Back in Kaija's living room, the problem was still there hanging above the two girls' heads.
"Hm..." Kaija hummed, eyes wandering to the ceiling like she couldn't care less, "Maybe you can just say you've been with Niklas for four years now, and...
"Let's say, maybe all this time, he only pretended to be with me, because... uh... man I'm so dull when it comes to lies.
"Ahem, alright, let's say you were scared your parents would reject Niklas because... he was just a normal nobody rather than some rich ass guy, so you decided to hide it.
"But then... you just had too much fun during sex. No wait, that doesn't sound right.
"Um... let's say an accident happened! So, you have to tell them the truth now."
Marja stared at her, her face caught somewhere between shock and relief, like someone just pulled from drowning.
"But… but," she stuttered, "Kaija, you… are you really okay with that?"
"Well, that's my best shot at lying this whole shit out." Kaija said with a small shrug. "Any better idea than that then, genius?"
Marja's gaze dropped to the table, thinking for a while, until at last her lips parted, voice small with gratitude. "I'll say what you just told me, then. I'll also convince Niklas to say the same."
Kaija nodded sharply as if she'd only been waiting for that. "Good. Just do all the talking first, see how it goes, yeah? Now, are we done yet? This therapy session is stretching a bit too long now, my dear friend."
"Thank you so much, Kaija," Marja said, reaching for Kaija's hands. "I… I don't know what to s—"
"Just don't," Kaija cut in coldly, rising from the table before Marja could reach her. "Don't say anything. I'm tired. Can you leave now? I need to rest."
Almost at once, Marja's face drooped like a sad cat again.
Reluctantly, she left the table and headed for the door, put on her heels. Her blue eyes turned to Kaija over her shoulder in one last lingering sorry look, before she disappeared behind the door at last.
"Jeez, finally," Kaija muttered, sighing wearily.
Did Marja expect her to act all normal and lovey-dovey again as if nothing had happened between them, or what?
She pulled out her phone and drove her attention back to that cars game instead, racing her way out of the nightmares that she knew for sure was about to come.
The rest of that week went by in a painfully slow rhythm.
She didn't leave home at all, didn't have any proper sleep, though she spent most of her time buried in her bed, checking her phone constantly for at least an email or a call or something, anything from the airline.
When nothing came, she forced her attention back into the games again.
Then, on Monday morning, an email finally arrived.
Oh wait, no. Not an email.
A death sentence.
Dear Kaija Sepala,
[Some irrelevant niceties.]
After careful consideration, Starlight Airlines has decided to nullify your employment contract due to your incompetence during operations, which has caused considerable damage to the company.
You are required to immediately visit headquarters to return your uniform and all company assets to complete the contract termination process.
[More irrelevant niceties.]
In short, she was fired.
Kaija blinked at the screen slowly, then tossed the phone aside.
"Hmm, wonderful," she muttered, eyes fixed blankly on the ceiling above her bed.
"Alright, so if I starve myself from now on, maybe I will be able to keep this apartment for another two months," she mumbled to herself, running numbers and figures in her head. "Oh wait, maybe I will die before that even gets to happen...
"And also... need to send money to mom by the end of this months as well, or she would go absolutely insane again.
"Oh, and that S$50,000 college debt too. What should I tell the people at the bank then? That I just sucked at my job and got fired?
"Doesn't sound right... Maybe lies would sound better than that. Do I have to come up with more lies now? Jeez, I suck at that shit too...
"I basically suck at everything."
Sleep took her, before she could come up with any lie.
The next day, Kaija arrived at the headquarters, dragging the company suitcase filled with all the stuff the return.
Once the HR people had checked all the asset inside the suitcase, they led her to another room, saying there were contract termination agreement papers she needed to sign.
Her eyes wandered over the six-page document.
Too many words, her mind complained.
Seeing her sleepy face, the HR manager casually commented, "You wouldn't believe the odds, Kaija dear. It's been twenty years since we last had to process a case like yours."
Her assistant added over a sneering tone, "I heard the Flight Safety department just added your case into the training program. Hopefully there won't be any future incidents like this."
Kaija laid a hand over her mouth, covering a yawn as she turned to the next page, eyes still wandering lazily over the pages filled with jargons.
Seeing her paying them no mind, the manager's hands curled into tight fists, holding down the urge to scold her.
But given Kaija was no longer part of the airline, she was in no position to nitpick or show off her power anymore.
Her mouth curled into a devilish smirk as she eyed the sleepy look on Kaija's face, knowing an even better part was about to come.
Just as Kaija finished scribbling her signature across the page and rose from the chair, she raised a hand up.
"Wait now, Kaija dear," the manager said, her tone dripping with mockery, "you can't possibly think that's it, do you? That you could just let such a catastrophe happen, get fired, and walk away so easily?"
Kaija blinked a few times, eyes heavy with lack of sleep. "Sorry, I don't quite follow," she muttered. "What do you mean by that?"
The assistant didn't even bother holding back a laugh. She walked over and laid down onto the table the papers she'd been holding all this time.
With an icy tone, she said, "It was stated clearly in your contract from the beginning that, should you cause any damage to the company, whether to its assets, the aircraft, or the operation itself, you are liable to compensate for the damage you cause."
"Huh," Kaija mumbled, picking up the thick document laid neatly in front of her.
Great, more pages to read after six pages that almost put her to sleep.
She didn't read the whole thing. It was filled with tables, charts, and legal jargon that would take hours to get through. But what it demanded was crystal clear.
She dropped the document the moment she realized what they were asking for.
S$200,000 in compensation.
Her sleepy eyes snapped wide open as she slammed both hands on the table.
"Are you fucking kidding me? Why am I the one who has to pay all that? Wasn't it that drunk maniac who opened the damn door?"
The manager sneered. "I thought you were better trained than that, dearie.
"You should know the aviation law of our nation only requires the passenger to pay the fine. The airline must absorb the rest of the damage.
"And, as per the contract, whoever caused that damage must bear the compensation, and that person is you, Kaija."
"The airline only accepts bank transfer for this amount, by the way," the assistant added coolly. "No cash accepted. If I were you, I'd start gathering resources now.
"You have one year. If you can't make the full payment within that time, we'll bring the case to court, my dear Kaija."