DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
UCC (UMMA) Managers Forum
HTML https://umma.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Backstage Stories
*****************************************************
#Post#: 827--------------------------------------------------
The Friendship Test - Chapter 5 - Losing It
By: Dragons Den Date: December 7, 2014, 4:42 am
---------------------------------------------------------
The Friendship Test - Chapter 5 - Losing It
Danni breathed a sigh of relief as she wheeled into the brightly
lit parking lot at Dragon's Den. There was only one other car
in the lot, and she assumed it was Sophia's. It looked like
they were going to be able to pull this off, after all.
Unfortunately, the thought did little to ease the empty feeling
in the pit of her stomach.
She parked, killed the engine and then the headlights. Then,
she sat for a moment and tried to gather herself.
Go in, run through the setup with Sophs, and go the hell home.
Simple.
If it was so simple, then why was she so worked up over it? She
was just going to spend an hour or two helping a friend, but she
felt like she was about to rob a bank.
Sitting there wasn't helping, so she took a deep breath, let it
out and climbed out of the car. As she made her way around to
the entrance, she wondered if she could keep it together well
enough to focus on anything Sophia said.
Meanwhile, Sophia sat in the conference room upstairs, peeking
out the window in anticipation. She hadn't been up there long.
She had been predominantly training downstairs since Dragon left
earlier in the evening. But now, it was beginning to feel like
she had been there for days.
She smiled as she noticed a car pull into the lot below. It had
to be Danni's, surely. For moments no-one emerged and Sophia
started to wonder. She knew Danni was reluctant when she agreed,
and as sure as she was that her friend would not leave her
hanging, Sophia still felt nervous at the possibility that Danni
could indeed think better of the idea and not turn up.
When that unmistakable flash of red hair slid from the
driver's-side door, Sophia breathed a little easier. "Oh thank
f*ck," she sighed under her breath as she headed down the
corridor for the stairs. She descended the single flight of
steps and jogged through the marble lobby to the building
entrance to greet her friend.
Sophia made it to the entrance just as Danni was approaching the
doors. With a smile and a little wave, she leaned over to the
doors and pressed the big after-hours release button to open
them up.
Danni almost jumped out of her skin when the large doors that
fronted the facility slid open before she was close enough to
set them off. It took her a few seconds to realize Sophia must
have opened them from the inside, and the sight of her friend's
smiling face confirmed it. She set her jaw and scolded herself
for being so nervous.
Calm... the f*ck... down. This is not a big deal.
"Hey champ, thanks for coming," Sophia grinned.
Danni forced a smile.
"A promise is a promise," she said. Sophia's personality and
the history the two of them shared made it easy to be friendly
despite her misgivings, but Danni wasn't willing to put much
effort into pretending to be happy to be there.
"What do you think of our humble abode?" She mockingly motioned
to the building and surrounds. The place looked rather grand.
From the view of the entranceway and lobby alone it looked as
though it had more money than sense thrown into it. And as far
as Sophia was concerned at this point, that was exactly the
case.
Danni glanced around. "It's nice," she said automatically,
hoping Sophia wasn't going to start trying to impress her with
the awesomeness of the facility. She just wanted to get going,
so she could get gone. But as she stepped a little further in,
she couldn't help but notice the sheer size of the lobby. While
it was true that the lobby of the RSI building was designed to
be its most visually impressive feature, Dragon had clearly gone
the extra mile.
She pushed the thought away as quickly as it had come. She
wasn't there to appreciate the aesthetics.
Sophia barely waited for Danni to get in the doors before
waltzing straight through the lobby towards the back, assuming
she'd follow. She decided to give a quick rundown on the way,
slipping into stable-leader-host mode by force of habit. "So,
upstairs is where all the managerial stuff happens. Offices,
conference rooms, a little theatre room for watching video. And
if you think that sounds excessive you should see Dragon's
office. It's like Bri and I always joke; the guy has more money
than sense. At least, he did."
Sophia quickly went quiet after the last part. She realised a
little late that she probably shouldn't be bringing up the
financial, uh, difficulties, that the Den had endured recently.
Of course, she was used to being candid and casual with her
friends, but judging by the look on Danni's face, maybe this
wasn't the perfect time for that. She decided to dial it back a
notch into something marginally more professional.
It turned out Sophia didn't need to be concerned with telling
Danni too much. Though the RSI team leader heard her friend
talking, she really wasn't listening. She was distracted by the
fear that someone would see her there, or that something else
was going to go wrong. But, for whatever reason, the nickname
Sophia had referenced pierced through her mental distress and
she quickly became consumed with trying to identify who it was.
The girl had quickly become one of the public faces of the
Dragon's Den stable. She was sure she knew the name, but it
wasn't coming to her.
She's on the team with Sophia, right? Yeah... a little younger.
Briana something. Lightweight... no, featherweight.
Suddenly, Danni could picture the young woman's face as clear as
day, and she became frustrated that she couldn't remember the
name that went with it. She remembered something about water.
Naya? No, that was the girl from Raccoon. Dasani? Not even
close. EVIAN! That was it! Briana Evian.
While all this was going on in her head, Danni had basically
forgotten where she was or that Sophia was even there.
That's when Sophia noticed Danni's look had changed again. But
not for the better. She raised an eyebrow and eyed Danni
analytically. "You seem nervous. You okay? It's only us here, I
promise."
Sophia's words suddenly brought Danni back to reality, and she
was embarrassed at the way she had totally spaced out.
What in the world was THAT all about?
She looked over at her friend, and couldn't help but smile.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm losing it. I know this isn't a big
deal, but I've been worried about it. Now, I can't get hold of
myself. I know it's ridiculous, but I can't stop it."
Sophia smirked at the redheaded space cadet, grabbed her softly
by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. "You're right, it's
not a big deal. Relax. Breathe. You're Danni f*cking Harris and
you're in complete control. Right?" She released Danni's
shoulders and sighed. "What are you worried about - getting
caught? There's no-one here. It's you and me, girl. We could
have a rave here. Nobody is going to know."
Danni shook her head gently as she rolled her eyes. "'Danni
f*cking Harris,'" she quoted. "Gimme a break."
Though she was far from being in complete control, Sophia's
words had made a difference, and Danni could feel herself relax.
As she did so, her brain finally untangled the little puzzle
she'd been so fixated on.
Not Evian. Evigan. Her name is Briana Evigan.
"Alright," she said with a smile as she nodded her head forward,
"let's go."
*****************************************************