Chloe was a good student- she performed well in class, paid close attention, and always did splendidly on all of her exams. There was one problem that she faced at her new university, however, and that problem was something very different than she had ever encountered with her best friends in tow back in the United States. This problem was loneliness and boredom.
Perhaps boredom was not the best way to describe this issue. After all, Chloe had a nice work load and she rarely had idle time. But on those occasions where she was not surrounded by familiar faces, such as during the lunch breaks that her schedule set up, Chloe felt rather abandoned. Her peers did little to include her into their social lives, especially when she would often disappear strangely from some classes in order to meet up with Damian and his crew for one assignment or another. Usually, these assignments required her to spell check some phrases for Damian’s language learning program or to compose some new ones. It was not so much difficult as it was annoying. Sometimes Chloe wished she could attend the same kind of rigorous class schedule that her peers were attending so that at least she could make some other connections besides her obviously self-centered collection of Damian’s workers.
And Damian’s workers were not exactly friendly either. On one occasion, one of the female workers “accidentally” spilled hot coffee all over her favorite blouse when they were supposed to be working together to come up with a short English passage for the language learners to read. And while Damian never again permitted them to see each other after the incident, the hostility and competition of the other members of his company rang loud and clear in their voices whenever they were forced to address her.
At first, Chloe did not understand this strange happening. Why were the other company members so set on disliking her in particular? But soon it became much more evident, even for someone who did not have much of a romantic experience in her life. Damian liked her- and he wasn’t afraid to show it. And he showed it in the form of luring opportunities for her- such as luxurious promises and other benefits if she were to keep working with him. These golden opportunities and benefits were all very appealing to everyone- especially those long term workers who had much more experience in the field. Single young women especially wanted Damian’s attention- he was a kind of prize all on his own. But his attention was dedicated entirely to Chloe, who, being a good looking but vulnerable candidate, became an easy target for jealousy and detest.
Despite this, the workers tried their best to appear friendly and open in her direction whenever Damian was around. After all, they did not wish to lose their well strived for already acquired positions. But even to Chloe it was clear that they rejected her and boiled with envy on the inside.
Though she did not entirely understand the reason behind their hostility, she decided to accept the fact that not everyone would always enjoy her company, especially in a different country. She tried to convince herself that the appreciation of Damian was all that she truly needed and that she should be proud and satisfied with it. But it was difficult to keep herself convinced of this when all she saw about her was the fakery of the other workers and the blank, indifferent faces of her peers. She wished that she could find at least one person in all of Paris who would be both friendly and genuine- a friend who would not care what she did or who she was. But in her sight there was no such person, and everything seemed bleary and monotonous.
A few weeks later, Damian personally invited her to a party. It would be arranged at his friend’s mansion of a house and catered by his favorite restaurant.
“It is the one that I first took you to, the one where we had our very first dinner,” Damian explained in his velvety French tone. “I’m sure you enjoyed the food there- was it not splendid?”
“It was,” Chloe replied, though rather unconvincingly. By now she had grown very tired of Damian’s formality and constant promotion offers. If the man was in love- why could he not just act like himself? Why did he have to play these games and keep saying that he was hiring her and would soon make her his manager? It would certainly be a nice benefit for her, but why did she have to suffer on the road to this achievement? Why did she have to do every menial task that the business man would arrange and work with his unpleasant colleagues if all he really wanted was a romantic relationship?
“You really sound quite tired. Maybe it will be a chance for you to relax a bit and enjoy yourself. I will arrange for a taxi to take you there after your last class this Friday.”
“Sounds great,” Chloe piped up, hoping to end the conversation on that. Despite having completely taken it out of her mind until this point, she now suddenly remembered why she had liked that restaurant so much- and it was not the food. In fact, now that she began remembering it, she realized that she actually remembered very little of the restaurant besides the waiter who had served them and then Damian’s following rudeness. The clumsy waiter: his eyes had been penetrating…his face had been genuine, sweet. Now that these details began flowing back, she realized how much she had liked the young man. Every little piece of his face fell into a puzzle in her mind, building a clearer and clearer image until she could no longer concentrate on anything else. If only she could see him one more time- she would be so happy. She was positive that having even a glimpse of him would restore her inner strength enough to once again be able to deal with Damian and his fellow company members. At least that was what she said to herself. But a subconscious part of her brain ached to do more than just glimpse him one more time. Yes, her subconscious mind ached for much more than that.