Strange "homework"

I got off the city bus just at the moment when the school bus turned onto their street. Phew! Perfect timing! No suspicion would be raised on Mom’s part. As soon as I entered the house (Mom was sorting something out in the basement and didn’t see me enter), I rushed to my room to slip into leggings and a T-shirt. I was afraid that this time Mom might actually ask about Liza’s black- and-white professional outfit.

“Is everything all right? You’re so quiet today,” Mom was surprised that I  was not telling school news at the dinner table. “Mom! I wish you knew that I can barely move my tongue after all those ‘nicetomeetyous’! I can’t even think straight! The introduction to Mr. Caesar Rey alone could have given anyone a splitting headache! Please don’t ask me about school today!” I pleaded in my thoughts, but smiled and replied: “Oh, yes, Mom. Everything is okay. It’s my homework I’ve been thinking about. They gave us so much today.” As always, Mom looked at me lovingly and said: “I’m sure you’ll handle it. You are such a smart girl.” Then she added in a whisper: “And maybe you’ll end up with a great job someday.” She looked sad and I felt sorry for her again but I knew that I would make her happier very soon.

Before bedtime, I decided not to watch my usual half an hour of the evening TV shows. Instead, I got glued to my computer with on a notepad.

“I guess they really keep kids busy at school nowadays. Well, I’m not sure too much homework is a good thing. Children should have some time for fun and rest,” Mom said when she saw me work. I was lucky that Mom did not come up and peek over my shoulder at her “homework.” It looked rather peculiar. Instead of math assignments and spelling exercises, the notepad contained a listing of strange words in caps. Next to each word I wrote an explanation she found online on various business sites:

“CEO - Chief Executive Officer, a person in charge of an organization like a corporation, company, or agency; PTO - Paid Time Off, like a vacation, holiday, or sick leave; bylaws - a set of rules adopted by a company for governing its own affairs; board of directors - a group of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of company or organization….”

Within a couple of hours, I had a much better understanding of the bizarre business language Linda had spoken to me all day. The mystery of the BEC convention remained unsolved as no online dictionary provided an explanation for this strange combination of letters.

After two hours of intensive “homework” I realized that I was terribly tired.

My last wish for the evening was to find enough strength to slip into my pajamas and to crawl into bed. As I was finally lying under my favorite cozy blanket, a colorful kaleidoscope continued to whirl before my closed eyes. I heard friendly greetings, fragments of conversations, applause, phones ringing, and Caesar’s apologies. Ouch! That spot on my head was still aching!

At last, the flurry of colors and sounds became slower, and slower, and slower until it stopped completely and got switched off like a string of Christmas lights. Exhausted, I was falling asleep with a big smile – tomorrow I would wake up the new chief executive officer of the Association of Fun Manufacturers!

“You’ll make a great CEO, Liza! Sweet dreams!” I said to myself in a whisper.

“Sh-sh-sh-s-s-s-d-d-d-d-s-s-s-s-d-d-d-d-r-r-r-r!” The recollection of the odd sounds in the server room suddenly came to my mind (it was such a bad time – I was so tired!)

“Go away!” I hushed, turned over on my side, and no longer heard anything.