“Didn’t your university teach you any of this?”


    “We… we did, but only the basics…” Vera admitted, feeling a little


    sheepish.


    Thankfully, Alessia didn’t press her further; she simply turned and walked away. Vera thought that would be the end of it–until one day, Alessia dropped a hefty book onto her desk.


    “Here. Take this home and study it for a week. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask me.”


    Vera swallowed hard, staring at the thick manual on spreadsheets. She was several years older than Alessia, but somehow she couldn’t muster the courage to protest. So she picked up the book and nodded obediently.


    Reading it was one thing;prehending it was another. And actually putting it into practice was a whole new world of trouble.


    She tried looking up her questions online, but couldn’t find any clear answers. As the clock ticked by, and she still hadn’t figured out this part, Vera started to panic.


    Remembering what Alessia had said that morning, Vera gritted her teeth and typed out a brief description of her problem. Squeezing her eyes shut, she hit send.


    To be honest, she didn’t think much woulde of it. She admired Alessia’s drive–how many middle schoolers could run apany?—but part of her suspected this was just a rich parent giving their kid some money to y CEO for a while. Who knew how long thepany wouldst?


    If she didn’t need the money so badly, if this ce didn’t offer such good benefits, Vera would have chosen a bigger, more established firm in a heartbeat. Her friends were managing projects for major corporations, while she was still struggling to master spreadsheets. Theparison


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    gnawed at her.


    Lost in these thoughts, Vera nearly jumped out of her skin when her


    phone rang.


    It was Alessia. Vera swallowed and took three slow breaths before


    answering. She couldn’t exin why, but she felt oddly nervous about speaking to a girl who was barely in her teens.


    “H–hi, boss.”


    “I’m going to take control of yourputer for a moment. Watch my demonstration, keep the phone on, and take notes as we go, okay?”


    “Take control…?” Vera barely processed the words, but her hands moved automatically to follow Alessia’s instructions. Momentster, theirputers synced, and the cursor began moving on its own.


    Vera stared in amazement.


    “You made a mistake right here. You shouldn’t have selected this column–you need to click this list instead, and then…”


    Alessia exined everything in innguage, breakingplex tasks into bite–sized steps, almost spoon–feeding the information to her. Vera never imagined she’d be taking lessons after graduation–let alone from a middle schooler–but there she was, feeling both humbled and strangely grateful.


    She didn’t dwell on her embarrassment. Instead, she took the opportunity to ask about a few other things she wasn’t sure of. Before she knew it, an hour had flown by.


    “That’s enough for today. If you have more questions, just ask me tomorrow.”


    Vera nced up and realized it was already half past midnight.


    “Oh–I’m so sorry, I lost track of time,” she blurted, even though Alessia couldn’t see her apologetic expression.


    “No worries. Wanting to learn is always better than not bothering. We’ll


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    count tonight as overtime–sign the form tomorrow and I’ll make sure it’s added to your paycheck.”


    Alessia’s voice was soft and still a little childish, but there was a calm authority behind it. In that moment, Vera felt like she was the naive one, not the teenager on the other end of the line.


    Eyes wide, Vera agreed quickly, and even after the call ended, she could hardly believe it.


    She pinched her own cheek. Didpanies like this really exist? If learning until midnight earned her this much support, she’d have happily kept going until sunrise.


    Once she’d saved up enough, she could finally take her mother and leave that ce behind.