You graduate high school in the summer of your sophomore year, and then you spend the next few months finding housing and preparing for school, both of which are wonky, to say the least. When August rolls around, and school starts again, you're less than thrilled.
After a week of classes, you finish up first period at your boring law firm job, and you head out through the back to get coffee with a colleague from over the summer. He was your supervisor, so the two of you bonded during that time.
You don't know her offhand, but the girl with the neon-pink hair is your new supervisor. After you shake hands, you're greeted by one of the two people you were promised would be there.
"Welcome back, Ash," the girl with loose curls greets you with a smile. "It's an honor to have you on board with the firm."
"The pleasure is all mine," you reply.
"I heard you're doing very well in school," the girl continues. "I look forward to reading some of your work. I know you're almost done with the class I'm giving today."
"Oh, thank you, I'm looking forward to that," you say, although you don't know what she's talking about.
"Today, all of us spend a few hours with you," she continues. "All of us are glad you are in the firm. We'll go through the beginning of the year and the things that happened, as well as what we hope for for you for the new year."
"That sounds good," you tell her, nodding in reply. "And I'm glad to be working with you."
"Okay, the first meeting we'll take you through will be grading," she says. "We'll all help to grade your assignments, so you can see over time what you've improved or not."
"I think that's great," you assure her.
And then she continues. "As many of you have probably noticed, especially since you know Ash, she recently moved to town. While she's lived in this area her whole life, she was at university until the beginning of the year. After that, she got a job here in town, but she's not happy."
"That doesn't surprise me," you admit. "My focus is getting her to the point where she can leave."
"I understand," she replies. "She's a very good person. You make certain to treat her as you would any one of my people. If she has any issues with anyone, please bring them to me immediately. She's very good at what she does, and I would appreciate it if she didn't feel marginalized or envious as a result of her transfer to this firm."
"Oh, I'm sure we can work that out," you assure her. "I've always been good at mediating conflicts. I'm looking forward to being able to help her integrate into her new job."
"I'm very glad to hear it," the new supervisor says. "Well, that's all we need to discuss today. See you in a few hours. And then, your law school training will begin. All of you will be meeting with me each night to work on your skill at handling disputes. The first few nights, both sides will work with you, but we've set up the schedule so that the training continues over the next five weeks. Throughout the course, there will be six full and five half days."
"That sounds great," you say.
"Before you leave," she continues, "I want you to meet the people who will be working with you. The first two people with you are Naomi and Jack."
The two of them are sitting at a table playing cards, so you take a deep breath and approach the table.
"Hi, I'm Ash," you tell them. "I'm the new attorney for this firm."
"We're almost done," Naomi tells you. "Just give me one minute-"
"-Nice to meet you," she says. "I'm Naomi. You've heard our names before. We're both second year students in the class she's giving today. Jack is the one who is doing so well in school. I'm the one who's been passed up."
"Excuse me?" you ask, not knowing what to say.
"Oh, she went to Stanford on scholarship," Jack explains. "My parents have never been able to afford anything like that."
"That's quite alright, Jack," Naomi tells him. "There are still many scholarships offered. I'm so glad you were elected."
"Sure," he says, putting his cards down. "I was just easing my way in. Nice to meet you, Ash."
"Likewise," you reply.
"I'll see you tonight," Naomi tells you. "The rest of you start tomorrow. I'll be at the firm every night through week eight."
"Okay," you say. "That's about all I know for now. Thank you for your time."
"Make us proud," Jack tells you. "People have been complaining about the non-disclosure clause."
"I'll see what I can do," you promise him.
And then the two of you share a look. You turn to the door, and you leave the conference room. You walk around a corner, and you exhale.
"I hope I didn't say something wrong," you tell Danielle, your former summer supervisor, who greets you as you step out of the room. You're still not entirely sure where you're supposed to be going, so you can't help but follow her as she walks you down the hallway.
"That depends," she replies. "Why are you telling people that you're going to break the non-disclosure clause?"
"Everyone got mad," you tell her. "I thought they would appreciate my efforts. Is there any way that I can make this go away?"
"By making it not be a problem," she replies, pulling open a door and motioning you in. "You dealt with that clause. When you signed, it was a necessity. It was all they had. However, that doesn't mean that it is a good idea to ignore the request to cease."
"But-"
"It's not easy to work with you when you go against the rules," she admits. "You know that, you've always told me. Except once you do something, you always have to go back and explain the reasoning behind it. All of your bosses will always ask. Well, I am well aware of what you did, and I have to ask. What is the driving force behind this?"
"I just wanted to let everyone know that I cared," you explain. "And I didn't realize that the rules were something that I needed to be concerned about. I'm sorry about that."
"Don't get me wrong," Danielle tells you. "I'm not upset with you. It's important to me that you tell people you care. However, I also want you to understand how important rules are. They are in place for a reason."
"I won't be spending my time breaking them again," you say.