[10 years ago]

At 15 years old, Sylvia couldn't particularly boast about any special qualities.

She wasn't antisocial, however she wasn't exactly the type to go out of her way to be popular with everyone around her.

She wasn't lazy, but she wasn't excessively eager to have everything in her life figured out.

She wasn't benevolent, but she would do what she could to help others within reason.

In all manners she was slightly above average.

"Hey Monica... did you hear? There are rumors going around that your boyfriend was looking at Samantha."

"Ehh? That flat chested bimbo? Who the hell does she think she's messing with?"

"Don't you think we should teach her a lesson?"

"Yeah, def, sis. I'll show her not to seduce someone else's man."

Sylvia was just slightly above average.

This too went for her hearing.

And so, even while sitting across the classroom, she had overheard this conversation between a group of girls.

'I... should mind my own business.', Sylvia thought.

Taking out her books, Sylvia prepared herself to get to work for the day, which quickly passed.

However when that final bell rung, Sylvia found her legs taking her to a place which her mind did not.

'I... really should keep out of this.'

Even as she told herself these things, her legs continued to move, bringing her to that hidden corner of the school where no teachers would bother to monitor.

"Whoops! Ah!! The lid on my thermos just slipped off!! Oh no!!"

As she rounded a turn, Sylvia came to witness three girls pressing a timid girl into a corner.

One of them - the leader - seemed to be unscrewing the lid on a thermos as she approached the shy girl.

"I'm soooo sorry. How clumsy of me to-"

As the girl lifted up the thermos to pour the boiling hot soup onto the innocent girl, the thermos was slapped from her hand, sent flying as it's contents were spilled all over the ground.

"What do you think you're doing!?"

Sylvia found herself shouting in anger, facing the girl known as Monica head on.

The timid girl looked to Sylvia with both surprise and concern, however the three soon turned their attention away from the girl, focusing now on Sylvia.

"You... you just slapped my hand, didn't you?"

The three girls quickly surrounded Sylvia, cutting off any form of escape for her.

'Ah... why did I do that?'

The girl known as Samantha looked around with fear before she darted off, drawing the glances of the other three for only a moment.

"Should we let that one go?", one asked.

"I don't care about her anymore.", Monica replied.

Sylvia was left alone in the center of the three girls.

The one she had tried to help had abandoned her.

Could she blame her? Perhaps not.

No, without a doubt she couldn't blame her.

After all, it was her own stupidity which brought her into such a situation.

'I knew this would happen... and yet.... I did it anyway.'

"Let's see... since you spilled my soup, I suppose you should pay me back for it, right? Hey Jamie, how much do you think my soup cost?"

"Ah... it was pretty expensive. I'm going to say somewhere around 20 dollars?"

The girls began to snivel as they spoke to one another, mocking Sylvia while they spoke in an unreasonable manner.

"50. That was deluxe."

Placing her hand and running it through Sylvia's hair, the girl seemed to smile wickedly as if an idea had popped up in her mind.

"How much do you think an inch of hair costs?"

"Ah... for a girl like this? Look at how unkempt her hair is... I wouldn't even pay a cent for something like this."

"Me neither. Haha..."

Reaching into her bag, the girl known as Monica took out a pair of scissors, wielding them with a smile.

"Hold her. And to you."

The two then grabbed Sylvia, who struggled as she tried to get away, to no avail.

Bringing her face up to Sylvia, Monica looked her dead in the eye as she spoke.

"If you struggle too much... then don't blame me if I accidentally slip up."

'Why... didn't I just leave?'

'Why... Did I get involved?'

Sylvia stopped her struggling, scared that if she tried to get away that the girl would end up stabbing her.

'Why did I allow myself to stand out like this?'

Snip.

Snip.

Snip.

Tears flowed down the girl's face as her hair was ruined, cut in a horribly uneven manner.

'Why did I allow myself to try and act like a hero?'

"Ah... looks like she's crying."

"Haha! What a baby!"

"Do the scissors scare you?"

'Why... didn't I just try to remain unnoticed?'

----

[3 years ago]

Sylvia learned one lesson in high school.

That she was not to stand out.

She was not to disrupt the social hierarchy.

She could fit herself into it, but she could not force things to shuffle around.

And if she did so, she would pay the consequences.

Sylvia had become the new toy of those girls.

After that single moment of bravery, she was subject to the full brunt of their bullying.

Not a day went by in which she wasn't being called to do their bidding, played with like a doll, and laughed at all the while.

All because of a single moment of "heroism".

Which was why as soon as she entered college, Sylvia never spoke to anyone.

She never made friends. She never found herself involved with other people.

She only made acquaintances.

Sylvia dedicated herself to becoming successful in the business world, and after obtaining her degree she went on to work her first job as a secretary.

She did her best to complete her work without complaint, and focused only on efficiently doing what she was expected to do.

All while ensuring that she didn't stand out.

She quickly learned that the corporate world wasn't much different from the hierarchies of high school.

There was someone on top who could control those underneath them, cliques and groups of people who excluded those not in their circles and those who were always trying to raise their status by one upping those around them.

Yet Sylvia wanted to have no part of this chaotic race for supremacy.

She merely wanted to earn her daily bread and have a home to return to at night.

"Sylvia. I hear that you've been doing excellent recently. And in only your first month of working here. I would like to reassign you as my own personal secretary."

Sylvia soon found herself standing before the CEO of the company, unsure how to respond to his sudden proposal.

"Sir, with all due respect, I am still very new. To serve you directly... Are there no other secretaries who would be better qualified than myself?"

"I have certain... criteria when it comes to choosing my own personal secretaries. And you happen to fulfill them. Sylvia, surely you've heard the phrase 'it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks', no?"

"I have, Sir."

"The experienced secretaries have their own ways of doing things that seem to be... set in stone. When I try to tell them to do things MY way, they often seem to grunt and groan, giving me a hard time.”, the CEO said.

“However, if I were to take a fresh secretary who is just learning how to do her job, then I can train you up on my own, and you will learn to do things exactly as I want you to do them... for the first time."

"I.. see.” Sylvia murmured. “Considering that, it does make sense. However, that will surely invoke jealousy within the other employees if I were to be given such a position with so little experience. Therefore I will have to decline."

"Sylvia, please reconsider. I will ensure that no such jealousy will form. If you become my secretary, then I will always have your back in all manners."

The man continued to pressure the woman, to the point of discomfort.

'Do I truly have a choice here?', Sylvia wondered.

At that moment, she did not feel that she did.

'I suppose it will be alright if it's just this much.'

----

"Ah, there she is."

"The CEO's new whore."

"Do you think they do it in the office?"

"Of course they do."

"Keep it down. She'll overhear."

Sylvia was reminded over and over that jealousy was what ran human society.

Every time someone was given something, envy ran rampant and rumors would be generated out of the enmity.

'Words... words... words... words.... they are mere words.'

As Sylvia walked past her coworkers, many gave her disgusted glances.

'They are not physical wounds. They merely say such things. I shouldn't allow it to bother me.'

However, day after day, the glances piled up.

Day after day, the rumors spread.

And day after day, Sylvia found herself the target of the lustful eyes of the CEO.

"Sir, I've finished correcting these reports. I'll now move onto-"

"You're always working. Don't you think you deserve a break?"

"Not at all."

Digging herself into her work was the only way Sylvia could cope with the situation around her.

Not a single person in this business was her ally, and it was only by working that she could achieve a moment of peace.

"Hey Sylvia, you wanna come out tonight for a drink with us? We know a really good pla-"

"I have far too much work to catch up on. Perhaps when I'm not so busy."

Sylvia began to avoid people, often claiming that she had too much work to do anything else.

"Maybe she really is fucking the CEO..."

However, it was then that the day came.

"Sir, I've completed the company schedule for the next six weeks. I've finished the initial reports on seven projects, and have assigned tasks to all respective departments.” Sylvia recounted, almost emotionlessly.

“Furthermore, I've prepared a full report on each and every employee, their expectations, their current status and their performance over the past month, along with their efficiency and rate of improvement... or lack of."

"Sylvia."

"Yes?"

"Take off your clothes."

When the CEO made this order, he said it in a manner which was all but joking.

He was completely serious, and this left Sylvia in shock as she dropped her clipboard, looking up to the man with her mouth slightly open in shock.

"I'm sorry Sir... what did you just say?"

"You heard me. Get on the desk. We don't have all day. I have a meeting to be at in an hour."

The man began to take off his jacket, however Sylvia merely watched him for a moment, blinking her eyes in shock as she began to comprehend the situation.

"Sir, I'm going to have to refuse."

"Refuse?"

The man stopped undressing, looking up at Sylvia.

"You can't refuse. How much have I already done for you? Now come."

Sylvia breathed in a deep breath as the man barely even registered her refusal, quickly writing it off.

"No. I'll be taking my leave now if that will be all."

Turning around, Sylvia began to walk out of the office, to which the man spoke firmly from across the room.

"Sylvia. Get back here."

"I refuse."

"If you don't come back right now, you'll lose your job. Your position. Everything."

"Then I will be handing in my resignation right now."

With that, Sylvia left the room, and the door slammed closed on the man.

He was left alone to contemplate, at which he slammed his fist on the desk.

"Damn bitch."

----

[Scandal! Secretary involved in a love affair with CEO! Sylvia Berith gained the position of head secretary in only a month, and the true reason behind that is revealed!]

Sticks and stones may break one's bones.

But words can destroy a person.

Sylvia's reputation was destroyed.

Her company and the CEO whom the affair was with were never revealed, proving to Sylvia that this was the work of a man who had become all too close to her without her even realizing.

Perhaps each and every day, that was all he was truly thinking about.

Perhaps such incidents had already happened in the past to other women.

Perhaps those glares which people held towards her were not glares of disgust, but rather of pity.

Perhaps when those people had offered to take her out to drink, they were doing so for her sake, trying to remove her from such a situation.

She had no way of knowing.

The only thing Sylvia knew was that she was 22 years old and she had a fat mark on her name.

Whore.

'All because... I didn't do well enough to remain unnoticed.'

'All because... I accepted a position to further myself.'

'All because... I tried to do more than what I needed to do.'

Sylvia bounced from company to company, yet the mark on her name was a red flag.

As soon as they heard her name, the interviewers would find it difficult to hide their smirks, clearly having no intention to take the loss on their own reputation by allowing such a person into their midst.

"I'm sorry, but we're going to have to deny you employment within our company. The other candidate was excessively promising, you see."

"You application has been received, and after review, we have unfortunately decided to pursue other options."

"As much as we would like to welcome you into our company, we feel that your skills would be better used elsewhere."

'Such as in a whorehouse. Isn't that what they want to say?'

'If only it were mere physical punishment.'

'If only it was simply being beaten and mutilated like before.'

'Because at least then... the scars would be the only thing to remain.'

----

Sylvia found herself moving across the country to find a job in a remote place, far away from anywhere her name was known.

She found a stable job and began working again with one single goal in mind.

To never allow herself to advance.

For doing so would only attract more and more jealousy.

'If I do too well then people will hate me, and another situation like that might occur.'

'If I don't do well enough then I will be fired.'

It was then that Sylvia was placed underneath Marcus, with three team members who were good for nothing.

And because of that, Sylvia was able to shine.

She performed all the work and allowed those around her to take the credit.

They would never speak badly of her nor did they become jealous of her, for if she were to be fired then they would have to do more themselves.

On the other hand, Sylvia didn't move upwards at all. She remained exactly where she was, while the three gained the favor of the CEO quickly.

And that much was fine.

It was a relationship of give and take.

One in which Sylvia had accepted as balanced.

Until that balance was one day ripped from her, with the removal of Marcus - the man who had one way or another managed to keep those rowdy workers together.

----

Sylvia walked forward, sneakily making her way into the zombie filled lounge.

Around her were enough undead to form a pair of football teams.

They all seemed to be doing their own thing, mindlessly sitting or walking about without any rhyme or reason.

Stepping into that room, Sylvia lightly closed the door behind her as she began to creep through the gauntlet.

'If I were to die here... then it would mean that I truly have failed at remaining unnoticed.'