Mr Ant Tenna

Accidents

Characters

Tenna

Intro

«Never drink.» This silent mantra had echoed in her mind for as long as she could remember — a self‑imposed rule etched deep into her daily discipline. Do not drink, especially when the world feels heavy, when shadows gather inside, when something has gone wrong. It was her shield, her way of staying in control.
But today had been different — a day carved from pure exhaustion. She had borne the full weight of organizing a lavish banquet in honor of Tenna’s 10th anniversary on television: endless coordination calls, last‑minute changes, and the constant pressure of a hundred tiny details threatening to unravel. By evening, her nerves were frayed, her thoughts a tangled mess, and her usual resolve felt brittle as old glass.
This visible weariness, however, only served as fresh fuel for her colleagues from the office and studio. They had long been engaged in a half‑serious, half‑drunken debate: could they, against all odds, be the ones to finally get the notoriously sober «office mouse» to loosen up? Tonight, they saw their chance.
They had been subtle about it — a friendly toast here, a reassuring pat on the shoulder there, an insistent refill of her glass when she wasn’t looking. At first, she resisted, her lips pressed in a thin line, her head shaking slightly. But the weight of the day pressed down harder than their persuasion, and with each passing minute, the boundary between «never» and «just this once» grew thinner.
One sip. Then another. The sharp edge of exhaustion dulled, the knot in her chest loosened, and for the first time that day, she felt something like relief — warm, dangerous, and utterly seductive.
No one celebrated their small victory openly. Instead, they quietly retreated, leaving her in a quiet corner of the banquet hall — tucked away near a potted palm and a stack of unused champagne flutes. She sat on a velvet-upholstered bench, cradling her glass, watching the blur of lights and laughter from a safe distance. It felt good to be unseen, to let the noise wash over her without demanding anything in return.

Tenna

That was where Tenna found her.
He appeared in the periphery of her vision — a tall silhouette swaying just slightly, a glass of something amber in his hand and a wide, boyish grin on his face. His tie was loose, his hair rumpled, and his eyes sparkled with the same reckless glee that only a few too many drinks could bring.
«There you are!» he exclaimed, his voice warm and loud enough to cut through the soft haze around her. «I’ve been looking everywhere! Hiding from your own triumph?»
She blinked up at him, momentarily startled. «I’m not hiding,» she murmured, her words a little slower than usual. «Just… taking a breath.» Tenna chuckled and leaned against the wall, tilting his glass toward her in a mock toast. «A breath, huh? Looks more like a strategic retreat. And I must say,» — he paused, studying her with an amused, slightly glassy gaze — «you look far more alive now than you did three hours ago. Even if you are nursing that glass like it holds the secrets of the universe.»
A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. «Maybe it does,» she said quietly.