2: 2
The dinner was set at the most lavish private club in the city.
The private room dripped with gold, and the crystal chandelier was bright enough to make your head swim.
Judy wore a couture gown Giles had bought her, preening like a peacock.
I sat in the far corner with nothing in front of me but a glass of plain water.
The mentor was a gray-haired old man in gold-rimmed glasses.
He looked over the translation Judy handed him, nodding again and again.
"This ancient text is dense and hard to read, and you've translated it so precisely. That's rare."
He pushed his glasses up his nose.
"No surprise, coming from someone Giles recommended."
Judy covered her mouth and gave a coy little laugh. "You flatter me. I pulled several all-nighters digging through references to get it right."
She claimed my work as her own without so much as a flicker in her face.
As she spoke, she even rubbed her eyes for effect, drawing a wave of tender sympathy from Giles.
"My Judy is just so hardworking. She lost weight over this translation."
Giles chimed in from beside her, his eyes full of doting.
The mentor smiled, satisfied, then suddenly pointed at a spot on the manuscript and asked:
"But this word has three meanings in classical Chinese. Why did you pick the most obscure one?"
The room went quiet all at once.
The smile froze on Judy's face, and she looked to Giles for help.
Under the table, Giles kicked me, hard.
The pain made me suck in a sharp breath. I lifted my head and met his warning glare.
Judy grabbed at me like a drowning woman clutching a straw and instantly tossed the ball into my court.
"Sis! Didn't you say you'd read this text too? Go on, tell the mentor what you think!"
Every eye in the room turned to me.
I stood up, expressionless. My voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone clearly.
"Because of the context. The previous line mentions a rite of worship."
"Here the word functions as a verb, referring to a specific ritual act during the sacrifice, so I chose the most obscure meaning."
The moment I finished, the mentor's eyes lit up. He slapped his thigh, elated.
"Well said! Excellent! Young lady, your fundamentals are more solid than the doctoral students I supervise. What's your name?"
Judy went white in an instant. She rushed to cut in, her voice jumping an octave.
"Yes, yes! That's exactly what I was thinking!"
"I just... I just got nervous a moment ago and didn't put it clearly."
She hooked her arm through mine, intimate as anything, smiling with utter sincerity.
"Sis is my assistant, after all. She helps me sort through materials all the time. We discuss things together a lot."
One weightless sentence, and I dropped from the one who'd saved her to her assistant.
Giles lifted his glass at once, blocking the mentor's probing gaze, smoothing it over with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Mentor, this toast is for you. Judy's thesis will need a great deal of your care going forward."
The two of them traded toasts, and the room warmed up again.
No one spared me another glance.
Just then the phone in my pocket buzzed like a mad thing.
Two words flashed on the screen: the hospital.
My heart clenched hard, and I answered.
A nurse's rushed voice came through. "Family, come quick! The patient's failing! Her heart's stopped!"
Boom.
I shot to my feet, the chair screeching across the floor.
Everyone in the room froze and stared at me, startled.
"What is it?" Giles's face darkened.
"My grandmother's dying. I have to go now."
I snatched up my bag and spun to bolt for the door.
Giles seized my wrist, his grip shockingly strong.
"Are you insane?" he hissed through gritted teeth.
"Can't you see the mentor's still here? You walk out now, you're humiliating me in front of everyone!"
I fought against him, my eyes going red in an instant, my voice shaking.
"Let go! That's my grandmother's life!"
"I already told you, the hospital has specialists!" Giles held me fast, refusing to let go.
"Your grandmother's nearly ninety. This is a blessed passing! Can't you use some sense?"
Judy came over, playing the peacemaker with false concern.
"Sis, don't be rash. Giles is thinking of the big picture. Making a scene like this will leave the mentor with nowhere to turn."
I looked at that face of hers, so full of kindness and innocence, and listened to every word coming out of her mouth.
Eight years of pressure, a volcano buried in me, erupted in that moment.
I swung my hand back and, with every ounce of strength I had, slapped Judy across the face.
"Smack!"
The crisp sound rang through the room.
Judy clutched her cheek, staring at me in disbelief, tears welling up at once.
"What are you doing!" Giles roared, and shoved me away hard.
I had no defense. My lower back slammed into the sharp corner of the table behind me, and a piercing pain shot through me.
It hurt so much I could barely stay on my feet.
The mentor stood up, frowning. "What is going on here? This is outrageous!"
"Mentor, please don't be angry. Something happened at her home. She's not in a stable state of mind."
Giles hurried to smile it away, then turned and glared at me viciously. "Get out, now!"
I pressed a hand to my throbbing back and watched him gingerly cradle Judy, murmuring soft comfort.
In that moment, I couldn't even feel the heartbreak anymore.
Only numbness was left.
