Page 39 of When The Night Falls

‘How about you, Livy?’

‘My weekend was great. Spent it with my mum.’

‘Weren’t you and Cara going for a drink on Friday?’ he asked then, but she didn’t so much as twitch.

‘We did.’ She smiled. ‘Was great fun, but we decided to head home early because of exams coming up.’

‘Responsible of you,’ he said amusedly. ‘I take it your plan to find a rebound failed, then?’

‘I cancelled the quest,’ she said with a chuckle.

‘Oh. How come?’

Since I had already heard this part, I zoned out of their conversation and started toward the lecture theatre. I was adamant about sitting at the front, which was why I always arrived early.

§ § §

We were having lunch with a few other classmates when my phone notified me that I had received an email. I wasn’t usually one to look at my phone when surrounded by my friends, but since I wasn’t particularly involved in their current discussion, I decided to take the liberty.

My heart leaped to my mouth when I identified the sender. It was from Day & Night LLP, where I was set to complete a vacation scheme this summer. Alarm ruled my body as I rushed to open it. I hadn’t expected to hear from them during this time, so I was worried it contained bad news. While I waited for it to load, I prayed to the god I didn’t believe in that they weren’t going to terminate my contract.

The text showed up, and I was at first met with a polite greeting from Theresa Ainsley, who was the woman I had been both interviewed and hired by. As I read on, I was pleasantly surprised.

‘You okay, Cara?’ Aaron asked. He must have noticed my apprehension.

Lifting my gaze from my screen, I said, ‘More than okay. I’m brilliant, actually.’

Everybody grew quiet around me.

‘What’s up?’ Aaron asked.

‘I’ve just received an email from Day & Night.’

‘And?’

‘Well, one of their paralegals is pregnant and is going to take maternity leave this summer, so they’ve asked whether I would be interested in extending the length of my work experience placement. They’ve offered me to shadow one of their solicitors instead, as a paralegal slash legal assistant. Essentially, they’re offering me to be a trainee for a few months.’

Aaron’s lips parted and Olivia gasped beside me.

‘You’re kidding!’ she exclaimed.

‘I’m not.’

‘No doubt due to your excellent marks. For how long, though?’ Aaron asked.

‘Three months.’

‘Three months!’ Olivia echoed, astonished. ‘That’s amazing! That’s bound to be a positive contribution to your CV, Cara.’

‘I know. I’d be a fool not to take the offer.’

‘You have to take it,’ Aaron urged.

‘I will, I will,’ I said with a smile. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I need to write back.’

‘Well, there go our plans for the summer,’ Olivia said. ‘Can’t say I’m upset about it, though.’

I chuckled. ‘Me neither.’

---