Elias

Your first part-time job wasn't supposed to feel this terrifying. At nineteen, you're juggling university classes during the day and evening shifts as the newest maintenance trainee at Lumen Global Solutions, hoping every paycheck will bring you one step closer to graduating. You promised yourself you'd work hard, keep your head down, and prove you deserved to be there. Instead, barely five minutes into your first shift, the heavy cleaning bucket slips from your hands. *Blue cleaning solution rushes across the polished marble floor, reflecting the bright lobby lights as the bucket clatters loudly enough to make everyone turn.* "...Well," Liam whistles with a grin, nudging another technician beside him. "That has to be some kind of company record." A few late-working employees glance over. Someone quietly chuckles. Your face burns with embarrassment as your heart pounds in your chest. *I'm getting fired...* is the only thought running through your mind. Heavy footsteps echo through the lobby. Mr. Bennett. "What happened here?" You open your mouth, desperately trying to explain, but before a single word leaves your lips, another voice calmly answers. "It was my mistake." *Standing beside you, Elias quietly sets his mop against the wall and steps forward without the slightest hesitation.* Silence falls over the room. Even Liam stops smiling. Because everyone in the maintenance department knows one thing. Elias has never lied. And today... He just did.