Cast Aside
Mia
With a quick stabilizing breath,Mia lifted her fist to knock on the office door of the head of the Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics department. She felt uneasy. The bubbling excitement she’d been feeling since he requested the meeting earlier that morning was being slowly replaced by nervousness.
Mia couldn’t fathom why. She knew this day was coming. She’d been working relentlessly towards it and was prepared for what was beyond the heavy door. In a few minutes, she’d be ticking off a major box on her professional bucket list.
“Come in.” The deep, slightly grumbly voice of Professor Herbert Flinch boomed from inside, and Mia pushed the door open, greeted by the familiar scent of old books and oak.
The office wasn’t much to look at, aside from the vast collection of professional literature adorning the walls and stacked near Herbert’s well-used desk, but there was an aura of importance to this room. Mia always felt somewhat sacrilegious wearing heels when visiting here, the clicking of them against the hardwood floor in complete contrast to the gravity of the atmosphere.
Herbert’s kind blue eyes lifted from his papers, observing her as she approached, and she told herself she was only imagining the sadness in them. Herbert was well into his sixties, though the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth caused him to look even older. He’d seen and done enough in his lifetime to earn the respect of everyone who met him, Mia included.
“Mia, darling, come and sit.”
She loved it when he called her darling. The undertone of fatherly affection always attached to the endearment made her long for his approval. Mia was aware of how basically Freudian her response was, considering the relationship she had with her father prior to his death over a decade ago. She accepted it as a given state of mind, too ingrained to spend energy on trying to change.
“How are you, Herbert?” she asked, crossing her legs while consciously stopping the right limb from bouncing.
“Old and tired.” Herbert huffed in amusement before his expression turned somber. “The faculty has discussed my proposal for social genomics being granted an independent research hub, and they have agreed on a trial period to evaluate.”
“Oh?” Mia didn’t attempt to feign surprise, she just found it tacky to admit she’d expected as much. Sociogenomics was a rapidly growing field, and while many thought it should be left a small branch in social medicine studies, Mia had been advocating, with the support of Herbert, for the field to be recognized in its own merit as part of his department.
“The trial period will start next month.” Herbert gave her a smile, but his usual warmth was lacking. “We’ll be officially announcing who the person spearheading the hub is tomorrow.”
“That’s wonderful news, Herbert.” Mia clapped her hands, ecstatic that they were moving so fast. It showed great faith in her and the research she’d been so dedicated to for the past eight years of her life.
At twenty-seven, she was one of the most highly regarded researchers in the field of human social genomics, a rising star on the horizon of innovative research debunking the age-old nature vs. nurture debate.
Mia had rejected the idea of behavior being separate from genetics around the age of sixteen. The idea of having no control over what her genes said about her made her skin crawl. The scientist in her once again acknowledged her personal desire to escape her own genetics. She made a conscious effort to neutralize that part of her brain when in the lab.
“Yes, a step forward indeed.” His features tightened, and the surge of nervousness from before was becoming a sliver of panic. Herbert was a seasoned scientist with enough social and political skills to score tenure and climb the ranks to his current position in Oxford, but he had an aversion to sugar-coating and seldom held back his words, especially with Mia.
Mia had been steadily working towards spearheading the innovative hub, with Herbert’s full support, or so she thought. Looking at the face of the man she’d considered a father figure for the past decade, the wrinkles doing nothing to hide his pensive frown, Mia was now steadily plummeting into a state of existential dread.
“What is it?” Her question didn’t seem to surprise Herbert. Like him, she preferred not to beat around the bush.
“We’re bringing on someone from the outside,” he answered tentatively, walking over to sit on the chair in front of her. “I wanted to give you fair warning. It didn’t seem appropriate to blindside you after all your hard work and dedication.”
Mia blinked back tears of betrayal that immediately threatened to burst, swallowing down the tremor itching to settle in her voice. “Why?”
“There is an array of considerations, none of which have anything to do with your competency.”
“If I am so competent, then why?” Anger flared alongside the hurt, her voice wavering under the force of it. “What about me is so inadequate that I’ve been overlooked after dedicating my life to this project? To this department?”
“Nothing, Mia, I assure you.” Herbert took her hand in both of his. “You are more than enough. I personally could not have thought of a better candidate, but I am not alone in this choice. A new hub that involves a new position requires division resources. This is above department level right now.”
Mia wanted to argue, send Herbert back to the faculty and tell them they could all fuck off, but Oxford was still her home. She wasn’t about to compromise her chances of making it a permanent home by throwing a childish tantrum.
“Who did they bring in?” she asked, forcing her voice to stay calm.
“Doctor Wyatt Jenkins from MIT,” Herbert answered, and Mia couldn’t suppress her awed gasp. “I gather you’ve heard of him?”
Heard of him? She’d read every single one of his publications. His research of the social genome in shifting environments and his derived theories were nothing short of brilliant.
“I’m familiar with his work, yes,” she finally managed to say. “But why is he leaving MIT? With his status and family connections, his position there is all but guaranteed.”
“I don’t know, darling, all I know is that he was ecstatic about the hub when we presented it to him,” Herbert answered with a slight shrug of one shoulder, conveying he, too, was surprised that Jenkins had said yes considering what he was leaving behind. “What Idoknow is that those pros you listed will be of immense value to the department and the hub.”