The shouting of people and omnics filled your ears as they marched down the street. Some were holding hands, dancing, singing, chanting, carrying signs, and a variety of other ways to get their message of omnic/human equality across. Even though you had a job interview at the same time, you still wanted to support the movement, but you couldn't risk being late for a once in a lifetime opportunity.
You were put on a waitlist for weeks just to schedule an interview, even then there were still at least a hundred candidates who applied and made it through. You weren't surprised that so many were competing for this lab assistant position. The pay was phenomenal, the benefits were more than any other job in the city, and above all they provided a learning experience that any scientist could ever dream of in astrophysics. With no idea what's to come, you hoped you were more than ready for this interview, not knowing what it will entail.
As you walked down the sidewalk, silently observing the omnics and people joining together for a good cause, you noticed down the way a police officer having a less than polite conversation with an omnic trying to pass through. Their voices grew louder, not because you were getting closer, but an argument was forming between the two. Before you could comprehend what happened, the policeman shoved the omnic to the ground with his knee, pinning it to the concrete. Your feet carried you faster towards the two, now surrounded by omnics, civilians, and police officers. Some were trying to keep the omnic on the ground while others were trying to get it out from under the officer. The closer you got the more you couldn't think clearly. It wasn't until after the matter that you realized what you've done.
You just body slammed a police officer off of an omnic.
Of all of the days, this had to be the one where your common sense was blinded. The second your mind was straight you sprinted through the crowd. You didn't know if the omnic was okay as you didn't bother to check due to the fact that half a dozen cops were after you. Bumping through the forest of people and omnics, you switched between apologizing in English and butchered Dutch in a frantic state, "Sorry! Excuseer mij, doorkomen! Coming through!"
At this point you gained a good distance between you and the cops, but you didn't want to risk anything by slowing down. You turned a corner in an alley between two buildings, leading to another road. As soon as you darted a second corner onto the sidewalk, you found yourself colliding into the back of another person, thankfully not too hard and not a police officer. He was an older, taller, much taller, man in a tan overcoat, carrying a briefcase and coffee, which fortunately didn't spill.
The man turned, not expecting a smaller woman to be the one who rushed him so quickly."I'm sorry! Er- het spijt me zo!" You sputtered. You were still learning Dutch, but you only knew enough to get you by on a day by day basis. Before he could reply, you both heard the shouts of policemen getting closer. Fear washed over your face as you panicked, thinking what to do next. Before you realized what was happening, you felt the weight of fabric go over your shoulders and the warmth of another body at your side spinning you around to face the other direction.
"Keep walking, don't turn around." The man said in a hushed tone, his arm sliding over your upper back until his hand gently rested on your shoulder. He had taken his coat off and put it around you, making you look much smaller than you were given the size difference. The man had his arm wrapped around you, holding you close to him as the sounds of approaching footsteps and officers yelling to each other in Dutch. You could only make out a few words at a time; "... Girl! … Where… … … find her!" Two of them ran right by you, not bothering to turn to see that what they were looking for was right in front of them. Or now in this case, behind them, as they ran down the street until they were out of sight.
Letting out a breath you were holding in, the man let go, allowing you to step to the side. "Um, benda- bedankt. Ik denk niet… uh…" Dutch words were scattered in your head.
"No worries at all." The man said in English, "I see you're still learning. The language, that is. Not about running away from police officers, I'm sure that you were taught that at a young age. But we all make mistakes."
You raised your eyebrows in bewilderment, you couldn't help but let out a nervous giggle, "Sorry, I've never had to learn another language before." You smiled up at the man, taking off his coat and handing it back to him. "Thank you again. I can't say this is a good fit for me, but it looks better on you."
He laughed, "Don't be so sure about that."
As much as you wanted to continue this conversation, but you needed to get to your interview on time. "I would like to buy you a coffee to appropriately thank you, but I'm late to an interview."
The man cheered the coffee that was in his hand, "I'm sure we will bump into each other again. Metaphorically, of course."
With that, you waved to the man goodbye as you went the other direction. Your mind was now focused back to the most important moment of your entire career. Or perhaps even your entire life.
