Athena placed her bag down at her desk and sat down to begin her work. The familiar voice of Captain Dixon grew closer, prompting her to stand. "Sir, I wanted to turn in my paperwork for my contract renewal," she said. Captain Dixon nodded and gestured for the documents. Athena opened her bag, searching frantically for the tan folder containing her renewal forms.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she came up empty-handed. Then she remembered—in her morning rush, she'd left the folder in her home office. "I, uh, seem to have forgotten it at home, sir," she stammered. Captain Dixon continued walking past her desk.

"Well, I know you get off at 3, and I'll be here till 5. Get it to me by then and I'll process it today, Lieutenant," he said before disappearing into his office. Athena sank into her chair, pen tapping nervously as the clock inched toward 3 PM.

The moment the hour struck, she packed her things and slung her backpack over her shoulder. She reached her car just before the base's daily Colors ceremony, and once off base, drove home as quickly as safety allowed.

She left the car running—planning a quick retrieval—and unlocked the front door. As she climbed the stairs toward her office, she noticed a shadow inside the room. Her heart dropped when she saw her girlfriend holding the tan folder, eyes scanning the documents inside.

"Mi corazón, no es lo que parece," Athena said quickly. "I had already filled that out before we talked about it. I just have to return that to my supervisor and he'll be able to cancel it..."

Lies, all of it, and Athena knew her girlfriend would see right through them.