It seemed to Amy that she didn't hear or understand Liam's words.
What did he mean by someone competent?
Who was the person he was talking about?
"Yes. I want that person to receive a very short but clear sack letter with his salary. He needs to leave to immediately... I know he didn't do anything... Are you questioning my decisions and orders?... Better. I want no questions asked. Just do as I say... Oh, the competent one I'm talking about? She's in my office with me... Yes, she's sitting just across me..."
Surely, he wasn't referring to her.
Just to be sure, she turned to check if there was anyone present in the room with them, but to her surprise, there wasn't.
"... I'm having a moment with her... You'll see her when I want you to see her. For now, juts draft the appointment letter and the necessary documents for her to sign," he said and ended the call immediately.
"So...," He sighed as he faced Amy.
"The job is now yours. When do you want to start the job?" he questioned.
"Wait a minute... The person you were talking about - the person is me? I'm the competent one?," She asked appalled.
"Yeah"
"But... But why would you sack someone just for me?' She could barely understand what was going on.
"Because you help me when we were in highschool, Amy. When I was having problems with maths, you were the one who helped me. If it wasn't for you, I probably would not have been here all today. All of this...," He gestured to the rest of the office, "... Would've been impossible."
Amy opened her mouth to speak, but she was too dumbfounded to get words out of her mouth.
"Are you okay, Amy? You look like you're going to choke," Liam questioned with concern.
"I'm fine... I think,"
"So when do you wanna resume?"
"But... I'm not competent, Liam. Remember I didn't attend college. I didn't even complete high school. The person you're sacking is probably way better than I am-"
"I don't care about that. What I want is for you to fill the position as soon as possible. So what do you say?"
"But, even at that-"
"No more buts, Amy. The deed is done and the job is yours. I know you're surprised and doubtful, but there's nothing to be scared of. You'll blend in real quick," he assured her.
"Liam, I don't even know what to say. Thank you very much. This is too much for me. I can't thank you enough,"
"Enough with it, already. So will tomorrow be okay for you to start?"
"Of course! I'll resume tomorrow, unfailingly. Thank you very much, Liam," she thanked him profusely as she stood up and headed for the door.
"Amy?"
"Yeah?," She turned, her hand on the doorknob.
"Do you have any friend that can take the position of that receptionist?"
It didn't take forever for her to come up with a name.
"I definitely do. She'll give you a call tonight," she said and thanked him again before leaving.
"She still has those hazel eyes," Liam muttered to himself in amusement and admiration when Amy left the office..
******
Cole sighed as he pocketed the phone into his janitor uniform, after Liam had ended it abruptly. He was xo concerned, but that was the main thing on his mind.
He kept waiting and waiting until the bell rang for their break period.
The school hall were filled with lively children on their way to the cafeteria to have their food.
He stepped out of the store room with a mopstick in his hands.
He looked around, and the children were having fun, almost not noticing him at all.
"Now, if I could just get to Tris...," He muttered under his breath as he searched with his eyes for the boy he saw days ago.
After four minutes of strategic searching, Cole saw Tris come out of a classroom, on his way to the cafeteria.
Cole stylishly walked up to him and cornered him.
"Hey, young blood. It's been a while since last spoke," he made his presence known to the boy.
Tris stopped to take a good look at the adult beside him.
"Who are you?"
"You don't remember me? Take a good look. I'm that friend of yours that gave you some cash to give your mother. Do you remember now?," He questioned.
He expected Tris to be excited to see him, but once Tris recognized him, his eyes widened in shock, and he immediately walked away, doubling his pace into the cafeteria where the rest of the kids were.
"Wait! Don't you wanna see me? Hold on...," But Tris was too fast.
Cole had never been more confused at that point.
****
But that didn't stop him from relenting.
He didn't know what was going on, but he needed to speak with the boy by all means.
He went to the store room in search of a bucket to do some actual cleaning. When he found it, he went straight to the cafeteria.
He was rather surprised to see Tris sitting all by himself. He began mopping the area, moving slowly towards his side until he reached Tris.
When Tris saw who sat across him, he immediately attempted to stand up, but Cole held him down immediately.
"Chill, Tris. Just give me a minute," he said as he looked around, hoping no one would notice them.
"What's the problem? Did I do anything wrong? Why don't you wanna speak with me?"
Tris slowly relaxed and sighed, a sad expression on his face.
"My mum got mad at me for the money you gave, and warned me not to talk to you anymore," he muttered.
Cole sighed. He knew it would come to this.
"Look, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm harmless. I just wanna be your friend, okay?"
He received no response.
Cole noticed Tris was eating slices of bread. It was supposed to be a sandwich, but there was nothing in between the bread.
"Is that your lunch?"
Tris nodded.
Cole sighed. He went to the food counter and soon came back with a plate of hot rice and chicken wings with a cold bottle of juice.
"Here. Enjoy this," Cole said, and the boy had a bright smile as he dragged the tray his way.
He was about to put the first spoon in his mouth when all of a sudden, someone turned the whole tray upside down, causing the contents to spill.
"Well well well... Who do we have here?" He snickered.