The first quarter of the year was completed and I felt like I could breathe again. Elma hadn't said anything about moving out and I didn't ask either. I guess we had both enjoyed sharing the cost of rent. However that didn't mean things were back to normal, just yet…
Elma and I were at home on our laptops. I saw a notification pop up at the side of my screen. It was an email from our directors. The subject read "Quarterly staff party." I was going to put the email in my "Junk" folder when Elma's voice caught me by surprise. "The staff party is coming up! It will be my first. What's it like, Nai?" I answered her honestly. "I don't really know. I don't usually go to these stuff." She shot back, "That's so like you Nai." She paused for a moment and continued speaking. "What do you say we both go to the party? It would be nice but if you're not up to it, I'll understand." Before I answered her, I thought about my response. She and I were still being awkward around each other after "that night." I thought maybe the party would be a good way to bring some normalcy between us again. I smiled warmly at her. "It sounds like a plan."
At the party, I was sitting at a little table with Kobayashi and Elma. We were all chatting about the relief from completing last quarter's work. I thought Kobayashi was a cool person and I had become more comfortable speaking to her, thanks to Elma. I thought Kobayashi was an introvert like me. She told us she didn't really like staff events like these but because her maid's spring cleaning day was the same day as the party, she decided to come so as not to bother her maid. Elma asked, "So how is Tohru and Kanna doing? I haven't seen them in a while but I run into Lucoa sometimes." "Oh they're ok. Kanna's school will be closed for break soon. And Tohru is well…Tohru." And to that both Kobayashi and Elma grinned like if they were having their own private in-joke. I nervously twirled my straw and stared at my drink. I began to get the urge to pee so I excused myself and went to the washroom. Upon exiting the washroom, I saw three men approaching me. I did not recognize any of them. I thought they must have been from the accounts or IT department. My heart rate increased as their bloodshot eyes locked with mine. They weren't walking in a straight line. I tried to run but my legs couldn't move out of fear. They approached me in a matter of seconds. I tried to see if there was a space to sneak out but I couldn't see anything because they had surrounded me. My only escape would be to duck but that would look too strange and maybe complicate things even further. As I was contemplating my next move, the tallest of the three spoke up, "Well well well, wut d'we have here sweet thing you…I want to…*hiccup*" His speech was slurred and he had the hiccups. It was obvious these men were wasted. I decided to politely ask them to move out of my way. "Please excuse me" I told them loudly as I tried to push past the one at the end. Before I knew it, he grabbed my hand and shoved me against the wall. The men who were a feet away from me some moments ago, now stood only inches away from me. The man who shoved me, still pinned me against the wall, giving special attention to my hands that were pinned to the wall, above my head. "Please let me go" I pleaded to them. "We just want to buy you a drink. Nothing else" the man in the middle said as he leaned closer and blew in my ear. I turned my face away from them. "No thank you." "Jus leh us buy you drinks. Is a party aft'r all ya know" the tall one said. "No it's fine. I don't want any drinks. Just please let me go." The man who pinned me against the wall grabbed my chin and swung my face so that I was looking right into his reddened eyes. "Shut up bitch! I don't know what's the problem with women these days. You offer to buy them drinks and they have to behave like a bitch." He began to fondle breasts. The other guys just laughed. Damn you Elma for convincing me to come here. I was blaming Elma but I knew she wasn't at fault here. It was no one's. I tiptoed to look over the shoulders of the men who cornered me to see if anyone was around. But there were some people at the farthest corner of the large room and they were either drunk or minding their own business. Elma and Kobayashi were in the other room and I was at the back, with three drunk men who could have done anything to me and no one would see. At that moment, all I wanted to do was go home and cry. I felt violated. Hot tears pooled at the corner of my eyes. "Hm what's this? Missy is crying. Maybe we should give her something to cry for, boys." The other two men nodded and the tallest one began to loosen the buttons of the shirt I was wearing. I tried to speak but my words caught in my throat. The only thing I could utter was "No". "Heh she's enjoying this. Slut." My mind began to wander. I thought if I tried to think about something pleasant and shut out what was happening to me in the moment, then I wouldn't remember anything or feel anything, for that matter. I began to think about the times Elma and I walked to our apartment and the little conversations we would have about food. I hadn't realized how happy our little chats had made me feel up until that moment. Soon enough I was in a daydream and completely forgot about the world around me. "Let her go." I heard a familiar voice. I thought I was still daydreaming but I quickly snapped back to reality as the sound of someone's high-pitched voice echoed throughout the room. "Didn't you hear me? I said let her go!" The three men turned around to see the source of the command. There she was- the only person in the world that I could call a friend, glaring angrily at the men. I had never seen her like this. Her expression gave off the vibe that she could kill anyone if they got in her way. The room had emptied by then and only the five of us were inside. The three men started laughing loudly. They covered their eyes and arched their backs in drunken laughter. "And who the hell are you to tell us what to do?" "Final warning. Let go of her or else…" "Or else what?" "Hm we're listening" one of them said as he placed his hand by his ears, as if to mock Elma. I looked on, not knowing what to do. All I knew was that Elma and I were in danger. She stomped her feet on the ground and I could have sworn the ground shook. "THAT'S IT!" she shouted. I think her voice could have been heard in the other room, even with the music blaring in the background. Even if she was heard, the others would assume it's just a drunken brawl going on. She quickly raised her arm in the air and a brown trident flashed in her hands. In a flash, it disappeared. One man stepped forward and she fired a punch in his stomach. He fell to the ground. For an office lady, I thought Elma sure is strong. The men, having seeing this, rubbed their eyes in shock and ceased their laughter. No man in the room dared to move as Elma glared at the three. I thought that maybe what I had seen wasn't real. Maybe I was so drunk I was hallucinating Elma with a trident in her hands, a trident that mysteriously disappeared that is. But I couldn't have been wrong because the men also must have seen something that scared them. "We'll finish this off another time!" the three of them echoed. In the wink of an eye the men, having composed themselves, vanished. I remembered feeling weak in the knees. I sunk to the floor still bracing the pearl white wall that had witnessed the crazy events of the night. I began to sob. Elma walked over to me. She gently got me back on my feet and pulled me into her embrace. She felt so warm against my trembling body. Her work suit began to dampen with my hot tears. I didn't know who or what Elma was, or what exactly she had done to scare those guys away but I didn't care at the time. I just wanted us to stay like this. I felt safe in her arms. "Th-thank you Elma." "You're safe now" she said. Her soothing voice and words were comforting enough to me. I knew I would be fine once I had her. I realized I couldn't repay her. She rescued me before something worse could have happened and I'm forever grateful to her. Still hugging each other tightly, I asked her "How did you know?" I heard a sniffle. "Nearly 20 minutes had gone by and when you hadn't returned I decided to check on you." "I'm glad you did."
Elma and I were at home on our laptops. I saw a notification pop up at the side of my screen. It was an email from our directors. The subject read "Quarterly staff party." I was going to put the email in my "Junk" folder when Elma's voice caught me by surprise. "The staff party is coming up! It will be my first. What's it like, Nai?" I answered her honestly. "I don't really know. I don't usually go to these stuff." She shot back, "That's so like you Nai." She paused for a moment and continued speaking. "What do you say we both go to the party? It would be nice but if you're not up to it, I'll understand." Before I answered her, I thought about my response. She and I were still being awkward around each other after "that night." I thought maybe the party would be a good way to bring some normalcy between us again. I smiled warmly at her. "It sounds like a plan."
At the party, I was sitting at a little table with Kobayashi and Elma. We were all chatting about the relief from completing last quarter's work. I thought Kobayashi was a cool person and I had become more comfortable speaking to her, thanks to Elma. I thought Kobayashi was an introvert like me. She told us she didn't really like staff events like these but because her maid's spring cleaning day was the same day as the party, she decided to come so as not to bother her maid. Elma asked, "So how is Tohru and Kanna doing? I haven't seen them in a while but I run into Lucoa sometimes." "Oh they're ok. Kanna's school will be closed for break soon. And Tohru is well…Tohru." And to that both Kobayashi and Elma grinned like if they were having their own private in-joke. I nervously twirled my straw and stared at my drink. I began to get the urge to pee so I excused myself and went to the washroom. Upon exiting the washroom, I saw three men approaching me. I did not recognize any of them. I thought they must have been from the accounts or IT department. My heart rate increased as their bloodshot eyes locked with mine. They weren't walking in a straight line. I tried to run but my legs couldn't move out of fear. They approached me in a matter of seconds. I tried to see if there was a space to sneak out but I couldn't see anything because they had surrounded me. My only escape would be to duck but that would look too strange and maybe complicate things even further. As I was contemplating my next move, the tallest of the three spoke up, "Well well well, wut d'we have here sweet thing you…I want to…*hiccup*" His speech was slurred and he had the hiccups. It was obvious these men were wasted. I decided to politely ask them to move out of my way. "Please excuse me" I told them loudly as I tried to push past the one at the end. Before I knew it, he grabbed my hand and shoved me against the wall. The men who were a feet away from me some moments ago, now stood only inches away from me. The man who shoved me, still pinned me against the wall, giving special attention to my hands that were pinned to the wall, above my head. "Please let me go" I pleaded to them. "We just want to buy you a drink. Nothing else" the man in the middle said as he leaned closer and blew in my ear. I turned my face away from them. "No thank you." "Jus leh us buy you drinks. Is a party aft'r all ya know" the tall one said. "No it's fine. I don't want any drinks. Just please let me go." The man who pinned me against the wall grabbed my chin and swung my face so that I was looking right into his reddened eyes. "Shut up bitch! I don't know what's the problem with women these days. You offer to buy them drinks and they have to behave like a bitch." He began to fondle breasts. The other guys just laughed. Damn you Elma for convincing me to come here. I was blaming Elma but I knew she wasn't at fault here. It was no one's. I tiptoed to look over the shoulders of the men who cornered me to see if anyone was around. But there were some people at the farthest corner of the large room and they were either drunk or minding their own business. Elma and Kobayashi were in the other room and I was at the back, with three drunk men who could have done anything to me and no one would see. At that moment, all I wanted to do was go home and cry. I felt violated. Hot tears pooled at the corner of my eyes. "Hm what's this? Missy is crying. Maybe we should give her something to cry for, boys." The other two men nodded and the tallest one began to loosen the buttons of the shirt I was wearing. I tried to speak but my words caught in my throat. The only thing I could utter was "No". "Heh she's enjoying this. Slut." My mind began to wander. I thought if I tried to think about something pleasant and shut out what was happening to me in the moment, then I wouldn't remember anything or feel anything, for that matter. I began to think about the times Elma and I walked to our apartment and the little conversations we would have about food. I hadn't realized how happy our little chats had made me feel up until that moment. Soon enough I was in a daydream and completely forgot about the world around me. "Let her go." I heard a familiar voice. I thought I was still daydreaming but I quickly snapped back to reality as the sound of someone's high-pitched voice echoed throughout the room. "Didn't you hear me? I said let her go!" The three men turned around to see the source of the command. There she was- the only person in the world that I could call a friend, glaring angrily at the men. I had never seen her like this. Her expression gave off the vibe that she could kill anyone if they got in her way. The room had emptied by then and only the five of us were inside. The three men started laughing loudly. They covered their eyes and arched their backs in drunken laughter. "And who the hell are you to tell us what to do?" "Final warning. Let go of her or else…" "Or else what?" "Hm we're listening" one of them said as he placed his hand by his ears, as if to mock Elma. I looked on, not knowing what to do. All I knew was that Elma and I were in danger. She stomped her feet on the ground and I could have sworn the ground shook. "THAT'S IT!" she shouted. I think her voice could have been heard in the other room, even with the music blaring in the background. Even if she was heard, the others would assume it's just a drunken brawl going on. She quickly raised her arm in the air and a brown trident flashed in her hands. In a flash, it disappeared. One man stepped forward and she fired a punch in his stomach. He fell to the ground. For an office lady, I thought Elma sure is strong. The men, having seeing this, rubbed their eyes in shock and ceased their laughter. No man in the room dared to move as Elma glared at the three. I thought that maybe what I had seen wasn't real. Maybe I was so drunk I was hallucinating Elma with a trident in her hands, a trident that mysteriously disappeared that is. But I couldn't have been wrong because the men also must have seen something that scared them. "We'll finish this off another time!" the three of them echoed. In the wink of an eye the men, having composed themselves, vanished. I remembered feeling weak in the knees. I sunk to the floor still bracing the pearl white wall that had witnessed the crazy events of the night. I began to sob. Elma walked over to me. She gently got me back on my feet and pulled me into her embrace. She felt so warm against my trembling body. Her work suit began to dampen with my hot tears. I didn't know who or what Elma was, or what exactly she had done to scare those guys away but I didn't care at the time. I just wanted us to stay like this. I felt safe in her arms. "Th-thank you Elma." "You're safe now" she said. Her soothing voice and words were comforting enough to me. I knew I would be fine once I had her. I realized I couldn't repay her. She rescued me before something worse could have happened and I'm forever grateful to her. Still hugging each other tightly, I asked her "How did you know?" I heard a sniffle. "Nearly 20 minutes had gone by and when you hadn't returned I decided to check on you." "I'm glad you did."