Reserved Attraction – Part 2

There wasn't much for the gals to do for the rest of their first day. Samuel dismissed them early while he continued with his work till quite late in the evening. That had been his routine since his latest break-up which was his second failed relationship. He was too inexperienced the first time round and was too caring for his second. He wasn't really sure what went wrong but had sort of resigned to the fate that he would remain a bachelor. He would bury himself in his work and tire himself out so that he wouldn't have the time and stamina to feel sorry for himself. It was his way of escaping from reality.

Sufen arrived early for work the next day. She was all excited and couldn't wait to start work. Samuel, who was surprised by her enthusiasm, was just as eager to get her started. They had the usual casual chat while waiting for Shirlyn's arrival. She arrived about fifteen minutes later. She apologised and blamed her mum for not waking her up in time.

Samuel handled them some forms and figures and asked them to familiarise themselves with the different types of forms that they would come in contact in the course of their work. Sufen got started right away, looking through the forms thoroughly and trying to figure out what information she needed to obtain to complete the forms. Shirlyn on the other hand, was more concerned when they could go for their morning break since she had missed her breakfast.

After their break, Sufen showed Samuel what she had done while Shirlyn requested for more time. Samuel was so pleased with what Sufen had done that he went on to task her with some of the work he was doing. And Sufen wasn't complaining. In fact, she was glad that Samuel had that much faith in her as to entrust with the 'real' stuffs. She had wanted to learn as much as she could from her attachment and more importantly to attain a good grade for her final project. Sadly, Shirlyn didn't seem to share the same perception. To her, the whole attachment was a waste of time and she dreaded having to work rather than play. She preferred spending her time hanging out with her friends to being stuck to her table all day long doing boring paperwork. Though Sufen did try to help her out whenever she could, Shirlyn's mentality didn't improve. Thus, it wasn't surprising that her performance wasn't up to expectations, much to the disappointment of Samuel who had also tried hard to help her, in spite of her indifferent attitude.

Soon, it was the end of their 5-week attachment. Samuel had given Sufen an above-average report card while Shirlyn received a satisfactory one. Sufen handed Samuel a card thanking him for his guidance while Shirlyn couldn't wait to leave the place. It had been an eventful five weeks for Samuel who had to juggle between his regular job and coaching the two gals. Though he wasn't sure if he had done a good job in helping them with their final project, he did enjoy his new role as a mentor. In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he couldn't wait for the next batch of trainees to arrive.

It had been six months since the gals left. Samuel thought he saw a familiar face at his office as he reported for work one morning. It was Sufen.