The internship E-Book

Robin Grün

• Herausgeber: novum publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 377

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

A boy named Sami, who is about to finish high school in Canada, saves a girl from drowning. He is celebrated by his three friends for doing so. After school, if it were up to his father, he would go to university and study law. But Sami wants to take a different path and go into business. His father is against it and Sami promises to do only an internship before starting university. Through his grandfather, Sami gets an internship at a mysterious hotel. It has a dark secret and guests disappear, only to reappear confused. Sami notices that it is due to a door that leads to the basement, and wants to solve the mystery, but in doing so, he himself falls into the clutches of the mystery.

Leseprobe

First chapter

The classroom hewas in chaos, the voices were so loud that the walls were shaking. No one could do anything about it, it was a hopeless situation. In every corner, students were engaged in various pointless activities, talking in groups, laughing and making fun of each other. My class was the last in high school, which meant that we were actually old enough to be considered adults. But that wasn't the case, and I hated it so much.

In all the chaos, confusion and between the deafening words of my friends, we were supposed to have French lessons when we were told that our French teacher would not be coming. The teacher who had broken the news was about to leave when I stopped him with a question: Why the teacher didn't come to his lesson. "I don't know, Sami. Nobody knows," he said, his face showing confusion, "he just didn't show up for work this morning."

Mr. Santos was a French-born Spaniard who was petite and pot-bellied and often wore a striped beret when he came to class. He often saw himself as a French citizen who upheld French values.

When he was asked why he adored the French so much despite his Spanish background, his face lit up and he smiled: "France was my home and the French language my beloved." And now he wasn't at school, and no one knew why.

"I heard that he was kidnapped at a hotel in the city at the weekend," said Andreas, a friend of mine who was sitting on my desk. He was scared, and that left me speechless. "I heard from theteachers this morning that he packed his bags and left Georgetown. Maybe he got a new job in France," said another, looking at the others for support. "Yes," one confirmed, Alfred was his name, and that made three of them at my desk, where they always gathered when we didn't have class or were waiting for another teacher to come in. "I've heard it too," he added, and I turned to him. "He always wanted to go back to France," Andreas said, "maybe he got what he wanted and he didn't even say goodbye to his students."

Andreas was one of Mr. Santos' notorious students, known for spouting unnecessary chatter in class and asking him the most annoying questions. When he saw that Mr. Santos was struggling to contain his anger, Andreas paused, grinned and waited for another opportunity to annoy the teacher again.

"And that's why I think he was wrong there. He should have told us he was leaving and I would have given him a nice going-away present," Andreas said, cackling with the others as the noise in the class got even louder. "You guys are unbelievable," I said, rolling my eyes. I put a book on my desk to read, it was a novel, but with the deafening noise in the classroom, I realized it would be almost impossible.

"When Mr. Santos comes back to say goodbye to us, I'm sure he would give Sami a personal farewell message," Alfred said, looking at me with a broad grin. I groaned and stood up. I'd had enough: "I don't need this right now." "Hey, where are you going, Sami?" shouted Andreas, and the others looked on with shocked faces as I walked out of class. "What's wrong with him? I thought we were just joking?" said Tom. He was slim and muscular and came from a home with strict parents. He loved being with Andreas and the rest of us. But I had a book to read and needed some space andpeace and quiet to get on with it. It was a crime novel with lots of twists and turns, and as a lover of crime fiction, I was ready to read it all the way through. All I needed was a quiet place where the other students wouldn't disturb me. I wanted to go to the library, but you weren't always alone there. I wanted something different, a place that captured my imagination, so I thought of the school swimming pool. This place would certainly be perfect for that,with its rippling water and quiet walls, I would definitely enjoy my book. And I was already on chapter 2.

The school's indoor swimming pool was located just a few meters from the school's basketball court, with the entrance opposite the school's dance hall. The interior resembled that of a basketball court, with the only difference being that there was a large, long swimming pool in the middle with sloping benches for spectators. Whenever light hit the water, the room took on a blue hue that often made the walls look moody. It was the perfect place for me, I just knew it.

I walked in and was greeted by the cold silence and my body released its tension. I heard the clacking of my heels on the floor and opened my book to read, but before I even sat down on a bench, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I had thought it was the shadow of something in the water, but it was too big and moving quietly in the pool. I turned my gaze to it and saw that it was a girl. My heart pounding, I ran to the pool and stared at the body as bubbles gushed from her mouth. I knew she might not have been in there long, but I had no idea what to do. So many thoughts were running through my head and my fingers were trembling with the restlessness I felt inside me.

Moments later, I saw myself diving for her, my book forgotten at the edge of the pool, my hands fighting against the water. Rescue came at the last minute. Even when I got her safely out of the water, Icouldn't shake the thought that someone was dying in front of me. I had never seen a dead body before, and I wasn't planning on seeing one any time soon.

"Woah, I can't believe you saved that girl, Sami," Alfred said thoughtfully. I hadn't believed it either, I said to myself. I was now at the school clinic, where I was being looked after. The girl I had saved had only lost consciousness, just as I had thought, and if I hadn't arrived in time to find her, she would have died on the school grounds. When the news spread throughout the school, everyone was shocked. I later learned that she was a sophomore with blonde hair and a slim figure that made her look like a celebrity. She was one of the most popular girls in school, although I didn't know her very well. Her name was Emmie.

And minutes later, I saw my three friends along with other students rushing through the door to check on me after the teachers had asked me a few questions. "I guess that makes Sami a hero," Andreas shouted, loud enough for the school nurse to hear. "When the girl regains consciousness, she'll be grateful to you for saving her, and maybe you'll even get along then." "Can't you ever be serious, Andreas?" My eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and my teeth gritted. "But it's true ..." his voice trailed off and he had to chuckle, "when she's back to normal, she'll be very grateful to you I mean, who wouldn't appreciate that ..."

"Did you even wonder why the girl was there in the first place?" shouted the school nurse, Mary, a stocky woman who mostly frowned. "Did you even wonder if it was an attempted murder or suicide?" Neither of us said anything, and that brought back the thoughts I'd had since I'd pulled her out of the water:How had she gotten there? Andreas wanted to say something, but Sister Mary interrupted him: "No!" She was loud and we were all shaking. "You four are talking about how she would reciprocate and how she would start to like the person who saved her. Do you think that's normal? Finding a girl at the bottom of the pool?" She was loud again, and our bones shook with fear. We shook our heads to her questions, freezing on the spot as shivers ran through our bodies. "And still you sit there and say nonsense. What if she wakes up and isn't normal anymore, traumatized by what happened to her, what would you say then?" "I don't know," Andreas said in a brittle voice, but neither of us said anything else. "Instead of sitting here talking nonsense, you'd better go now, or aren't you feeling better, Sami?" I stood up with shaky hands. "I ... I'm fine now, Sister Mary." I packed up my things and hurried out of the clinic with my friends.

"What's wrong with her?" Andreas frowned and walked down the corridor to our class.

The principal had asked all the pupils to go home because of the incident. He didn't want anyone to spend the school day thinking about an unconscious girl at the bottom of a pool. He felt that for some students that was enough to soften the shock. Andreas and Alfred were glad we were sent home, it was only 10:25 so I couldn't blame them. Besides, there would be no school the next day as the investigation was still ongoing.

My mother was the first to see me and I had no choice but to explain why I had come back so early. I should have just gone to my room. When she heard, her eyes softened and she pulled me into a warm hug. My mother had a slim body, with arms and legs that were twice smaller thanmine. I was taller than my mother and obviously stronger, but when it came to her hugs, she hugged me with the strength of a bear.

"Honey, did you hear what happened at Sami's school today?" my mother asked my father cheerfully, looking at him while she ate her food. He didn't bother to lift his head: "No, what happened?" he asked between bites. My mother smiled broadly and was about to say something, but was interrupted by Hailey, my sister. "Sami saved a girl from drowning at his school. And they said someone tried to kill her, Daddy, right there at school." Hailey was the second child my mother had given birth to. And my sister Hailey was the one she loved the most. I just knew it. She had dark blonde hair like my mother and a slim body. Hailey often let her hair fall to her shoulders like a string, it wrapped around her oval face like a scarf, her eyes were bright and often bold, and she spoke with a soft, somber tone.

I looked at her in shock: "And who told you that, Hailey?" "Enough chatter, you two!" my father crowed, letting his gaze wander from Hailey to me, then he sighed: "What you did today, Sami, was good, and I hope the girl will be fine afterwards." And turned to Hailey's contorted face, "Hailey, were you there? Hailey reluctantly shook her head. "Good, then next time you'll be quiet," Dad said, continuing with his meal. "Very well," my mother's breezy voice lit up the room again, "now that that's settled, let's get back to eating." Everyone returned to the macaroni my mother had prepared for dinner. But as I ate, I wondered how Emmie had gotten to the bottom of the pool. I reckoned I would answer that question when I saw her again.

Second chapter

My visits to the hospital had been unsuccessful, I had moved from one nurse to another and still hadn't gotten a chance to see Emmie on her ward. It had confused me why they wouldn't allow me to see her, I was a caring soul who just wanted to check on her. At least I thought I was one. But given the nurses' stubborn refusals, that was futile, perhaps they were trying to protect her!

On the second day I tried to visit her again, but it was still a debacle. I still wasn't allowed to see her, but I could see her parents, which was something of a relief. The fatherwas sitting outside Emmie's room and her mother had just come out of the same room into the hallway. "Good afternoon," I said to the man. He had brown hair and a moustache on his face. Compared to his wife, he was a tall man. The woman looked much more battered than the man, and I could feel the pain falling from her eyes onto the floor. Her father eyed me closely and said, "You must be the boy who came to see my daughter yesterday, right?" I smiled lazily, "Yes, that's me. I just wanted to ..." "The nurses told us about you." "I just wanted to see if she was okay and then I'll go again. I promise." I didn't know if I was being too desperate or if I was trying to win her sympathy. "I'm sorry, my boy, but as the nurses here have told you, you can't see Emmie at the moment," his voice was still as firm as his gaze on me. "Maybe you can ask her whatever you want when she's fullyrecovered and back at school. But now is just not the time, you hear me?"

School was reopened after three days. When questions were asked about Emmie, no one gave a concrete answer. It looked like the teachers had something to hide, and soon all sorts of news began to spin around the school. And some of the news was just as ridiculous as the people spreading it.

"Do you really think that Klemens was the reason for Emmie's suicide attempt?" asked Alfred, still holding his half-bitten sandwich in his hands. I raised my eyebrows: "Suicide attempt?" I mumbled with a bite of sandwich in my mouth. I hadn't known it was a suicide attempt, but could it be? I shook the thought out of my head. I shouldn't worry about things like that. "And who told you it was a suicide attempt, Alfred?" asked Andreas. "To be honest, Alfred, Emmie doesn't look like someone who would commit suicide. She's far too beautiful to want to," said Andreas, raising his voice. "That's right," Alfred said after a while and put his sandwich on his plate, "she's pretty, so there's no way she'd want to kill herself. But then why did Sami pull her out of the water unconscious?" "Maybe she took a bath and fell asleep in there," Andreas cackled, but the others looked at him with puzzled eyes. Then he paused when no one laughed and continued: "Anyway, I would have liked to have her by my side when we graduate, after that she can kill herself for all I care." "Andreas!" I and the others shouted in chorus. His words made us uncomfortable and we had the feeling that he was out of line. Just like always. Andreas shrugged his shoulders. "What if it was because of something else?" asked Alfred. I gave him a penetrating look. "What was it?" The others wondered the same thing. Alfred leaned forward and whispered: "The monsters,who make people disappear in hotels? I heard that Emmie wanted to meet up with Klemens in one of the hotels in the city." I sighed and resumed eating. It was all a load of garbage, superstition that people amazingly still believed in, and I couldn't believe I'd stooped to listening to it. Andreas smacked his lips and turned stiffly to Alfred: "You know, sometimes I feel like hitting you on the head. Maybe that will help you with your condition."

A short time later, the bell rang for class and everyone hurried to eat. By 11:00, all of us were sitting in class, the room was buzzing with chatter and some of us were patiently waiting for the teacher to come in. And just as I expected, the noise in the class died down and everyone scurried back to their seats. The teacher had just come in. "Ah, look at you, little scoundrels whose only job is to cause trouble. See how you sit like busy children. If only your parents could see that," mocked our teacher, Mr. Gustav, grinning at us. "But we're good kids, aren't we?" said one of us, grinning broadly and looking at the other pupils for support. And he soon got it, because the others started to fill the room with their noise again. Mr. Gustav waved his hands in the air as he turned to the blackboard behind him: "Ahn," he said and the whole class giggled. "This morning we're going to..." he glanced sideways at us and hastily scribbled something on the board. "Test!" some of the pupils shouted in surprise. "Yes, a test!" he squeaked back cheerfully and with the facial expression of an oppressor of high school children.

Nobody was happy about the test. There was grumbling here and there, protests from pupils who wanted to change his mind and stern looks that fell heavily on him. But all this only seemed to make Mr. Gustav happier and more motivated.

"You can't do that," said a girl in a broken voice. "Yes, I can and I will," he said emphatically, looking at the girl with turquoise hair. She stared at Mr. Gustav, but soon gave it up and sank into her chair. "Now take out a sheet of paper and write down these questions. There are only two, so you shouldn't have any trouble answering them."

In all the chaos, I remained calm and unimpressed by the impromptu exam. Unlike my classmates, who panicked, I sat in my seat and waited for what was to come. It was different for me. And when I heard the questions, I was really excited because I knew all the answers and couldn't wait to finish.

"You have twenty minutes for that," said Mr. Gustav, triggering another storm of protest from the whole class.

The class fell silent and the only sound we could hear was the ticking of the clock, the giggling of the teachers and perhaps also the students in the corridor and the soft whispers that flew through the air in class. Mr. Gustav was a difficult man with unshakeable principles and a penchant for pettiness. He could be distracted by his cell phone, scrolling through pictures of rabbits, fluffy, black-eyed rabbits. He loved looking at them and had two as pets. While a test was being written in class, he sat behind his desk, giggling with his cell phone in his hand, probably looking at some fluffy bunnies on his screen again. I wrote my test with a little smile on my face.

A few minutes later we were all finished and Mr. Gustav went back to his normal class. He probably hated children, but he wasn't sure if he should take it to the extreme. I didn't care, and I didn't see him the way others saw him.

"My God, Mr. Gustav really wanted to see us suffer today, those questions really got to me," Alfred moaned and opened his eyes. Andreas scoffed: "You didn't have muchof a thought. I was speechless for a few moments and thought they were questions about the topic we had covered in the last lesson." My mind went up in flames, I could feel the eyes of my friends on me. I could almost hear their thoughts, but I decided not to say anything. School was over for the day and we strolled home.

"Sami Don't you want to say anything?" said Andreas. I grunted, stopped and stared angrily at Andreas "I have something else on my mind, much more important than the exam." "And what could be more important than the exam?" He bored his eyes into mine and stood just a few centimeters away from me, so close that our heads were almost touching. I scrutinized his face and saw that he was ready for anything I had to say, as if a fight was brewing between us. But that's the way Andreas was: imposing, grumpy and sometimes rude. But underneath all that intimidating façade was a man with a kind heart and the best jokes.

I sighed, slowly started to walk away and said, "My life after graduation. You should think about that too." I put my hands in my pockets and didn't bother to look back. For a moment, my friends were silent, looking at me with questioning and confused eyes. I knew all too well that although the sounds of cars and people filled the air, their silence was not one of utter confusion, but concern. "Oh, that's true. Soon we'll finish high school and go to college, a new life will start for us," Tom then said admiringly, "I wonder which college we'll go to?" I heard Andreas give an answer and Alfred backed him up. Tom wasn't very pleased with the answer and it led to an argument between them. But that wasn't what clouded my thoughts, because I only ever thought about life after school.

Third chapter

The next day, I wanted to forget Emmie and the situationation she was in. I didn't care if she would remember who he had saved her or not, or if I would ever speak to her. But I had to deal with the rumors that were circulating in my class and throughout the school. In fact, it was Tom who broke the news to me before anyone else did.

"How did you know it was a suicide attempt and not an accident?" He stared at me in confusion, crossed his arms in front of his chest and began to speak. "The whole school is talking about it," Alfred interrupted him and Andreas said, "They said she tried to take her own life." "Now shut up," Tom said, "let me talk," and turning to look into my attentive face, he said, "According to what her very close friend Lisa had told us, Emmi went into the pool and couldn't stop herself. It was as if the water was calling to her and she felt compelled to answer that call. Before she knew it, she fainted." "That's very confusing," I said, taking a deep breath. Andreas looked at me, his face gentle and kind. "It was a good thing you were there to save her, otherwise we'd be mourning her now." I looked at him for a moment, his feelings seemed genuine. I nodded slightly, "Yeah, but does anyone know if she's coming back to school? Do you guys know anything about it?" They all shook their heads.

We were in the school library when we talked. We went there to prepare for the class tests that would soon be upon us, questions upon questions that could divide the human mind. I was the one who had persuaded my friends to come along,otherwise they would have been in the classroom doing something else.

"She won't be coming back to school, not with a case like hers," I sighed and turned to the ceiling, "but I hope they find out what happened, I don't want a world where people kill themselves without knowing why," I said.

There was no school today. I sat in my room and watched a few videos because it was Saturday. The Emmie problem was now a thing of the past for me, I no longer wanted to deal with it, I had my eyes on other things, and on this Saturday afternoon that was relaxing with my cell phone in my hand.

Entrepreneurship has always been something I was passionate about, the world of business and business politics fascinated me so much that I got goosebumps all over my body. It was a lifelong dream of mine to see myself in three-piece suits, with my hair slicked back and black shoes. I wanted to be as successful as Tony Robbins and as revolutionary as Elon Musk. Unfortunately, my father had other things in mind for me and I wasn't ready to submit to him. I was lying on my bed when I heard a creak at my door. I was watching a video about work ethics in the office and had already seen some of it, but the slow creak of my door disturbed me. I glanced at the door in irritation when I saw it was Hailey, "What's wrong?" Hailey sauntered away from the door towards my bed, "Yeah bro, I'm fine. And how are you?" She was sarcastic and annoying. "I'm in the middle of something right now, I don't want to be disturbed, so please." "You're not a nice brother, you know that?" She sat down on my bed. I turned back to my phone and continued with the video, "Now leave me alone." I heard Hailey let out a sigh and hoped she would go away. But she didn't. Shecame closer to me and looked at my cell phone, "What's going on, Hailey?" "I just want to see what you're looking at." "Alright, now that you've seen it, can you please leave?" "And do what exactly?" I was confused, "I don't know... Go see your friends or something." "I can't. I don't want to and now I'm bored to death." "And what does that have to do with me?" She paused, stared at me and thought about what she could say. Nothing came out and she let out another soft sigh. Maybe she was worried about something, and as her big brother, I had to listen to her, a task I didn't enjoy as much. And every time Hailey voiced her complaints to me, it felt like I was listening to a never-ending chain of events that played out in different ways and often in confusing twists and turns.

I gave up. She wouldn't be leaving my room any time soon. I sat up on my bed and decided to give her the attention she wanted, albeit reluctantly. "I'm just looking at a few things that would help me succeed in business, that's all." Hailey nodded knowingly as another question brewed in her eyes, "Business law, you mean?" She asked, laughing, "I know Dad always wanted you to be a lawyer, and that you ..." "No, Hailey, that's not it," I interrupted her abruptly. "God, you talk too much." "Wasn't that a video about business law?" she asked, perplexed, and I knew I had some explaining to do. "Yeah, I was just...um...watching some videos that might help me if I want to get into the business world. You know, I'll be done with school soon, so I need to start paving my way before it gets too hard, you know what I mean," I said in my defense, but Hailey's piercing gaze remained curious. "Ah, I think I understand now, Sami, but I have a feeling you're going to disappoint Dad in the future and he won't be happy." Hailey was right and I didn't know what to say. I looked up ather, "How do you know I don't want to study law at university? I don't remember telling you about it." "You don't need to, Sami. We live in the same house," she said with a smile, but I didn't find it funny. "I see everything you're doing and everything you're hiding, but I've chosen to keep it a secret." She smiled a sinister smile, "So do you want to study law at university? Or are you just going to chuck it all in? Don't forget, Dad has the connections." She sounded convincing, but not convincing enough for me. "I don't know, Hailey, maybe I'll give it a try, for Dad's pleasure, but I don't think ..." Hailey didn't say anything, her eyes were full of thoughts and I wondered what she could be thinking about right now. Was she sad that I wasn't following in Dad's footsteps, or that I was about to hurt our father? No, maybe not. Hailey wasn't a girl who cared too much about others, at least that's how I saw it. She had never shown it. There had to be something else in her head.

"Do you have anything planned for your life after school, Hailey? A job or something?" She smiled, "If I could, I'd be a cheater." "Then what's stopping you? Sounds like a great profession," I said, smiling. "Not only do I want to go to law school, but I want to intern at a law firm or a company for a year before that, so law school will have to wait," I said, wishing I could take the words back. Hailey narrowed her eyes, "Do you think mom and dad would be okay with that?" I got out of bed and walked to the door. I laughed, "I'm more focused on Dad, not Mom, because I think she'd be okay with it."

Chapter Four

The conversation with Hailey yesterday gave me courage, because today I wanted to talk to my father.

I went into the bathroom and took a quick hot shower, I never liked it hotiess or cold, just in the middle so my body felt loved. That was all I needed, and when I was done, I felt a wave of vitality flow through me and I felt like I could conquer the world. "Maybe I'll bring up the statistics on a company's past growth, that should be enough to get them excited," I thought, getting ready for the day.

My father had stared at me with confused eyes and growing despair, his lips were dry and empty, he couldn't find any words and had no choice when I told him that I wasn't going to study law. I tried to reason with him, but my father was desperate and wouldn't listen to me. He didn't listen to my mother either, and my heart only got colder.

Hailey was right, I should have done what he wanted.

My father had heard enough for today, I went to my room and lay down on my bed and closed my eyes. I followed my dreams and got a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and then a Master's degree in Business Administration. And after four years of being immersed in the Canadian business world, I became the senior manager of one of the largest companies in the country, handling everything from employees to product flow, and I was well on my way to becoming CEO of my company. When my father saw all my successes and everything I had ahead of me, his coldness towards me began to warm andour broken connection came alive again. It was a moment I will never forget. It put a smile on my face.

A moment later, my car was parked behind the three-storey building complex of the company I worked for. The company was on a 5,600 square meter lot, and the parking lot was as wide as a soccer field. I had my cappuccino in one hand and my suitcase in the other. I saw Vivian, my colleague, who I really enjoyed talking to. We were on the second floor and went to our offices. Vivian worked in an office three doors down and I worked in an office overlooking the busy streets. "Well, I have to say, Sami, you're doing a great job, because even I ... Well, let's just say I might be taking you out to lunch soon." She laughed, and I laughed with her. "Oh, lest I forget, how's your presentation coming along this afternoon?" she asked. I smiled broadly, "Great, Vivian. I can't wait for everyone to see what I have planned for them." Vivian grinned and nodded quietly before going into her office. I put my suitcase on the table, I still had plenty of time before the presentation, there was no need to rush. With my cappuccino in hand, I walked to the glass wall of my office and looked at the people below me going about their day. I remembered the time when my life had been like this and I would do anything not to go back to it.

At 13:00, it was time to present the company with the designs for a new product line that my team and I had developed. It was a new type of luggage that you could pack different things in when you wanted to travel. Many hours had gone into developing this product, and if I could get approval for it, it would be further proof of my intelligence. I smiled to myself as I stood in front of the projection screen.

A few minutes later, the chairs were occupied and the table was full. Everyone looked at me curiously as I wanted to show them another miracle of innovation. "So, Mr. Sami, we're here to see the new concept you have for our company..." "Yes, sir, you'll be pleased to see what me and my team have come up with and I hope you'll like it."

The lights dimmed and the projector cast its beams onto the screen. With a pounding heart and a sense of elation and firm confidence, I presented the product to them. I was impeccable, precise, clever with my words and accurate with my data. The members around the table watched me with rapt attention, their eyes so focused on me that I could almost see myself in them. The room was silent, apart from the thumping sound in my chest. 20 minutes later I was ready. The lights came on completely, quiet chatter vibrated in the air and I could see smiles on the faces of some of the members.

When everyone had calmed down, I asked with eyes trembling with fear: "So, what do you think?" A chubby man at the front of the table grunted, he was pale and had neat white hair and blue eyes. He wobbled on his chair and looked up at me, his voice coming out stuttering. I wondered why. "Mr. Sami, we found your product very ...," he pondered what to say, "unpleasant." "Were you the one who came up with this whole design? And the functions it has?" he asked. "Yes," I confirmed. "Then I'm sorry Mr. Sami, we can't do this, it's a disaster waiting to happen." "Honestly, a bag with a cup holder? Who does that?" One of the men said with a grin, "This isn't a lab, young man." "I wonder who hired him in the first place?" said a voice. I heard laughter around the table and my head buzzed with nausea. "I assure you, gentlemen, I can fix this. Give me acompartment..." "Gentlemen?" asked the lady among them, visibly horrified. I couldn't breathe and walked towards her. "I can fix it," I said to her quietly, catching the pale man's gaze. His words were like punches to the stomach and I saw a shadow spread around me and I began to see my father's disappointed face as he stared at me. His lips were pressed together and his eyebrows were drawn down, he actually disapproved of me and it made my muscles go weak. It all happened for a moment and I wanted to forget about it quickly. I could still hear the snide words of the people in the boardroom, their laughter echoing off the walls.

Suddenly I woke up, gasping for air, beads of sweat falling from my forehead onto the bed and my mouth feeling dry. "What was that?" It was just a dream, I had fallen asleep

Fifth chapter

Monday morning The school bell rang and many students went to their classes to start the new school day, a Monday, a day that all students hated. As I entered the school building, I looked worn out, my eyes felt heavy to me and my steps were slow and labored. I hadn't slept well last night and my head was still throbbing from the thud I had heard in my dream.

I felt a hand around my shoulders, but I knew who it could be: "Sami! How are you?" Andreas asked. He also had Tom and Alfred with him and they were on their way to class. When they didn't get an answer from me, I felt the eerie silence of their stares. "Uh, Sami, are you there or what?" Andreas paused and turned my body so that I was looking at him. I wasn't in the mood for this. "What's going on, Andreas? Can't you see I'm going to class?" I said, because I wanted to be alone.

My words only seemed to annoy Andreas even more: "Yes, I can see that, but didn't you see that we were going with you? We even said hello to you, but you didn't answer." "Yes, Sami, what's wrong?" Tom looked at me with worried eyes. I looked at him with my tired look, "Nothing, I just didn't sleep well last night." "That's all? What did you do that you didn't sleep well?" asked Alfred. "I don't know," I shrugged my shoulders and released myself from Andrea's firm grip, "can we go to class now." The three of them were confused and surprised. "I hope we don't have to spend the day with him like this," I heard Tom say, and Alfred agreed with him.

The class was surprisingly orderly that Monday morning, there was less noise and students only spoke from their seats, only the quiet murmurs and laughter of some of my classmates could be heard, and that helped to calm me down. It was almost as if I was in the wrong class. The voices I heard were like music, calming my nerves, and I closed my eyes to take it all in. The dream had been terrible.

"Okay, class, good morning!" The teacher for our morning geography lesson was there.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that it wasn't her after all. It was another teacher, much taller than our geography teacher, with red hair in plaits, cheerful sea-green eyes, smooth, pale skin and petite legs. She was the art teacher, Miss Lizzy, and also one of the nicest teachers.

The classroom fell silent and Miss Lizzy beamed at us all before saying something. "Hello everyone, I'm sure you're all waiting for Miss Anna to come to your class, right?" "Well," her expression turned gloomy, "I'm afraid that no one has heard from Miss Anna since Saturday and all efforts to find her have been unsuccessful. But we still have high hopes," she grinned nervously, "I'm sure we'll find her again soon, and your geography lessons will continue as if they had never stopped." She paused and let her gaze wander through the silent, staring faces in front of her. She didn't seem to know what to say anymore, but she didn't know whether to leave or say something else. When there was nothing more to say, she set off. "But why has she disappeared?" Klemens asked her, he was Emmie's boyfriend and a player on the school soccer team. Her gaze lingered on his face: "We don't know, Klemens, all we know is that she was suddenly nowhere to be found the next day, yesterday."

The chatter went from one corner of the class to the other, apprehension rose and fear began to seep into each student. They began to believe that a killer was on the loose, abducting his victims and leaving no trace, and they thought that they were one victim away from becoming his next.

"Okay, see you in the next lesson." She hurriedly trotted out of class, the heels of her shoes clattering wildly on the floor.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the class exploded in a tumult of conflicting words and opinions about what we had heard, the unexplained disappearance of people. Soon I heard chairs being pulled towards me, they were my friends and I knew we had to talk about it.

"That was a heavy piece of news we just heard: Miss Anna has disappeared without a trace? That sounds crazy," Alfred exclaimed. "I'm very sure she was kidnapped by her boyfriend and taken from the hotel in the middle of the night, which is why there were no traces of them. The man disappeared with her and put her in a bag," Andreas said confidently and with a smug expression. I thought for a moment. "That's really weird, could it be a serial killer?", I asked, looking at my friends. "Could be," Tom said. "Well, I thought you didn't want to talk to us, what changed your mind Sami?" asked Andreas. "Nah, forget that guys, I was just having a bad morning, nothing serious," I tried to lighten the mood, "but if you were upset about it, then I'm sorry." They all smiled at me. Their lips were twisted into a wide grin and my heart fluttered with warmth. "Oh, it's okay Sami, we know you'd come around. I mean, don't we all have bad mornings sometimes," Andreas said. "That's right," they agreed. "But that's not so important. What's important is that we don't know which colleges we're going to choose, because we're only a few months away from ourgraduation," Andreas bellowed. "But I thought you didn't want to go to the same university as us? You said that would be childish," asked Tom, confused. "Yes, Andreas, why did you change your mind?" Alfred grinned at him. I turned to Andreas, he was finding it difficult to say a word: "Why don't you say something, Andreas? You're already pale." "Oh, it's all right, okay? I only said it jokingly, I didn't mean it like that. Why throw away all the good times by going somewhere far away from here? I still want to be around you guys." "But I want you to know something," I said when the laughter had faded, "I'm not going to college my freshman year after high school. I want to use that year to do something else." "But why, Sami? Why don't you want to go to college?" Alfred was the first to speak up. I gave him a small smile: "Because I have a dream, Alfred, and I intend to realize it."

Sixth chapter

"All right, Tom, I'll see you at school tomorrow," sayse me. "Sami. But the day's not over yet. You can come to my house," he offered. We had just left school and wanted to go home. I just wanted to go home, take a bath, watch a movie or two and then read.

"I'm sorry, Tom, but I can't. I have to take care of something at home, maybe I'll come and see you at the weekend." Tom shrugged, "That's all right. I just thought we could have a great day together." "I'm sorry Tom, not today."

Tom went to his street and I went to mine. He looked disappointed and I thought that maybe I could have agreed to his request, but I wanted some time alone, to do almost nothing, and there was no way I could have enjoyed everything I loved with Tom.

His house was not far from mine. We lived on different streets, but in the same neighborhood, separated by a single paved road that led to an intersection of streets. In our neighborhood, there were small bungalows for small families, with a lawn in front of the house and a small backyard as a garden. I rarely used this space, mostly my sister Hailey sat in a chair on the porch drinking grape or orange juice. I was better off in my room reading comics or watching videos on YouTube.

When I got to the house, the first thing I heard was cackling laughter in the kitchen; the laughter got louder and louder and the air seemed to take on a powerful tone.

"What's going on here?" I asked, confused, "What's the party? Grandpa?" "Sami," he called out. "God, how you've grown, you