ALICE Micole Abdelhak
Tenafly High School
Short Story
to me. My mind has taken me back to the day I reached for my diploma. My hand was steady and I was sure of myself. I had received a top education for which I had worked incredibly hard, graduating with honors, and had a job offer from a prestigious law firm all lined up. Although I had sacrificed many social nights and at points my own mental and physical health for this very moment, all I could feel was excitement and pride. Everything was finally falling into place. I stepped off the dais knowing my life would finally begin, that my work had finally paid off. All those late nights I had spent studying were worth it. My fear, dread, and doubt left me as if the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. I awoke on Monday morning, dressed in my freshly dry-cleaned suit, and walked the ten blocks to my new office. The early autumn sun gleamed on my face and a brisk breeze blew my hair off my shoulders. I arrived at nine sharp and took the elevator up to the eleventh floor. “Good morning, Alyssa!” A woman approached with her purple stilettos rhythmically tapping on the linoleum floor. Her tight-fitted, fuchsia suit was a perfect match to her violet, wiry glasses that hung down her nose. Her face, hidden behind a plastered-on smile, with ten layers of foundation, in no way matched her flawless exterior. Although her bun was so tightly pulled to the back of her head, it was unable to stretch out her deep wrinkles, which were quite apparent. She showed off two wide sets of pearly white teeth as she smiled; however, the top half of her face didn’t match the bottom. Her eyelids sagged, causing an overall tired appearance. “Welcome aboard. There's coffee in the break room. Help yourself. You break for lunch at one thirty.” She briskly walked back to her office, her shoes making the same ker-tap sound as she went. I didn’t have time to tell her that my name, in fact, was Alice. I turned back to my cubicle. The soft, gray walls surrounded me on all sides. I was also given a nameplate, a heap of paperwork, and a bulky white computer. As I unpacked, I questioned why I would need a nameplate. As a first year lawyer, I wouldn’t really be meeting with anyone in my small cubicle. No one would be there to see it. I turned the object towards me. Alyssa Fisher looked back at me. And so the days went on. I never did inquire about getting a new nameplate. I was new and didn’t want to
Dear Vanessa, It is with grave earnestness and consternation that I find myself writing this letter. Your mother informs me of your current state. I too remember when I was just out of law school, still eager for what was to come. I am in no way trying to discourage you, for that is not my purpose in this letter. Instead I find it my responsibility to warn you, for if only I had someone to warn me…. You know that your mother is someone who has always been near and dear to my heart, and I wish all the best for you as well. I have many regrets in my life and I fear that this will become a projection of them onto you, which is in no way what I desire. But I see much of myself in you–the same hope, the same ambition, the same determination that caused me to make one of the biggest and most regrettable decisions of my life. Perhaps as you read this letter you will find that my past in no way resembles your present and, if that is the case, then please disregard my apprehension. But, as I said, when your mother requested me to give you advice about this profession and informed me of your own second guessing, I knew that if I didn’t inform you of my truth, I would always feel a pang of guilt. With my prior briefing over, I will start at the beginning, from the point in my life where you find yourself now. As I write this now, with a shaky hand, a vivid outpouring of memories and emotions comes flooding back
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