Small Doses

Chapter 14: Mew

I never initiated getting close to anyone. Nor have I tried wooing someone I liked. I never gave expensive gifts, stupid love notes and tried impressing them by wearing necklaces they give. And when I decided to do that, it was for the person who had slapped me in the face with his 'I am straight' speech time and time again.  I shouldn't have pushed him. It has been so awkward for me and was so out of my element trying to be accommodating.

On the bright side though, my old self is finally starting to show again. I am slowly opening up to people and even start enjoying their company. This team building is something I can benefit from as well.

So here I am, at the back of the hall. The assembly had started and the organizers are giving instructions on the groupings for the activities. I stood at the back still thinking if I will join them or not.

"Here you are." I turned to see Gulf with his camera hanging on his neck, smiling awkwardly. My heart lurched, his smile can melt the hardest of hearts.  I sighed, then looked at the front again, as if not seeing him. I have no words.

I tried to concentrate with what the organizers were saying while Gulf is standing quietly beside me.

"Since Sir Gulf decided to be our official photographer, we are missing 1 team leader for the last group, we can either find a team leader or split the fifth group and redistrubute," the organizer was saying.

I raised my hand and walked to the front leaving Gulf on his own, "I can lead." Yes, I can do this.

The hall became quiet. As I walked in front of group five, I patted my members as I pass them. They looked petrified, I would have laughed if I wasn't that nervous myself. I smiled genuinely reassuring them that they didn't need to worry.

I signalled the organizers to continue with their instructions. They looked hesitant but seeing that they do not have a choice, continued on.

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There are 5 games, all of it would need help from different members and all of it requiring physical exertion. The winner will be determined through a point system which is cumulative depending on the result of each game.

The most physical effort I usually exert is when I scold Olive and when I go to the gym. I am physically fit but I also bid my time. These games though are time bound. That being said, we lost the first game, second on the second game, third on the third game and second on the fourth game. Being the group leader, I still gave encouragement and gave them hope that we can still win on the last game. The last game has double points. If I calculate it correctly, we can still win if we place first.

The last game is a maze with a twist. It's a relay wherein a secret message will be given to the first player, he/she has to relay that message to the second player, the second relays it to the third player and so on. The last player which is the fifth player has to say the message correctly. The twist is, before the player can pass on the message to the next player, she has to complete a maze. The organizers explained that this game is to enhance the employees multi-tasking skills. I volunteered to be the last player since that's the hardest position for a player.  The message will be tumbled at this time and I will be the one to fix it. I am so into the game that my team members are hyped as well. I gave them tips about not memorizing everything but remembering the keywords of the statement.

The game started. When the first players of the different groups read the same message, their faces looked confused. My player is no different, she kept re-reading the message. I don't think there was enough time for her to memorize everything given that when the organizer said 'GO' for everyone to do the maze, she is still memorizing it.