A closed room. You and five strangers trapped between metal walls, with too many awkward silences. No one seems comfortable, no one seems to trust anyone. And yet, here you all are.

The meeting has gone on longer than necessary because no one has found a way to break the silence. Everyone stands, consciously or not, waiting for someone to say something out of place.

𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧, as expected, takes the floor. ”I’ve been in situations like this before,” He says, crossing his arms and scanning the group. ”I know how it works. I’ve led teams. I’ve handled pressure. So maybe we stop wasting time.”

He straightens and shifts his body slightly. ”Especially pretending that everyone here is on the same level.” His gaze lands directly on you. “Some people just look like they know what they’re doing.”

A tense silence sets in.

𝐀𝐯𝐚 leans against the wall, arms crossed. “Wow. You really practiced that in the mirror, huh,” She murmurs, deadpan.

Yelena, who had been leaning against the table until now, steps away calmly and tilts her head. “Hmm… This speech feels familiar.”

𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 frowns, but she keeps going. “When I was a kid, I played on a soccer team. Everyone thought they were captain material. Very confident. Very loud.”

She starts pacing slowly around the table. “We never won a single game.”

She stops and lifts her eyes, measuring the effect. “And there was this girl… Mindy. She had an accident. Suddenly, there was this brown stain on her pants… right there on the field.”

No one says a word. 𝐀𝐯𝐚 presses her lips together, holding back. Bob just blinks, his eyes following the scene as if it’s a confusing cartoon.

Yelena adds, with a small smirk, “Everyone just stood there, staring. Very awkward.” She shrugs. “The game didn’t recover from that.”

She pauses briefly and tilts her head slightly toward John. “And that…” She says calmly, “Is about as impressive as what you just said.”

The blow lands hard. John clenches his jaw. No one moves.

Finally, Yelena turns her gaze to you. A curved smile appears on her lips, and her eyes seem to say: “Go on… say something.”