Georgia felt a tap on her shoulder. Taking out one earbud, she glanced at who had disturbed her peace. It was a girl dressed in a pink top and a frilly white skirt, which contrasted horribly with Georgia’s own black outfit. This girl must’ve been the new hire, so she didn’t yet know to not bother Georgia while she was listening to music.

Oblivious to Georgia’s annoyance, the girl grinned and stuck out a purple-tipped, perfectly manicured hand. “Hi! I’m Lani,” she chirped.

Georgia hesitantly shook Lani’s hand, which was so delicate that Georgia feared she would break it. “Nice to meet you.” She pulled her hand away and self-consciously inspected her chipped black nails for a moment. She made to put her earbud back in her ear when Lani spoke again.

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Georgia.”

“Gosh, that is such a pretty name. Is there a meaning behind it?”

“It’s where my parents met,” Georgia said drily. It was also where she was conceived, but she preferred to leave that part out.

“That’s neat! I wish my name had a cool backstory.”

“Right.” Once again, Georgia tried putting her earbud back in, but Lani wasn’t finished just yet.

“My name means ‘heaven’ or ‘sky’, but there’s no special meaning to it. My mom just looked up random baby girl names. I mean, couldn’t they have named me after my grandmother or something? I want a name with significance.”

“I’m sure you do.”

“What would you name your kid?”

“Um, I don’t know.”

Lani’s eyes widened. “Really? I have a whole list of baby names! For boys I’ve got Mason, Carlisle, and Anthony. For girls I’ve got Adeline, Mercy, and Sloan. You know what? I just might add Georgia to the list.”

“That’s nice.” This girl was way too talkative for this early in the morning.

“You know, you have such pretty hair! Is it natural?”

“Yes.”

“Gosh, I would kill to have jet black hair like yours. I’ve considered dying it, but my mom said black hair doesn’t look good on natural blondes. Bad for my complexion. Speaking of, you’ve got killer skin. Do you use any products?”

“Um…no.” Georgia was baffled at Lani’s enthusiasm. And how could she not realize that Georgia didn’t want to talk to her?

“You are so lucky.” Lani sighed airily. “I have to use a million products and a pound of makeup in order to make my skin smooth. Do you wear makeup?”

“No.”

“You should try wearing a bit of eyeliner! I think it would bring out your eyes.” She leaned over Lani’s chair and looked at her workspace. “Watcha working on?” she asked, breathing down Georgia’s neck.

Georgia rolled her eyes, but Lani was none-the-wiser. “Don’t you have things to do?”

“Actually, I was wondering if you could show me the ropes?” Lani said. “We’re on the same project. Isn’t that going to be fun?”

“Yeah. Just peachy.”

Lani laughed as if Georgia had just told the funniest joke in the world. Her laugh sounded like a cross between a hyena and a giggling clown.

“I totally get it!” Lani said in between breaths.

“Get what?”

“‘Peachy!’ As in ‘peaches’’, because your name is Georgia, and Georgia is known for peaches!” She let out a cackle. “You’re hilarious!”

Georgia was starting to get a headache. “Listen, I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can train you. I have a lot of work to do.”

“Oh come on, I know you can take a break to be my mentor. We’ll have so much fun–heck, I think we might even become work besties!”

Clearly, this girl couldn’t take a hint. “Lani,” Georgia said stiffly. “I have no intention of becoming ‘work besties’ with you.” Her voice rose. “In fact, I don’t want anything to do with you. I want you to leave me alone!”

Lani stood dumbfounded, and at first Georgia felt satisfied. But then Lani’s lower lip quivered and her eyes watered. She turned on her heel and ran. Georgia heard her cries as she ran into the bathroom.

Georgia tried to resume her work, but she couldn’t concentrate. She kept thinking of the devastated look on Lani’s face. Even though Lani was annoying as hell, she was just trying to make a friend.

Georgia sighed, then stood up and went to the bathroom. She heard sniffles coming from the last stall and walked until she was standing in front of it.

“Lani?” Georgie ventured.

The sniffles stopped abruptly. “Yeah?” croaked out Lani’s voice.

“If you still want me to…I’ll be your mentor.”

A few seconds of silence passed before the bathroom stall opened, revealing a puffy-eyed Lani with mascara streaks on her face. She sniffed again and wiped her eyes with toilet paper, then grinned. “Of course…‘work bestie’.” She winked.

Georgia sighed. She was never going to have peace again.