Petunia sighed. A drop of sweat tickled down her cheek. She bit her lower lip and gazed at herself in the washroom mirror. She just finished rehearsing for the third time, and she did not feel more confident. The lunch meeting with her recruiter is scheduled to start in a minute, and she wished that she had extra time to rehearse a few times more. She took a deep breath and decided to head towards the reserved table.
“Petunia Crawford! Is that you?” Before Petunia could touch the seat to pull her chair back, she froze upon hearing her name. She did not notice that the recruiter had already arrived. She nervously turned her gaze, and a warm smile greeted her eyes. She stepped back in shock to see her highschool junior schoolmate, Grace Sheffield, opening her arms as if to invite Petunia to hug her. “Of course it’s you, Petunia! It’s been so long!”
Petunia could not believe her eyes, she was not expecting to meet Grace of all people. Petunia was Grace’s senior back in highschool. They used to be in the same soccer team when Petunia was vice captain. Petunia remembered that Grace was a lot smaller back then, and she bullied her often.
She raised her eyebrows and took a small step back. “Ah, Grace? I was not expecting to see you.” She glanced at the table to make sure she was at the right place. “Are you the recruiter?” Petunia could not help but notice the beautiful embroidered dress and the sparkling diamond necklaces dangling on Grace’s neck. Petunia did not like the charming and exuberant demeanor that Grace was portraying. What’s worse was the intoxicating smell of her expensive perfume. She looked like a rich celebrity, not a recruiter.
“Yes, I am the co-founder of the company. When I saw your name on the recruitment list, I told my staff that I wanted to meet you in person. I am so happy to see you again!” Grace hardly notices the cynical look on Petunia’s face and moves forward to embrace her old schoolmate.
Petunia frowned as memories of herself bullying Grace crept into her mind. Will their history cause her to have a negative impression for the job? She really needed the job, but at the same time she did not want to work under Grace. “Your perfume is strong.” Petunia snarled, hoping that Grace would loosen her grip. “Too strong for my liking.”
“Ah, that’s the Empress Royal Lavender that I wear on Wednesdays” Grace grinned, before releasing her grasp on Petunia. “One of my favorites, given to me by my husband during our honeymoon in Paris this year.”
Petunia rolled her eyes as words slipped from her tongue: “Isn’t Paris an overrated place for honeymoons?”
I can feel the jealousy of the main character and the awkwardness she felt towards Grace. Nice.