Requested by mechagigan2004.
My first requested story! Hope it meets your expectations!
She saw him. She saw him every single day. Always from a distance, never speaking to him, but she saw him. She didn't know if he saw her, but she always saw him. He was quiet most of the time, but he seemed to be happy. Maybe that was why she never spoke to him.
Time passed, and soon they finished middle school, then high school. Still, no communication occurred between them. But she always saw him.
Once they both graduated high school, she lost track of him, but he kept crossing her mind every few days. Even when she got a new job, she wondered what had become of him. Was he working? Did he have a wife and kids? Had he gotten into an accident at some point and didn't make it?
She wasn't sure why she thought about him so much or why she had never even talked to him. They barely even made eye contact all those years of school. So why was it that she couldn't get him out of her mind?
Karly Mathis was two IQ points shy of being a genius. She aced all of her college exams and almost right when she graduated from school, she was employed in the U.S. Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. She started off as an intern, but quickly moved up in the world over the next five years.
Karly was also a very pretty woman. She had straight brown hair that reached just below the middle of her back which she usually kept up in a half-ponytail with her hair parted to the left.
A couple of her co-workers had flirted with her before, but she had made it clear that she was focusing on her work and didn't want to be involved with any of them. Besides, she knew those guys were only flirting because they liked the way she looked. She wanted someone who admired her for who she was, not what she looked like.
On what was supposed to be an ordinary day, a visitor appeared in the Defense Sciences Office where she worked who would change everything.
"Karly," one of her coworkers, Shane, said quietly to her. He pointed out the older man walking into their workplace. "See him? That's Dr. Emil Hamilton. Word on the street is he's looking for a new assistant to become a research technician with him. Everyone wants the position. This guy is the real deal."
"I thought he always worked alone," Karly said.
"He has. Until now."
Karly looked at Dr. Hamilton. He wore black-rimmed glasses and he had curly graying hair on a balding head. While he looked rather quiet, he seemed nice enough and she had heard people talk about him and his job all the time. Nearly everyone in the agency wanted the chance to work with him.
An email was sent out to all the workers in each branch of DARPA with the information on how to apply to become Dr. Hamilton's new research assistant. An application form was attached to the email that was to be turned in within the week. All of the applications that were accepted went on to have an interview with Dr. Hamilton. By the end of the month, Dr. Hamilton would contact the lucky person who got to earn the title of 'research assistant/technician'.
When Karly clocked out, she went home and printed out the application form. As she sat on the couch, she just stared at the blank form wondering if she should fill it out or not. It was a huge commitment and she was sure a lot of people wanted the position more than she did.
She decided that it couldn't hurt to at least turn in the form. After all, a ton of people were going to be applying and her chances were slim anyway. She'd rather apply and not get the position than not fill it out at all and spend the rest of her life wondering what could have been.
The next morning, Shane caught up with her as she went to turn the form in, seeing as he was turning in one as well.
"So, you decided to apply, did you?" he asked.
"Why not?" Karly said as she put the form in the appropriate mailbox. "It's worth a try."
"You've got a shot. You're really, really smart, and you're the best worker in our department."
"Well, thanks, Shane. You flatter me."
"It's true. I think you've made a lot of people nervous by applying. You're practically a shoe-in."
"Okay. Now you're just sugar-coating. Just go back to work."
The two smiled at each other and Karly sat down at her computer to do some research and get a couple of files together.
"Hey, Karly," Shane said coming over to her desk a few hours later to pick her up for lunch. "Apparently over 100 people have applied, just today!"
"Wow," Karly said as she stood up and grabbed her things. "What was that about me being a shoe-in?"
"I'm staying true to my words."
"Whatever, Shane."
By the end of that week, hundreds upon hundreds of people had applied for the position. Karly kept refreshing her email every hour to see if anything had come up about an interview. The application said that they would contact her by Wednesday night and it was now Wednesday afternoon. She tried not to get her hopes up since she knew so many people had applied, but she was still nervous all the same. It didn't help that Shane believed she was destined for the job.
Then, at 11:30 Wednesday night, a new email appeared in her inbox from DARPA.
With trembling fingers, she opened it. It read:
Dear Miss Mathis,
We are pleased to inform you that after careful reviewing of each application, you have been selected for an interview with Dr. Emil Hamilton. Your interview will be conducted on Saturday, April 14th at precisely 3:00 PM in Dr. Hamilton's office.
Please bring a copy of your résumé to the interview and be prepared to stay for as long as an hour.
Thank you for applying and good luck.
Karly couldn't believe it. Her application had been accepted and she was scheduled for an interview with none other than Dr. Emil Hamilton. She was a step closer to earning that coveted position.
"Shane!" Karly squealed as she came into work that morning. "I got an interview!"
"Nice!" Shane congratulated.
"What about you?"
"No, I never got the email."
Karly frowned. "Oh, Shane, I'm so sorry. You should've gotten one."
"It's okay, Karly. I knew I didn't have a chance against you anyway."
"I'm not there yet. I still have to get through the interview portion and I'm sure that's going to be even tougher than the last part."
"When's your interview?"
"Saturday at 3:00."
"Well, good luck! Not that you need it."
"Shane, stop it! You're going to give me a big head!"
"I'm just telling the truth!"
Karly rolled her eyes as they both got back to work.
Once Saturday rolled around, Karly tried desperately to calm the raging butterflies in her stomach. When she pulled up to Dr. Hamilton's office, the butterflies flew in her stomach even faster and harder.
She went upstairs to his office and quietly knocked on the door.
"Come in," a voice on the other side said.
She slowly opened the door and found a huge office with Dr. Hamilton sitting at his desk.
"You must be my 3:00 interview," he said standing up. "What's your name?"
"Karly Mathis, sir," Karly replied as she shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Karly. Please have a seat."
"Thank you."
After taking her résumé from her, Dr. Hamilton dug through a huge stack of papers and eventually pulled out her application form.
Karly began getting nervous again, realizing just how many people she was up against for the position she so direly craved.
"Alright," he muttered. "It says here that you got all A's in every single one of your college classes each semester?"
"Yes, sir."
"That's very impressive. And how long have you been working at DARPA?"
"About five years now. I started out as an intern, but now I work in the Defense Sciences Office."
"And how long have you been working there?"
"Around three and a half years."
"Very impressive. Alright, Miss Mathis, what is your all-time favorite TV show?"
"Um…what?"
"What's your favorite TV show?"
"Um…I guess, Arrow or Once Upon a Time."
"What do you like about those shows?"
"Arrow always keeps things fresh and has a lot of good-looking actors in it." When she saw Dr. Hamilton smile at her comment, she laughed, "I know, I know. I'm a grown woman still thinking about attractive actors. Anyway, I like Once Upon a Time because it finds interesting new ways to intersect the traditional fairy tales we know and love and gives us a new perspective of them while still staying true to the original story."
"Good. Now that you are much more relaxed, the interview can begin."
Karly smiled. It was a faux question to get her to calm down. She already liked this guy. Now that she was more comfortable, Dr. Hamilton started the interview.
"Karly Mathis?" a voice said over the phone.
"Yes?"
"This is Dr. Hamilton."
Karly's breath hitched in her throat as she pondered the reason why he was calling. Surely it couldn't be because she got the job.
"Good morning, sir," she said, finally finding her voice. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, thank you. After weeks of going over applications and interviews, I have made my decision. Congratulations, Karly. You've earned the honor of being my research assistant."
Karly nearly dropped her mug of tea. "What?"
"I'll expect you in my office at 9:00 on Monday morning. Welcome aboard!"
"Thank you so much, Dr. Hamilton."
Karly released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Once the initial shock wore off, she continued her morning routine at dizzying speed, elated to get to DARPA and tell Shane the good news. She practically sprinted into work quietly calling for him. "I did it," she told him once she had reached his desk. "I got the job!"
"You did? That's great!" he exclaimed as he hugged her. "I told you that you were a shoe-in! Congratulations! When do you start?"
"Monday. I'm here to pack up my things and get moving into my new space."
"I'm sorry to see you go. But I always knew you were meant for better things than staying here forever. I'm so happy for you, Karly."
"Thanks, Shane. I'll see you around."
Karly began clearing out her workspace and as she left the DSO, she took one last look around, then took the next step that would further her career…and later change life as she knew it.
For the next year, Karly worked closely with Dr. Hamilton and eventually became more of a partner than an assistant.
One day, when Karly came into the office, Dr. Hamilton was just packing everything up. "Karly, I'm glad you're here. We've been called in by NorthCom to go to the Arctic to check out some strange object they've found. It might be a military weapon, but they don't know for certain. That's why we're being called in."
"The Arctic?"
"Yes, and we're expected there by tonight. I'll pack up everything we need here and I'll meet you at the airstrip in two hours."
"Yes, sir."
Karly ran back home and packed up her necessary bags and the research equipment she kept at home. Then she drove to the airstrip and she and Dr. Hamilton boarded the plane. The ride was long and really, really boring. But what Karly couldn't count on was just how much her whole world was about to be turned upside down.