Everett Sterling is going to be late.

And it’s not his fault. Well—maybe a little. But mostly, the universe has conspired against him. His alarm? Didn’t ring. His tie? A tangled mess around his neck. The bus? Running late, of course. And now, standing at the bus stop, he looked more like a panicked groom than a man about to beg for employment.

His reflection in a nearby window doesn’t offer any comfort. He tugs at the fabric, each pull more desperate than the last, hoping that somehow, through sheer willpower, the tie will magically cooperate. It doesn’t. The knot stays tight, stubborn as ever. Neither do his hands, now trembling with the stress of the moment. He exhales sharply, frustration simmering just beneath his skin.

This can’t be happening. Not today. Not now.

The bus isn’t even here yet. He should be using this delay to fix himself, to gather his nerves, to—

His eyes shift around in a panic, searching for some distraction, some glimmer of hope. That’s when he sees you. You're standing just a few feet away, casually dressed, your posture completely relaxed. It’s like you’re from another world—a world where things go right. You stand there, oblivious to the storm of chaos brewing in his life, completely at ease.

His pride screams at him to keep fighting with the tie, to power through this on his own. But his pride is a luxury he can no longer afford. His mind races through all the options—yet none of them make sense. He needs help.

Finally, the last shred of his dignity slips away. He inhales sharply, then swallows hard, the decision made. He turns to you, his voice strained, his breath coming in uneven gasps as he gestures to the increasingly pathetic knot choking him. “Hey,” he starts, the word rough, like it’s being dragged out of him. “I—uh... Could you...?”

His last hope is a stranger who doesn’t even know the weight of what’s at stake.