THE MOMENT
"Thanks for joining me," Ophelia nodded in gratitude as the pair of coworkers sat down. The white coffee shop was full of white-suited patrons. Even Victoria, the employee she met with, wore a brilliant white leather duster. Ophelia felt like she stuck out in her flowing black dress. However, she trusted it was only her imagination. She wasn't an on-site employee and wasn't expected to be in the company uniform. She idly wondered if maybe she should add more white to her wardrobe. "Sorry, I know you're not my assigned mentor; but, Justice said you were a good person to talk to.
"You're welcome," Victoria smiled. "I think by now you know how much we value internal cooperation here. So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Well, I need help with a big decision; but, I'm curious about a few things before I get to that if you don't mind...," Ophelia said.
"You've got my attention," Victoria nodded as she raised her coffee. "Shoot."
"The thing I'm really curious about is the tournament for Oren's birthday party," Ophelia said. "Sharp Development spent a lot of money promoting it, right? Is it really okay for him to just decide he doesn't want to participate? Doesn't that ruin everything?"
"Yes," Victoria giggled. "If it were anyone else, Mrs. Sharp might have had more to say. There's no winning with Oren once he decides something. Most of us see him as a teenage troublemaker; You need to remember that he's still Ballisea's son. Luckily, it doesn't ruin anything," she continued. "Having the tournament 'for him' was just an excuse; the real purpose is to promote the upcoming AlterNet expansion. And we can still do that," she said.
"Oh, okay...," Ophelia nodded. She wasn't overly concerned with whether the tournament happened or not. And though her loyalty to Sharp Development grew by the day, she still wasn't quite invested in their losses. The question about Oren was more about Ophelia testing the waters. She wanted to see how Victoria answered and whether she seemed bothered by unnecessary questions. She was relieved to get nothing but pleasant conversation so far.
"The other reason I wanted to talk to you specifically is because of your position," Ophelia added. "You're up there on the highest level of the totem pole with Mrs. Sharp herself. And, this isn't something I can ask the lower ranks about. You'd be one of the only few that even know about it," she said.
"I'm all ears," Victoria nodded.
"Mrs. Sharp offered me a more permanent position...," Ophelia said. "Temporally permanent...," she added.
"Hey, congratulations," Victoria smiled. "Welcome to the loop." But, Ophelia shook her head.
"I haven't decided yet. That's why I wanted to talk to you. What's it like?" she asked.
"It's whatever you make of it," Victoria shrugged. "For me, it's just like everyday life with a little more Déjà vu. Things are always moving forward, even if you end up doing some of them again. You're a Muerte though, so you're going to be more aware of it than even I am. I'm lucky that I get to forget a lot of it; you're not going to have that luxury."
"Oh," Ophelia was glad she asked.
"But, if you want a better idea of what it's like, you should ask Janet," Victoria added.
"The cat?" Ophelia asked. "Why her?"
"She's been around longer than I have; and, she wasn't always a Calavera. She used to be a Muerte, she'll know what it was like."
"Used to be...?" Ophelia asked. "I didn't know our Unique number could change...," she added. Victoria shook her head.
"It won't naturally, Janet's demotion was part of a punishment from Ms. Sharp."
"Oh! You've met Ms. Sharp, right? When she was alive?" Ophelia asked. She was vaguely curious about what Janet did to deserve that punishment; but, now she remembered that she could get some knowledge about Ms. Sharp herself. When Mrs. Sharp offered her the permanent position, she said Ophelia would be working with Ms. Sharp personally. It was an interesting experience being told she'd be working under someone who was currently dead. "What's she like?"
"Many times," Victoria smiled. "You know how Melody, Mrs. Sharp, is always trying to exude an aura of control; like she always knows what's going on or has a plan?"
"Yes," Ophelia nodded. It was something she'd noticed early on. Sometimes Melody's decisions felt a bit like she was 'trying too hard' during their meetings.
"That's what Ms. Sharp is like; except, it's not an act."
"But then... what did Janet do to get punished like that?" Ophelia asked. Victoria assured her that her soul couldn't change on its own; but, she didn't want to also accidentally get on Ms. Sharp's bad side.
"She kidnapped their daughter," Victoria grinned. "Don't mess with the Sharp family and you'll be fine."
"They have a daughter?" Ophelia asked. She hadn't been with the company long; but, it was the first time she'd heard about Ms. and Mrs. Sharp having a family.
"They have three," Victoria nodded. "They're being kept out of sight; but, they'll be attending Toku-high."
"Three? Wow...," Ophelia realized she still had a lot to learn. And now she knew who she could learn it from. "... you said I should talk to Janet... can I trust her? Isn't she upset with Ms. Sharp?"
"She knows what she did; and, she knows her punishment could have been much worse," Victoria shrugged. "So far it looks like she's back in line."
"Okay, thank you," Ophelia said. "I will talk to her too. But, while we're here I have another question. What was the Pineapple Cup like?"
"Oh, don't worry about that," Victoria shook her head. "With the new patch it's going to be significantly different this next time."
"But... how?" Ophelia asked. "The patch is next week; but, the Pineapple Cup happened in the past...."
"The same way Mrs. Sharp offered you a permanent position," Victoria answered. "The patch is being applied retroactively too. It's like I said. Things are always moving forward, even if we do some of them again."