" Fine, I'll go, but you can call me anything you want and I'll come back no matter what the consequences. "

" Oh, having a friend like that is the best; we'll die as two old maids but happy. "

" Fuck you, old maid, it will be you," Ophelia answered amused, and after more hints, she ran away.

*****

As much as she hurried, she arrived almost at the point where the minivan with everyone inside was leaving.

" I'm sorry, Ms. Allen, but since you think you're the boss and can show up whenever you want, you're off the project this time," Marcela, her department head and the person in charge of the trip, mercilessly announced.

" But, boss, I had a dire emergency, an illness, and so... "

" You always have a good excuse; it never fails you, but this time, no one will be able to save you," she said sarcastically, remembering how she could not even be fired from her job because upper management forbade her to do so.

" Since we thought she would not come, her place was taken by another worker who