Luna decided to stay late and work overtime to make progress on her tasks. She had spent the whole day asking suppliers for duplicate receipts, but most of them refused. She let Maise leave early because she had a dinner date with her family. As Luna worked, she made a list of the remaining companies they still needed to visit, while eating a chicken sandwich with her left hand. Suddenly, she remembered something Maise had said before leaving:
"Don't stay too late. There's a rumor about a girl ghost wandering around here. Be home before 10:00 pm." she chuckles.
Luna shook her head, trying to forget Maise's words out of her mind, but they creeped back into her thoughts. She glanced at the clock and saw she still had an hour left before she could go home. After finishing her sandwich, her tumbler was empty, so she went to the pantry for a refill.
Ever since she was a child, Luna had been terrified of ghosts, and that fear hadn't gone away. As she walked to the pantry, a cold chill ran down her spine, and goosebumps prickled her skin. She tried to ignore it, telling herself it was just the air conditioning or her imagination, but the uneasy feeling stayed with her.
She rushed to refill her tumbler with water to get back to her desk as quickly as possible. Just as she was about to finish filling her bottle, she heard footsteps behind her.
"What are you doing here?" Luna snapped, startled.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" she screamed, spraying him with the water from the pitcher in her hand, she closed her eyes out of fear.
"What the hell?!" Braxston shouted, wiping the water off himself as he tried to dry his clothes.
Luna slowly opened her eyes, and her heart dropped when she realized who the voice belonged to. She stared in shock, seeing Braxston drenched from head to toe because of her.
"I'm so sorry! You shouldn't have startled me like that," Luna quickly apologized, frantically wiping him down with a tissue.
"Wow, now it's my fault?" Braxston said sarcastically. "I guess you've been drinking too much coffee." He grabbed the tissue from her hand, clearly irritated. "I'll dry myself, thanks."
"Did you know there's a rumor about a girl ghost roaming around here at 10 pm?"
"Oh, really? Guess the rumor's true then," he teased her with a smirk.
"What do you mean?" Luna's voice wavered showing her fear.
"Look who's behind you," Braxston said, a mischievous grin on his face.
Luna hesitated, her heart racing as she slowly turned around, scanning the empty space. But there was nothing. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief and quickly turned back to face him—
"Boo!" Braxston shouted, teasing her, and in her fright, Luna lost her balance and slipped.
"Hahahahahahaha!" he laughed loudly, watching her tumble to the floor. Luna lay there, wincing in pain, but more embarrassed and frustrated than hurt. Her face flushed with both anger and humiliation as she looked up at him.
"Here, let me help you," Braxston said, holding out his hand, trying not to laugh.
Luna slapped his hand away and stood up, saying nothing. She grabbed her tumbler and left. Back at her office, tears fell down her face. She quickly wiped them away, turned off her computer, and packed her things. Instead of going home, she went to the park. Sitting on a bench, she stared off until someone waved in front of her.
"Hey, hey, get back to Earth!"
Luna blinked and saw Max grinning at her.
"Long day?" he asked.
"Yeah, pretty much," she replied, scooting over so Max could sit beside her. "What brings you here?" she added.
"Walking around here is part of my evening routine. What about you? Why are you still not home?"
"Just trying to get some air."
"Oh, I see. Wanna grab something to eat or drink?"
"Sure. There's a good coffee shop in the next corner we can go there."
"Let's go."
They went to the coffee shop together and the laughter was still bubbling in her chest. She feels lighter, the stress from the office fading away in the warmth of the café and Max's easy humor. He has a way of making everything funny, even the smallest things, and she's almost forgotten about the tension from earlier. Max walked her home, and the city seemed quieter now. For the first time in a long while, Luna felt at ease.