The following days, Katy and Samantha went out for several late morning and evening outings to have a change of pace.
From shopping for things that caught their attention to trying out different foods they had been craving for a long period of time, they tried them all.
While they were enjoying their much-deserved free time, their answer sheets were being checked in Gior's main office, and after being sifted through several checkers, Katy's and Samantha's names were added to the list of candidates who would be making it to the interview.
In a meeting room on the fourth floor of Gior, three men were sitting on one side of a long table and were addressing the person sitting on the other end of it about the results of the two tests.
"So only twelve managed, huh?" asked the woman who was facing the three men. She wore a dark grey formal suit. With glasses resting on her nose, she stared at the three men for an answer.
"Yes, Director, that's the number this time," The man in the middle answered without delay.
"Mhmm," the woman nodded, turned towards the man on her left and asked, "What are the results of their Psych test?"
Hearing this, the man handed a file that was resting on his lap in the direction while saying, "They exceeded my expectations, ma'am. We got eight E grades, two D grades, one B grade and…one with an A grade,"
"An A grade?" A surprised expression formed on the woman's face, which was soon replaced with curiosity as she received the file and opened it up.
On the first page, the names of all twelve candidates were listed in order of their Psych gradings.
In the first place was the name of the A grader: Katy Perkinson
'A woman at that?' An involuntary smile formed on the director's face when she saw the name and immediately turned the pages to check the details of her psychology tests before going over the same for the other candidates.
After about twenty minutes, she finally instructed the three men who were sitting in front of her, "Make preparations for the interview in the next three days. I'll be interviewing the A and B grader, and the rest are your responsibility."
"Understood, ma'am!" All three of them responded in unison and were soon dismissed by the director.
The director, with a gentle push, rotated her chair and looked at the bright blue sky through the window pane. A contemplative expression was plastered over her face.
"I hope she'll meet up to the expectations," She muttered to herself and after a long exhale, left the meeting room and went back to her personal office. There was still a lot of work she needed to take care of.
In the evening of the seventh day, all the candidates were sent a text message regarding the result declaration.
Seeing this, Samantha immediately called Katy and the two checked their results together.
"We made it!" Samantha started jumping from excitement in her room and almost dropped her phone.
"Isn't that obvious?" Katy's confident voice came from the other side of the phone as she said, "Come to my house tomorrow by 11 AM. We'll do our mock interviews and polish our answers together."
"Aye Aye Ma'am!" Samantha humorously agreed to the idea, and after some other random talks, went to inform her parents about the happy news.
Katy also did the same.
"Really?! That's great news! You have no idea how nervous I've been in the last few days when you told me that you're not going to Terence anymore. Now that the exam is cleared, you must give your best, alright, Katy?" Katy's mother asked her with great joy and relief.
"Yes, mom, I'll do just that," Katy answered with elation, seeing her mother's reaction.
"Let me go and get some fresh chicken from the market. You must have some nutritious food so that your mind's fresh on the interview day," Katy's mother said all of a sudden and was about to leave when she was stopped by Katy.
"It's alright, Mom, I'll go and bring it. You make the preparations in the kitchen," Katy took the bag from her mother's hand and directed her towards the kitchen.
"Alright then. Remember to bring…"
After noting down all the ingredients in her mind, Katy soon left for the market.
A feast was also happening in Samantha's place, and seeing the expression of joy on her parents' faces, she couldn't help but feel happy about it.
'I guess following Katy's choice wasn't wrong after all,' Samantha thought to herself and savoured the feast with her parents.
Three days passed very quickly, and during that period Katy and Samantha constantly worked on their answers for several important questions until they became very confident in them.
"Let's give our best today," Katy nodded towards Samantha as the two of them walked inside Gior's main office once again.
They were taken to the third floor this time and were made to sit in a small air-conditioned room with twelve seats.
One by one, all twelve seats were filled, and a staff member soon came to instruct them about the interview, "It's 9 AM now. The interview will begin in half an hour. There are four interviewing rooms, so the first four candidates will have their interviews simultaneously, and then one by one, the other candidates will be called by me. Any questions?"
The staff member answered the doubts one by one, and after everything was cleared, he called out four names and told them to be ready, as they were the first to be interviewed today.
The four nodded and went to the washroom for a final prep talk in front of the mirror.
"Damn…I never thought I would feel this nervous for an interview!" Samantha said in a tense manner influenced by the mood of the room.
"It's totally normal. Everything feels like this. Trust in the preparation we did together the last few days, and everything will be fine. We are going to get selected today, you understand?" Katy asked Samantha with an encouraging expression.
"Yes, I understand. Thanks." Samantha nodded. Feeling a lot better than before.
"Good," Katy nodded with a sigh as she glanced at her fingers, which were trembling subtly. Her earlier words were directed to herself as well.