The bright lights of The Marcus Penguin Publishing office hummed quietly. For Alina, this sound was peaceful. It was much better than the loud cameras of the paparazzi or the stressful silence of the fashion world she had left behind.
Here, surrounded by piles of paper and the smell of ink, she could pretend to be a normal student.
"I thought you weren't coming today," a voice said.
Alina looked up. Abigail, a girl around twenty with big, nerdy glasses, was leaning against her desk.
Her wavy, caramel-colored hair brushed against Alina's workspace as she set down two thick files.
Alina noticed how Abigail always looked a bit tired, but her eyes were always bright with curiosity.
Alina wasn't the type to sit around doing nothing. Being idle gave her too much time to think about things she wanted to forget. She had found this part-time job at a publishing house near her school.
