The best advice

Karina had never felt so annoyed in her life. Her entire system ground with anger as she continued to storm her way out of the building, sparing no glance at the lady she talked to earlier, who by the way had a confused look on her face.

'Attend a party with you... Huh! Stupid rich people always acting as if they're doing you a favor...' She muttered in her head, as she stood by the road waiting for a cab.

'I can't believe I even wasted my time coming here, thinking I'll have a decent conversation with him.' She complained again, at the same time lifted her hand to check the time on the watch strapped to her wrist.

It was almost five and she didn't want to leave this matter until tomorrow. But she wasn't sure if she would still meet Mr. Joel in school. He usually leaves around this time.

Flagging down the first available taxi, she jumped inside and impatiently wished the taxi would fly instead of moving in the regular manner cars were known for.

She already had a solid reason to give Mr. Joel so he could change her partner without too much convincing. Maybe she should be thankful to Veron instead of being angry. He had at least helped her without even knowing it. Her journey to his office had not been totally fruitless even though he had been nothing but annoying all through.

The slowest ride of her life finally came to a stop when they arrived at Grimshigh. The ride wasn't actually slow, but the urgency of her situation made it seem so.

She hurried out of the taxi and half ran to the staff block where Mr. Joel's office was located. There were only a few students around the area, some of which threw her confused stares as she hurried to her destination.

Her legs kept moving at a fast pace, only slowing down and coming to a halt when she was standing right in front of the office.

With her chest rising and falling rapidly as a result of the small exercise she just engaged in, she prayed the person she came for was still around.

Lifting her hand, she knocked on the door twice, before dropping her hand. A deep breath of relief slipped past her lips when the familiar voice reached her ears from within the office.

"Come in."

Karina twisted the door handle and pushed the door open.

"Good evening, sir." She greeted him the moment she stepped in and saw him closing the blinds.

Mr. Joel turned to look at her, his brows drawing together just as he set his eyes on her.

"Is everything alright, Miss Harper?" He asked, tilting his head slightly to the side while he observed how she was panting as if she had run a long distance to get there.

"Yes... I mean, no sir. Everything is not alright." Karina responded, shaking her head as her breath slowly normalized.

"What's the problem?" Mr. Joel queried, moving back to his seat and plopping down on it, his eyes still on her.

"I need a new partner. Veron and I can not work together." She said, and quickly added, "And I have a good reason for that," when she saw him look at her as if he was tired of hearing the same thing from her.

"What is the reason?" Mr. Joel simply asked, and Karina jumped for Joy internally. She had never been so happy to report something, but this time, it was different.

"I accepted to work with him just as you instructed, and even went to his office to discuss how we will go about it. But he said he wouldn't work with me unless I attend a party with him. And he wasn't joking about it."

Silence descended upon them as she waited for a reaction from Mr. Joel suggesting that he wasn't happy with what he just heard. But his face remained unreadable.

Was he perhaps still processing what she just said because of how ridiculous it sounded? That should be it because who on earth gives such a condition before working on a project that would favor both of them? And a student for that matter.

"He asked you to attend a party with him." Mr. Joel repeated after the long silence, and Karina nodded in response.

"That was exactly what he said. Adding that it was the only condition for him to work with me." She affirmed, anticipating his next action, which would be in her favor.

Again, Mr. Joel fell silent for a short moment, which confused Karina. He was not giving her the reaction she expected, and neither was he saying what she wanted him to say. He was just staring.

After a short moment of silence, Mr. Joel let out a silent sigh.

"Sit down, Karina." He offered, gesturing with his hand to the chair opposite his.

His offer triggered a confused frown on Karina's face. Nevertheless, she moved to the chair and sat her butt down.

Her head immediately went to work, trying to guess why the man was acting strangely. Why was he asking her to sit when he should be telling her to pick any other person she wanted to work with? Or even do the selection for her if he wanted.

"This may sound strange coming from me, but I can assure you that it is the best advice I can give to you right now. I want you to attend the party with him."

Karina's heart dropped and her eyes stretched when she heard what Mr. Joel just said.

"WHAT? You want me to..." Karina trailed off, seeing how the man was nodding his head, showing he meant what he said.

"Yes. You heard correctly, Karina. Go with him to the party, unless there's something else he said that you are not telling me."

Karina opened her mouth and shut it again, unable to believe what she just heard.

"Is there something else?" Mr. Joel's voice echoed, forcing Karina to return her full attention to him.