The elevator door closed on Sublevel 1, and Kaden looked into the white paper bag in his hand. Inside, he saw a pale blue pill bottle full of liquid-filled capsules. The capsules were a glowing green color, and so massive they were difficult to swallow. He knew this because he had taken his first dose before leaving the exam room.

After Dr. Ahmed left, a physician’s assistant had arrived and hooked him up to an IV. The treatment took about 45 minutes, and he was already feeling better. The PA gave him his pills and instructions to take them every day for ten days, without fail, and to come back for a quick check-in in a week’s time.

Kaden felt his feet dragging as he left the elevator on the ground floor. He was reluctant to return to the Mailroom, because he knew he would have to face Julia. He wasn’t sure if he was ready. He desperately wanted to know what she knew about her father, but he wasn’t sure how to ask it. It was also awkward timing, given what happened his morning.

He sighed. She was expecting him right away. Might as well get it over with.

Peter greeted him with a cup of coffee when he came through the door.

“Here you are, have some coffee. Not as good as you make it, but I hope it’s passable.”

Despite himself, Kaden smiled and accepted the cup gratefully. “Thank you! I really appreciate it.”

“Of course. No problem! I hope they were able to fix you up downstairs?”

Kaden took a sip. It was hot, dark, and gloriously good. He smacked his lips and took another sip.

“This is great! Thanks again. Yes, they did take care of me. Already feeling better.”

Peter patted his shoulder. “Alright. Good to hear.” He gestured at the closed door of Julia’s office. “Good luck. She’s waiting for you.”

The butterflies returned to his stomach, but Kaden pushed it down and strode to the door, knocking before entering.

“Come in,” Julia called.

Kaden sat down in the chair in front of her desk, and took a sip of his coffee.

“So. Here we are at the start of the third week of your internship,” Julia began, leaning back in her chair. “How do you think it has gone so far?”

The question threw Kaden for a loop, for a moment.

“Well, I guess pretty good, except for getting sick of course. My stats have improved this week, and I’ve got some Plus projects in the pipeline to help meet the team and overall cohort goals. I think I’ve over delivered on the goals we set last week as well.

“I mean, aside from the accidental mana overdose, so far so good is what I would say.”

Julia looked thoughtful, taking a moment to phrase her next question.

“How about the other goal we talked about? The big goal.”

“You mean, landing a full-time role at the Company after the internship?”

She nodded.

“That’s… that’s still to be decided, right? I feel like I have as good a chance as anyone at the moment. Why? Do you know something I don’t?”

Julia shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. Not sure how much you know. I did check-in with Carol while you were downstairs to make sure I had the latest information. Did you know that around a third of the remaining interns already have full-time job offers from various departments around the Company?”

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His stomach fell. He felt sick. He swallowed and squirmed in his seat.

“What?”

“There are thirty-two interns left. Which is shockingly low, by the way. A lot of people quit during the second week, apparently. But Carol did confirm for me that twelve interns will be starting full-time roles when the internship officially ends.”

His mouth tasted bitter and bile was rising in his throat. He set the coffee cup down on Julia’s desk.

“How? I mean, how did they get that?”

Julia frowned slightly, looking skeptically at Kaden. “Well what did you think was the point of all those Plus assignments? Or all the package deliveries around to the various departments? Or even the gigs your ‘band’ played?”

“Well those were for points - “

“The points don’t matter,” Julia interrupted, waving her hand. “We gave you opportunities to network within the Company. To meet people, to see different departments, to access a whole host of different aspects of the Company.

“The internship is quite special in that way. Normally, security protocols keep departments quite separate. Exchange of information and intra-departmental collaboration is carefully monitored. Compartmentalization of information is not just a buzzword here. It’s a way of working. And I can tell you from my years of experience that the level of access you’ve had over the past couple of weeks is second to no one but the highest level VPs and senior executives.”

Julia leaned forward. “That’s what the internship is for. To see what you make of the opportunities given to you. In a way, it’s a test of leadership.”

“Ok, but why wasn’t I told that? Why not just come out and say from the beginning what it was I was supposed to do?”

Julia sighed, as if dealing with a slow and stubborn child. “I did. Do you remember our first conversation? Did I not say that what we’re truly focused on here in the Mailroom is building connections? It’s not about the mail and packages. That might be our currency. But the real power is in the access and influence that currency provides.”

Kaden rubbed his hand over face, struggling with how to respond. Part of him was absolutely furious, enraged to the point of exploding because he had worked so hard towards goals he was now told were meaningless. Another part of him was panicking, because he could see all of his hard work and effort slipping away and any chance of him achieving his long term goals at the Company was becoming increasingly slim. For the moment, the panicking part won out.

“OK. I think I get it,” he said slowly, keeping his voice as calm and level as possible. “And I certainly appreciate the many opportunities I’ve been given. So where do I go from here? Do you know of any departments with open roles that you could point me toward? How about here in the Mailroom?”

“I have to be honest with you. The mana poisoning is going to go on your record as a safety incident. It’s not a good look. And unfortunately, it’s strike two.”

“Wait, strike two? What was strike one?”

“Accosting a senior VP on his way to the airport is not the best way to make friends.”

He just sat there, absorbing the fact that Julia knew about his conversation with David yesterday. He must have told her. Which meant they were in communication about him.

“Look. Kaden. I don’t know a whole lot about your family and what happened, but I am truly sorry for your loss. While I could never understand what you’re going through, I can empathize. And grief is a terrible, terrible thing. But unfortunately it doesn’t excuse bad behavior.”

The rage roared up in Kaden, turning his face hot. He gritted his teeth, trying to control his anger. He could feel his pulse in his temples and his hands started shaking.

“Bad behavior?” he practically spat. “I’ve been a saint these past two weeks compared to almost everyone else in this Tower.”

She shrugged. “That may be true. But we have higher expectations of our future leaders.”

He rolled his eyes. “And how about you? As my de facto manager and leader. How do you measure up? You’ve known this whole time who my father was and never said anything about him or my family’s company.”

She just shook her head. “Personal attacks are not going to help your situation. Again, I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you any more than you already know about what happened to him.”

“You’re not telling me everything you know,” he said, leveling a hard stare at his boss.

Julia returned the gaze with even more gravitas. “Because I don’t trust you.”

Kaden was the first to look away.

“Go home. Take your meds. Get some rest. Come in tomorrow for the scheduled team meeting. Until then, I don’t want to see you working. Got it?”

He stood up, grabbing his coffee cup as he left without another word.