Author's Note: So I know that it seems like me apologizing for taking so long to update is becoming a trend...things have been super busy again, but chapter four is here now! So be happy! I am! So there's one little issue from the last chapter that someone addressed, concerning floor numbers in Shinra. (Thank you licoriceallsorts for pointing that out!) Apparently the 64th floor is pretty much just locker rooms, so from now on I'm going to be using the 65th for the Turks. Just to clear up anyone's confusion...hopefully there isn't a problem with 65 :) And hopefully I won't run into anymore problems like that, because I recently got the game!! Yay! So anyways...enjoy!
Disclaimer: o_0 Still no.
:. Sheer Equality.:
Chapter Four: A Dream or Nightmare?
'Cause I am barely breathing
And I can't find the air
I don't know who I'm kidding
Imagining you care
And I could stand here waiting
A fool for another day
But I don't suppose it's worth the price, worth the price
The price that I would pay
- - - - - - -
The shrill ring of the last bell of the day startled Elena out of her thoughts. Looking around at her surrounding classmates collecting their things and leaving the classroom, she quickly removed her head from her hands, the position in which she had been resting for the past hour.
She had not been able to focus for the entire day; her thoughts had been elsewhere. They rested with none other than her encounter with the drunken man and the redheaded stranger from the night before.
She couldn't deny that her spirits had been lifted a little due to the previous night. She had to admit she was exceedingly pleased with herself, and also that she had a right to be. She had taken out a man that was twice her size and escaped without a scratch. She beamed at the thought of it, picking up her books and following the others into the hallway.
But, as she gathered what she needed for that night from her locker and hurried toward the doors of the school, she couldn't help feeling a little suspicious about the whole situation. Was the young man really that impressed that she had knocked out the man? What was she even going to Shinra for? He wasn't particularly specific, and the scrap of paper didn't help much.
Another pessimistic thought occurred to her. What if the stranger was just pulling her leg? It would certainly be hilarious to see someone such as herself embarrass herself by going the headquarters of the most important company on the planet with no purpose, only that "a stranger told me to come here". She tried urgently to dismiss that notion, but found that she couldn't. Or what if I'm in trouble? She swallowed hard.
At first, the thought of going anywhere near Shinra repulsed her. To her, it represented her sister, everything that she had been denied. It was a mythical place that existed to her only in her wildest fantasies, one that she could never hope to come true. But when her sister had vanished and the redhead appeared before her, it seemed to come into her reach.
After deliberating for a while, she'd settled on a decision. She saw the whole situation as an opportunity (or a punishment that shouldn't be avoided) and felt internally that it would be a mistake not to go to Shinra. So, starting her car, she plotted the best way to the Company.
* * * * *
She'd quickly learned that there was no good way to reach the company's headquarters. Once she had crossed onto Sector 0, the traffic had become unbearable. Most of the passing vehicles had Shinra's trademark red diamond emblazoned on their sides. The traffic in the opposite lane was backed up for miles, and her lane was only a little better. Finally, once she exited the endless highway, she was beneath the soaring metallic towers of Shinra.
After undergoing the nightmare of finding a parking place, she approached the building on foot. Around the building itself, it was relatively empty, the employees most likely still inside at this hour. Elena tried her hardest not to gawk at the sight of it, the gigantic pipes extending to all ends of the city, the numerous spotlights that surrounded it and shone in the eternally hazy skies, the main tower that loomed ominously above her. She had seen the building countless times before; it was visible from virtually any location above the Plate. But she had never been so close to it, and never had it had this effect on her. How could one building feel like a city of skyscrapers?
Upon entering the building, she found that the inside was equally impressive. The lobby's ceiling extended high above her, and everything was strictly professional. Her eyes scanned the room and soon located an available secretary's desk. As she approached it her footsteps echoed on the immaculate marble floor.
The young secretary donned an expensive suit and her long brown hair fell about her shoulders. After she finished filling out some papers with a flourish of her hand, she glanced up at Elena once and turned back to her work. Elena, feeling self-conscious, stood up a little straighter and cleared her throat. "Excuse me, ma'am--" she began, but stopped once the woman again looked up with an irritated expression on her face.
"How can I help you?" She spat, eyeing Elena's uniform and sending her confidence into oblivion. After pausing and choosing her words carefully, she replied, "A man ordered me to come here yesterday and gave me this." She handed over the paper and prayed that she had sounded more self-assured than she felt.
She secretary took the paper from her gingerly as if it carried a disease and unfolded it using her long, manicured nails. After reading it her face twisted into a sneer and she crumpled it in her fist, handing it back to her in the same, haughty fashion. "I'm afraid you have no business here," she said in a lofty tone. The feeling of suspicion that she had felt earlier returned to her. I knew this was a joke. She bit her lip, trying her hardest to keep her poise and to not let her short-fused anger get the best of her. "Who even gave that to you? A prankster at your school?"
Something in the tone of the woman's voice infuriated her. Before she could stop herself she seethed, "No, it was a redheaded man with scars on his face that was wearing a suit. He didn't say what his name was, okay? But he told me to come here and said something about a director." Whatever she had just said seemed to strike a chord with the secretary. In an instant the phone on her desk was in her hands and she was dialing a number. While waiting for the receiving end to answer, she tapped her fingers on the desk and glared at Elena, albeit a little warily.
"Yes, this is Annette. There is a young girl here by the name of," she looked impatiently at Elena, and she quickly muttered her name to her, "Elena Meyers. She claims that she has reason to speak with you. I already attempted to excuse her, but—" The line apparently went dead. Slowly, the woman hung up the phone, flabbergasted beyond belief.
"Take a seat," she mumbled, gesturing to the many empty seats in the room. Elena obeyed, now more confused than ever. The secretary glimpsed around the room a few times, and eventually her gaze landed on the group of elevators down an endless hallway. Her eyes widened when the doors slid open and let out a man with raven-colored hair.
Elena gaped at him as he approached the secretary's desk, finding that she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. He wore a dark blue suit and walked with obvious confidence and purpose, standing tall and firm. His was clearly from Wutai, and his hair was pulled back into a small ponytail using a strip of white cloth. His eyes were dark almonds, and he wore a frown on his lips. But was struck her the most about him, and in the oddest way, was that he only appeared to be a few years older than her, yet he had the semblance of a man that was wise beyond his years.
When he reached the desk he leaned in and muttered something to the woman, and she pointed at Elena from across the room. When he turned and walked toward her, she stood up and straightened her clothing, feeling immediately under pressure from the attractive man's gaze.
"Elena Meyers?" His voice was obviously authoritative, but had only a trace of an accent, despite his appearance. She nodded her head vigorously in response, her now nervous eyes meeting his. He returned a single nod. "We've been expecting you. Follow me." She did so without hesitation, tagging along with him to the group of elevators.
Once inside, the man pushed the button for the 65th floor and the doors closed, leaving only the two of them in the elevator. 65th floor? She remembered the scrap of paper. Well I guess that makes sense. She prepared herself for a long ride.
There was a deafening silence in the elevator, and realizing this, the man spoke. "I suppose you have no idea why you're here." It was a statement, not a question. "Over the last few weeks, we've been a little shorthanded around here. And what you did last night was enough for us to consider you for this position." A job? That's why she was here?Elena had been leaning towards the notion from before that she was in trouble. She felt compelled to ask what position the man was talking about, but she couldn't find her voice.
The elevator stopped about twenty floors up, letting more people in. Some carried briefcases, others wore lab coats, but all came across to her as important. A few more buttons were pressed, and some of the people spoke to each other in hushed tones about business matters. Elena entertained herself by watching the small light on the button panel ascend with each new floor. The group dissipated as the floor numbers increased, and eventually she and the Wutain man were the elevator's sole occupants.
"I'm not sure I completely understood you before, sir," Elena began, after finally finding her voice again. The man glanced over, his hands folded behind his back. "You're here only for a simple interview, nothing more." Something in his tone told Elena that the man wasn't about to disclose what the interview was for. As the elevators doors opened, she realized with a start that they had reached the 65th floor.
The man started toward the doors, turning to her once they had both exited. "My name is Tseng, by the way. I'm sorry for not mentioning it earlier." Elena smiled a little, glad that this man wasn't nearly as mysterious as the redhead from the previous night. Nearly. She followed him down an endless hallway not unlike the one she had seen in the lobby, with the exception of numerous walnut doors on both sides of her. It weaved around, turning many corners and finally opening up into a larger space. A large door that seemed grander than the previous ones stood at the end. Tseng pulled it open and gestured for her to go before him.
The room felt luxurious, yet it was also plain. Some shelves on one of the cherry wood-paneled walls displayed many old texts, while the other walls were occupied by filing cabinets. On the far wall, floor length windows revealed an impressive view of Midgar, one in which every building looked like a speck of dust. She took a seat in front of a large mahogany desk after he motioned for her to do so. Tseng himself sat in the office chair across from her, bringing forth some papers from a file on the corner of the desk. After he made a few notes, he began, "Are you the daughter of Gregory and Caroline Meyers?"
"Yes, sir." Somehow Elena knew that this wasn't going to be a typical job interview.
"You attend Midgar High, correct?" She nodded. Tseng flipped through a few of the papers. "Yet, your father is employed at the Shinra Military Academy?" He continued, raising an eyebrow, as if expecting an explanation for her absence from the Academy. Elena was lost for a moment. Did he expect her to tell him her life story?
"Yes, that is correct. My parents felt it best that I attend Midgar High." She hoped her answer was sufficient. He took in her response and nodded, seeming to catch her drift. "That explains why we haven't seen you around here before." She remained silent, not knowing how to respond to that.
The questions continued, focusing on almost every subject of her life. Did she play any sports, have any hobbies, interests, goals? But they became increasingly personal. What was her opinion on the current happenings of Shinra? Did she have any past or present relationships? Had she ever resorted to violence when in anger? What did she think of her parents? It felt more like an interrogation than an interview. Elena answered to the best of her ability, but being under the constant gaze of Tseng made her feel that she wasn't giving the right answers, even though most of the questions had no right or wrong answer.
Finally, Tseng stopped writing and gathered his notes, putting them inside the folder. "I believe that's all. Do you have any questions?" Elena immediately thought again of the question she'd been meaning to ask in the elevator. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "What exactly is the job you're considering me for?" She slapped herself mentally, wishing she wasn't so loose-lipped.
Tseng's dark eyes met hers for a moment, and he let out a melodious laugh. "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to ask that. If it were me, that would have been the first thing I asked." Well. Now she felt incredibly dense, as if not asking that question before was the biggest mistake she'd made during the interview. What was it about the man that made her feel that everything she did was wrong? He continued, "You were being interviewed for a position in the Department of Administrative Research. The Investigative Division, that is." The what?
"Oh," she squeaked, nodding her head and hoping to convince Tseng that she understood the foreign language that had come out of his mouth. He smiled a disarming smile at her that seemed to find humor in something unfamiliar to her. She stood rather clumsily and walked toward the door. "Thank you for your time, sir," she added politely before closing the door behind her.
Author's Note: So I hope everyone enjoyed this one! I think this one went pretty well...Sorry again for taking so long! And please review! =)
