstick to smooth it all out.
My hair had been packed in a ponytail all day, so I loosened it and let it fall on my shoulders. When I was done, I checked myself in the mirror and started wondering why exactly I was overdressing.
Truth is, it's been a long time since I did stuff like throwing myself out there and having fun. Tonight, I can't lie, the thought that I might find a guy crossed my mind — but I don't think that's going to happen.
I smirked and quickly picked a matching purse, ready to leave before I changed my mind.
I got to the venue and the party was loud even from outside. I made my way through the crowd — everyone vibing, jumping, cheering, going crazy. Then I found Kasey, already fully in her element.
"Girl, you're a badass tonight. You're going to drive guys here crazy," she shouted over the blasting music.
"You ain't bad yourself," I said, already tuning in.
She dashed off and returned with two glasses, stretching one toward me. I took it and kept dancing.
"Come on, have a drink. Don't ruin this, Elara," she said, slowing her dance and giving me that puppy face I could never resist.
I gulped everything in the glass in seconds.
"Gosh, this is strong, Kasey," my eyes widened.
"Damn it, I need more!" I screamed.
Having a bad day just got a lot better than I could imagine.
Kasey dragged me to the bar and got more shots of tequila. We kept dancing, vibing, forgetting our worries. I really got wasted — got grabbed by a couple of guys but only danced with them.
Before we knew it, it was already morning and we were heading home.
I woke up slightly to the aroma filling the room. My head was banging hard. I gently rose and rested my back on the pillow, my eyes heavy and half-open.
I didn't even realize my ears were functioning until I heard Kasey.
"Hey baby girl," she teased, handing me a bowl of hangover soup.
I started devouring it before even noticing I was in pajamas.
"What happened?" I asked, touching my head.
"Let's just say you got pretty drunk yesterday," she said, then went on to give me the full gist — how I threw up a couple of times, how many guys hit on me, and how I kept turning them down after handling their life histories and reading their minds.
We laughed so hard.
My main gift is actually reading human behavior — predicting what people have done, what they're doing in that moment, and what they might do, by analyzing micro-expressions, body language, and emotional patterns.
I don't really like it because I get overwhelmed and often wish I didn't have it. It hurts me emotionally sometimes, though I know how to suppress it when I want to.
That's one reason Kasey doesn't want me to know her current boyfriend. From previous ones, I always knew when they just wanted to hook up and weren't serious. I even threatened one once.
The last time I asked her to show me her current boyfriend, she took to her heels in the park while I kept giggling and teasing her.
"You were like, 'Oh boy, spare me that. You don't really want me, you just want a whore to yourself tonight, isn't it?'" she said, laughing and giving me all the details.
I finished my soup and strolled around the apartment to loosen up.
"Elara, that reminds me — your mom called while you were asleep. I had to pick and cook up some lie. You should call her back," she said with another innocent puppy face.
"I don't think that's a good idea," I said, waving the thought away.
"Elara, just hear what she's got to say. This time she sounded pretty sad."
"She always sounds sad, Kasey. She probably wants money for gambling or drugs. I don't even think I want to find out," I retorted.
"She could be in trouble, like the last time she was locked up."
That hit me.
I've had to bail her out too many times. Her anxiety and BP spike whenever she's locked up because my dad died in jail. They met on the street, gambled, did all sorts of things together, and raised me in all of that too. I had to fight hard to turn out this way.
After dad died, she got worse — added drugs and all.
"Fine, I'll try reaching out to her. Is that okay?" I said dramatically.
"Sure," she shrugged, smiling.
Life kept moving. A couple more interviews failed. I sent more applications, most got rejected. I later called mom and found out she needed money for medication this time — she got sick. I went over a couple of times to make sure she took them.
After getting better, bang — she went back to her old life. Hoping she would change was a big mistake.
I was coming back from another failed interview, heading home tired. I got out of the train station, walking slowly, feeling the cool breeze on my face — when I was suddenly knocked to the ground by a guy being chased by some agents. I only saw his face for a split second.
"Out of the way! Out of the way!" they shouted, flashing their badges. Their guns and gear were visible, but it was a crowded area — they couldn't shoot or be irrational. Clearly, the guy knew how to play it.
I was still on the ground, dizzy, when a young, tall, well-built man walked up to me, looking concerned. The rest of his team had chased the suspect.
"Madam, are you okay? I'm Detective Tony. I'm sorry about this," he said, helping me up and gathering my scattered files.
I couldn't say a word back.
Almost immediately, one of his men returned and told him the suspect was gone — last seen heading to a road that split into different parts of the city.
Now that they were done attending to me…
"Hey, we can't give up now. We can't have him out there. We need his intel," Tony said to the man who seemed like his right-hand guy.
"Tony, that road splits in four. How are we going to narrow that down? That'll be a waste of resources," the guy replied.
"What's his crime?" I asked.
They both paused and looked at me like I had asked the weirdest question.
"And who are you again?" the other guy asked sharply.
"We can't tell you that. You're a civilian," Tony added.
"Well, let's see," I said, heading toward the road he mentioned. They followed me like what the hell is she doing?
Analyzing the few seconds I had seen his face, I started speaking out loud.
"Whatever is going on, he looked less scared of you guys. So there are ruthless people involved — likely gangs. How many of these roads have gang territory?"
"That's your theory? All these roads have gang territory," the other guy scoffed.
Tony said nothing, but didn't seem uninterested either.
"He also looked relieved. If gangs are involved, they probably have leverage on him. Someone close — maybe a sister. He looks like a big brother type."
"He doesn't have a sister in his file," the other guy cut in.
"You got a better idea? This isn't the first time you've been wrong. Files don't have everything," I shot back.
"What are you getting at?" Tony asked.
"He looked dehydrated and pleased, like he'd gotten away. First he'd reunite with his sister, then feed her. That would be in places they're comfortable in — like mini supermarkets they shoplift from. How many neighborhoods here have low-security mini marts?"
"Two," Tony replied.
"Any medical record?" I asked.
"This one road has the nearest hospital," Tony pointed.
"Then it's this one," I said. "By now he's probably heading to the hospital. He likely has an inside man smuggling meds."
Another officer rushed in.
"There's a report of a theft at a mini supermarket on that road. One male, one female. Ten minutes ago."
Tony looked at me.
"All units, move toward Eastvale Crossway. Converge at Greyson Hospital," he ordered.
And everything started moving fast.