Chapter 20

It was the alarm that woke Bella and Charlotte up at exactly six. Charlotte went to the bathroom to take her bath, while Bella opened her laptop to review her introductory speech once more.
She won't be a guest speaker today but has been allowed to say a few words of encouragement at the opening of the summit.
Bella read what she had written over and over again. It looked perfect but she felt something was missing.
This wasn't the first time she was reading it; she never felt something was missing, but now she does.
Maybe she should ask Charlotte to review it for her. She thought.
She had kept the write-up from Charlotte in the first place because she had given her the main presentation to review and didn't want to burden her with her task, knowing fully well how busy she had been.
While she waited for Charlotte, she decided to read it again; maybe she would find the missing piece.
She did not; she could only tell something was missing but not what it was.
Charlotte walked out of the bathroom, just in time.
"You should go take your bath, Bella," she said.
"Can you quickly help me review my introductory speech?" Bella said. "I think something is missing."
Charlotte smiled. "You finally agreed for me to help."
Bella smiled slightly. Charlotte had offered to help but she had turned it down.
"You can help me now," she answered.
"Don't worry, I will do that. Go take your bath."
"I will leave it to you."
Bella stood up and headed to the bathroom while Charlotte went on to rub some cream on her body. She got dressed in a shirt and a short and then sat down to go through Bella's write-up.
"There is nothing wrong with this," she mumbled. "It's perfect."
She went through it a few more times and was convinced that it was okay to be presented.
Then what could be missing for Bella? She wondered.
If something is missing, it's not in the writeup but somewhere else.
"Have you reviewed it?" Bella asked.
She had just walked out of the bathroom. She walked closer to Charlotte.
Bella was nervous, Charlotte could tell.
"Are you nervous?" She asked.
Bella shook her head. "I am not."
"I think you are."
Bella sighed. Maybe she is.
"I am," she admitted. "I am just worried about the writeup being..."
Charlotte smiled. "There is nothing wrong with the writeup. I can assure you that."
Bella sat on the bed. "I think so too but I still think something is missing."
Charlotte nodded. "Of course, something is missing."
Bella furrowed her brows. Did Charlotte not say that the write-up is okay? Why is she saying something is missing?
"But it has nothing to do with the writeup," Charlotte added and Bella sighed.
"So what is it."
"Courage,"
"Courage?"
Charlotte nodded. "Right now, you are nervous, and that is why you think your writeup is missing something, but in a real sense, you are just worried about not delivering a good speech."
Could that be it? Bella wondered.
Charlotte stood up and went to meet her. She placed her hand on her shoulder.
"This introductory speech is going to be delivered perfectly. I am very sure of that. Because you do not only put in your best, you always deliver the best."
Bella chuckled. It's a good thing she has a good friend like Charlotte who supports and encourages her.
"Thank you, Charlotte. I think I feel better now."
"Do you still think something is missing?"
Bella shook her head. "No." She chuckled. "Maybe a little."
Charlotte smiled. "It's normal to be nervous when you are trying out something new. Don't feel sad for being nervous, okay?"
Bella nodded. "I will listen to you."
Charlotte moved back. "Now, it's time to go get ready. We do not want to be late. Do we?"
Bella stood up. "I think we need to eat first."
Charlotte smiled. "Shouldn't you be thinking of getting to the summit? Why are you worried about food?"
Charlotte was teasing Bella; they still had a lot of time before the first official meeting.
"Because..." Bella smiled. "That is going to give me enough strength which is what I need for the summit. I am ordering some breakfast."
Charlotte nodded. "Please, do."
Bella went to pick up her phone and then order for breakfast. Charlotte picked her phone up too. She had decided to send a few messages to Gina before breakfast would be delivered.
She thought about calling Mia so she could hear Liam's voice but their time difference was a great barrier.
She sent a message to Gina. She did not expect to get a reply because she knew Gina was still sleeping; she had dropped the message earlier because she knew she was going to be busy and might not have time to speak with her.
"Breakfast is here," Bella announced.
Charlotte joined her and they began to eat. By the time they were done, it was a few minutes past eight.
The summit would be officially opened at ten, with onboarding being the first, while the official welcoming party starts by seven; that is when Bella needs to speak.
Charlotte stood up. "Let's go get ready. We need to register and settle in early so we have enough time to get familiar with the place."
Bella nodded. "But we haven't arranged our bags yet."
Charlotte laughed. "We did not unpack. Did we?"
Bella furrowed her brows. "I thought we did when we got back yesterday."
"We were almost drunk, Bella. How did we unpack?"
Bella chuckled slightly. "Maybe we did in my dream. It must have been so vivid to make me think we did."
Charlotte nodded. "I can tell it was. Now let's go get ready."
They went to get ready, after which Bella booked a taxi. The taxi would be coming in thirty minutes.
They decided to wait in their room for twenty minutes and would leave ten minutes before the taxi arrived.
"Have you decided on when you will call Melvin?" Bella asked. "You said that would depend on yesterday's fun."
Charlotte rolled her eyes. She hasn't thought about it.
"Why do I feel like you do not want to talk to him?" Bella added. "Are you still angry with him?"
Charlotte shook her head. She is not angry with him. She just doesn't know what to tell him.
"Charlotte," Bella called. "Tell me. What is going on?"
"Fine. I am not angry with him. But what am I supposed to tell him?"
"Reason why you left?"
Charlotte shook her head. She doesn't think that is it.
"That you are fine? You can just assure him that you are doing great."
Charlotte sighed. That sounds more like it. But...
"It's ten minutes," Bella announced. "We will talk about this after our onboarding."
They stood up and took their bags downstairs. They checked out of the hotel and waited outside for the taxi which showed up less than ten minutes later.
The driver opened the booth and they kept their bags in it. They entered the car and he drove off.