Help me

Chapter 17 - Help me

The seating had shifted in the few minutes since the results appeared. Torin sat on the right side of Gia, the laptop resting on his lap, while her father sat on her left. Across from Torin, the old tenant had settled into the sofa chair beside him, leaning forward over the armrest to get a clear view of the screen. Behind Torin, Leena and the others stood close together, all of them leaning in or peering over his shoulder, waiting to see the result for themselves.

Nobody seemed willing to breathe too loudly.

Gia's fingers were tightly crossed in front of her chest. She kept glancing between Torin and the laptop, then back again. Her father noticed and placed a hand on her shoulder, slowly rubbing it in an attempt to calm her.

“He's got it, darling,” he murmured. “Don't worry. He's got it.”

Torin in the middle of them, leaning over the laptop. He could feel everyone's eyes on his back. Somehow, the pressure of all those people watching him made the simple act of typing feel harder than any exam question.

He entered his roll number carefully, checking each digit before pressing Enter.

The page loaded.

Then stopped.

Nothing appeared.

Torin stared at the screen.

A small loading symbol spun for a moment before disappearing.

Still nothing.

The room went completely silent.

Gia's eyes widened. “What the—?”

She leaned toward the screen.

“Torin, did you put the wrong roll number?”

“I don't think so.”

“You don't think so?”

Torin ignored her and refreshed the page. The screen went blank, then returned to the login portal. He typed the number again, slower this time. His finger hovered over the Enter key for a second before he pressed it.

Everyone watched. The old tenant leaned forward in her chair. Misty gave a quiet whine from Leena's arms.

The loading symbol appeared again. This time, the page changed.

Torin's eyes moved across the screen. For a second, he said nothing.

Gia grabbed his arm. “Well?”

Torin blinked. Then he read the first word aloud.

“Pass.”

Nobody moved.

Torin looked at the screen again, just to make sure he hadn't imagined it.

“Pass,” he repeated, louder this time. A grin slowly spread across his face. “I passed.”

Gia's mouth fell open. Torin straightened, his eyes still fixed on the result.

“I passed!” His voice rose with every word. “I can actually work on commission and take government projects too.”

The tension that had been sitting in his chest suddenly broke apart. He threw both hands into the air and laughed, the sound coming out louder than he expected.

“I passed!”

Gia was on her feet before he could even turn around. She threw her arms around him.

Torin barely had time to react before she pressed herself against him, laughing into his chest. His arms came around her automatically, and for a moment he forgot that anyone else was in the room.

Then he looked over her shoulder. Her father was watching. The officer's expression wasn't angry. If anything, he was smiling.

But Torin still remembered exactly who he was. Torin slowly lowered his hands.

The officer raised an eyebrow. Then he gave a small nod.

Torin relaxed.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around Gia again.

That was enough to break the remaining silence. “Congratulations!”

“Well done!”

“I knew you'd pass!”

Hands reached for him from every direction. Someone slapped his shoulder hard enough to make him stumble. The old tenant laughed from her chair.

For a while, the room was nothing but celebration. Torin laughed until his cheeks hurt, answered the same questions again and again, and accepted handshakes. Someone even told him that he owed everyone dinner now that he was officially an agent.

Eventually, the noise began to settle.

Gia disappeared into the kitchen with Leena and Maya to prepare food. Their voices carried into the living room as cupboards opened and plates clinked together. The smell of oil heating in a pan soon drifted through the apartment.

Torin sat back on the sofa with the officer, Andy, and the old tenant. His body was tired from training, but for the first time all day, he didn't feel the weight of it.

He had done it. He looked at his phone and saw the result still open on the screen.

A small smile returned to his face.

Then something outside caught his attention.

A sound.

Andy continued talking about some ridiculous mistake he'd made at work, and the others laughed. Torin slowly looked away from the door.

Probably nothing. A few seconds passed.

Then there was a dull sound from somewhere outside.

Thump.

Torin's eyes moved toward the door again.

“Did you hear that?” he asked.

The conversation stopped. The officer looked toward the entrance.

“Probably someone dropping something.”

Torin nodded, though he wasn't convinced.

Before anyone could say more, the sound of footsteps came again.

Faster this time. Misty suddenly lifted her head from Leena's lap. Her ears stood straight up.

Then—

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang.

Torin stood. “I'll get it.”

He walked toward the entrance, the room strangely quiet behind him. He reached for the handle and paused for half a second.

He opened the door. Alisha stood on the other side.

She was breathing hard, her chest rising and falling rapidly as though she had run all the way there. Her hair was disheveled, and several strands clung to her damp forehead. One hand was wrapped tightly around the handle of a heavy-looking bag, while a large golf bag was strapped across her back.

She looked nothing like the calm woman Torin knew.

Her eyes found his. Whatever she saw on his face made her expression crack.

She stepped closer and placed her free hand on his shoulder. Her fingers were trembling. “T-Torin…”

Her voice broke. Torin's smile disappeared completely.

Alisha swallowed hard and looked past him into the apartment.

Then she looked back at him. “H-Help me, Torin.”

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