I sat on my bed and held my phone in my hands.

I've gone mad for sure. No one in their right mind would take up an offer like this from a man they met barely a day before. Heck, I haven't even made an effort to talk about it with Steph or Amir yet, but here I am!

"Haaah, I really am crazy," I sighed.

I shook my head.

I promised myself I'd do this for Steph and my future, I can't get cold feet now. Plenty of famous people have taken big risks to get where they are! Not that I'm going to be wildly successful or anything, but part of living is making life-changing choices, right?

"Arg, there's no way I'm trying to hype myself up right now," I scoffed to myself, "It's just a phone call, nothing is set in stone. I haven't even gotten the job yet!"

I flopped backward onto my bed, arms strewn out on either side of me.

All we're probably going to talk about is my interest in the job, credentials, and other aspects of the company. It won't be anything ground breaking, nor contractually binding, I need to stop panicking.

"Speaking of this company..," I said as I lifted my left hand.

In it, I held Turner's card. Alongside his full name, Turner Lincoln, was his company number and email, the address of what I assumed was the building he worked at, and the logo of the business. However, what caught my attention the most was not Turner's information or name, but the name that was plastered right next to the logo. In big, bold red letters were the words Cardozo Inc. I hadn't had much of chance to look into it considering I'd been pushing this whole "new job thing" to the back of my mind, but I did some brief research this morning and discovered it was an odd blend of a family-owned sole proprietorship company and a corporation.

In other words, a family business loosely regulated by its heirs.. I think. Although it's a little ironic, I'm not entirely sure what I want my major to be when I get into college, but I can say for certain that any business classes I took never made much sense to me. Whatever I could scrape up from my limited knowledge was all I had to piece together the endless amounts of corporate lingo I forced myself to sift through. Not to mention the fact that I couldn't find much, if any, information about what the company actually does. It was perplexing. Not a single product, major achievement, or even purpose was stated anywhere. Even weirder? It seemed as though Cardozo Inc. was simultaneously known everywhere but nowhere at all.

"It's all so.. mysterious."

I let my hand fall back onto my mattress and frowned.

..which definitely doesn't make this situation better.

I sighed.

"Well, the next best place to get information is from the source," I said as I sat up and looked at the business card again.

Slowly, I pulled my phone from my side and punched in my password, dialed the numbers on the piece of paper, and held it up to my ear. My room was deafeningly silent while my phone buzzed in my hand, waiting to be answered. As it rung, I shifted around nervously until I heard a vaguely familiar voice ring through the speaker.

"Hello, this is Turner Lincoln from Cardozo Inc."

I stood, "Hey Turner, it's me, Ally."

"Ally, oh my Goddd!" Steph cried out as she crushed me in a hug.

I had braced myself before I opened my apartment door, but nothing could really prepare anyone for a rib-shattering welcome from Steph. 

"Hello, Steph," I coughed out as she clutched me close.

Casually, Connie appeared from behind Steph holding a store-bought cake and gently grabbed her by the shoulder.

My savior!

"Connie..!," I rasped, desperate.

"If you don't let her go soon you won't have anyone to hug anymore," Connie said, removing her hand from Steph and giving me a wave.

As Steph turned toward Connie, she squeezed tighter, "What are you talking about?"

Holy Fu- She doesn't even lift! How the hell is she this strong? I feel like I'm being bent like a paper clip!

Connie snuck a knowing smile over my assailant's head at me. In return, I sent her back a pleading look in hopes it'd spur on a greater sense of urgency but to no avail.

"Hmm, I don't know," Connie said as she peered up at the ceiling in mock confusion.

Connie, I swear to God-

Steph, also over Connie's bad acting, huffed, "Spit it out, would you?"

Connie laughed, "Why don't you ask your victim?"

In response, Steph whipped her head around and looked me over. Realizing my strained expression and please-let-me-go smile, she released me from her clutches.

"Ack, sorry Ally!" She apologized, stepping back, "I didn't realize I was hugging you so hard!"

"It's fine," I said after a deep breath.

"Are you sure you're ok?" She asked as she ran a hand through her short, red hair, "My strength escapes me sometimes."

Connie snorted and then muttered, "It sure does."

Steph's face of regret quickly turned to anger as she swung back to face Connie.

"Guys-" I tried before being cut off.

"Oh no, looks like I've angered the bear," Connie gasped, placing a hand over her mouth.

"Connie, I'm going to bash your head into the nearest wall if you don't shut up right now."

"Oh, I'm so afraid!" Connie teased, "I hope you'll be able to reach it!"

Rest in peace, Connie. If theres one thing that'll grant you a ticket to heaven at the hands of Steph, it's a height joke.

Steph lunged and Connie started running.

Connie shrieked, "Wait, Steph, no! I have the cake, you can't attack me!"

"Fuck you!"

I sighed.

These two hooligans.

I've never been one for physical contact, so Connie's had to constantly pry Steph off of me all throughout our seven year friendship.. sort of. Although quiet, Connie's never missed a chance to mess with us. She's always laughing at something or playfully poking fun at the both of us. At this point, it's customary for her to let me suffer at the hands of one of Steph's hugs for a teeny bit longer just to get a rise out of me.

Her easygoing and humorous nature also made her really likable back in high school, so she was pretty popular. It's a little embarrassing to admit, but I was quite jealous of her before we became friends. I was undeniably miserable back then, so I resented people like Connie who I thought were perfect and seemingly got along with everyone. 

We formally met each other when we had to do a project together in a literature class and we became acquaintances. For a long time after that though, I still couldn't bring myself to like her. Every time I saw her with another friend cracking jokes, laughing, and smiling, I hated her more. And it wasn't as though Connie hadn't noticed it. She'd made numerous attempts to get closer to me, but I purposefully withdrew from her. Despite that, she persisted. She just wouldn't give up. I don't know what it was..

Eventually, she broke down my walls and we became friends. Once I was able to work past my envy, I discovered how kind and empathetic she was. She was like a candle in a room of darkness. And her flame never wavered. She let me pour out my heart to her. My struggles, my fears, my pain, she took it all without hesitation. Every time I needed her she was there. If there's one word to describe her, it's loyal.

"-Ally!" Steph called out.

I looked up. The two had apparently settled things and were standing next to each other. Surprisingly, the cake was also undamaged and sitting on the kitchen counter.

"Welcome back to earth, Miss Zone-out," Steph announced, "Let's celebrate already. Can you grab the bags I left by the door?"

"Sure," I said, taking the few steps needed to retrieve the iridescent party bags.

"You could be nicer, y'know?" Connie drawled.

"That's real rich coming from you."

"Ohh is it now?"

"What the hell are you being such a smartass for?" Steph asked, crossing her arms.

"Me? Steph, baby, you need to stop projecting. It's ok, you can talk to me about it if you need to."

As I made my way down the short hallway toward them, gifts in hand, their bickering continued.

"Connie..," Steph said, barely audible, "I really am going to start wailing on you if you don't-"

"Haven't you already done that? You should come up with a new tactic."

Steph launched herself at Connie again.

Geez, she really needs to learn when to stop pushing Steph's buttons. How am I going to separate them now?

Passing them as they tumbled over onto sofa, I set the bags down next to the cake and let the two of them duke it out.

Steph's been incredibly fiery ever since I met her. She was Connie's friend before mine, and they were the exact same back in our freshman year. Connie would constantly antagonize Steph until she flew off the handle. It was her favorite thing to do. Of course the two were rarely genuinely upset at the other, but some of their fights really made me question whether or not they actually liked each other. 

Back then, Steph never talked much about her feelings or what she was going through. Because of this, neither me nor Connie realized that Steph had been hiding something from us ever since we'd both gotten to know her.

During dismissal on the way to the buses one day, the two of us stumbled across Steph having a confrontation with two other girls a grade or two above us. We'd accidentally discovered them after searching for a shady area to sit upon realizing our bus was going to be delayed. We turned a nearby corner in casual conversation only to see Steph on the ground with one of the girls' shoes on her stomach, pinning her down. 

Both of us stood there, shocked. Unfortunately, Steph noticed us first and tried to get up, but was forcibly pushed back onto the concrete. The girls bullying her said some childish insults before following her gaze and spotted us too. That's when Connie took the initiative and whispered in my ear to go get help and marched forward to start shouting at them.

It all ended with a confession, the two girls being suspended, and Steph getting an earful from the both of us. Since then, Steph has become a lot more confident and open. 

It's been really nice to see her grow so much in the past few years.

I giggled to myself.

I sound like her mom.. which is a little contradictory considering she takes care of me more than I do, but oh well.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Steph snarled from across the small room.

"Told you so," said a voice beneath Steph.

"That doesn't mean anything!"

You've got to be kidding me. What did I get myself into now?

She laughed. "Be honest, Ally does think I'm funny," Connie winked up at Steph.

Steph had taken to straddling her enemy in order to keep her from evading her attacks, but Connie's little eye maneuver sent Steph reeling back and blushing furiously.

Ugh, here I go third wheeling again.

"No PDA in my house, please," I said, pushing myself off the counter and going to fish some plates out of a nearby cupboard.

"W-wha-" Steph sputtered, staring at me from behind the back of the couch.

Connie howled with laughter.

"You fight like a married couple," I said.

Steph jumped off of Connie.

"W-what the hell are you talking about? No we don't! I-I have a boyfriend!"

Connie yawned, "How long will this one last?"

"Connie!"

Here we go again.

I interrupted them, "We're having cake. Maybe with frosting in both of your mouths you'll finally shut up, so get over here before I start force feeding you both."

"F-fine," Steph murmured.

"Sounds good to me," Connie said brightly, pulling herself up from the couch.

We all gathered in the kitchen and claimed a plate. I set out the cake and each of us cut ourselves a slice. We talked, ate, and opened presents. It was refreshing. After a couple of hours, Steph and Connie went home. I showered, did some chores, and crashed. It was the best birthday I'd had in a while.