One Topic At A Time Novels & Stories

"Just speak Xavier. Speak freely, I'll be a listening ear. The next three minutes is yours," Following his advice I spoke. I tried to explain the situations happening around me and my jumbled thoughts on everything. "I see," the man replies sometime later. "Unfortunately our session is up but word of advice, you need to focus on one thing at a time as I've been saying. Go from severe to trivial and vice versa, however you choose just focus on one problem. Everything else will become easy, clearer and start to fall in place." "Mhm. Thanks man." I mutter.

" I stared at him, bewildered. "What are you talking about?" He took a deep breath, considering before he spoke. "I mean… what if you do it?" he told me. "Once. One-night stand. You don't even have to do it on an emotional level. Just body. Just because of the pack." I looked at him as if he'd sprouted a second head. "I'm not sleeping with someone else, Lucas," I snarled. "You think that's a walk in the park for me?"

That alone was enough to bring me a sense of comfort. Aeun met my gaze, “You’re not alone in this,” she said quietly. I let out a slow breath, though the tension in my chest didn’t fully disappear. “It feels like I am.” “You’re not,” she repeated. Her grip tightened slightly—not forceful, but reassuring. “You’re carrying too much on your own, Eli. That’s the problem.” I frowned faintly, “What else am I supposed to do?” “Start by not trying to fix everything at once,” she replied. “You’re treating the entire situation like it’s one massive problem, when it’s not. Break it down. Handle one issue at a time.”

Because apparently my life includes phrases like scheduled contact windows. Aidan drafted the structure. Ezra optimized it. I complained loudly enough to be listed as emotional oversight. No one respected the title, but I took it anyway. The rules are simple. No one engages alone. No sustained fixation. No deep memory drift. External anchors available at all times. I pushed hardest for the anchors. Turns out snacks count if framed as cognitive grounding. Sometimes brilliance wears casual clothes. The point stays dim while we prepare. No pulses. No sudden moves.

NOAH I’ve always liked the way the Order keeps their workers in the loop when it comes to new and old cases. They send a new text everyday—updates about an old case, information on the new ones. Orderly. I liked it. Gets me in the mood for work instantly. Today, however, the familiar ping from my phone which notifies me of their text doesn’t send a thrill down my spine. In fact, I’m more than tempted to throw my phone across the room the moment I read the contents of said text.

Daniel: I should have left ten minutes ago. That is usually how I measure things. Time. Efficiency. When something has served its purpose and when it is no longer necessary to stay. It is a simple system. It works. Tonight, I stay. Someone is speaking to me about numbers. Expansion, timing, projections. I follow just enough to respond when required. My answers are correct. They always are. The conversation moves on without hesitation, which means I am doing this properly. It does not feel like it.

“Do you have any other questions?" “Ever heard of the 2-minute rule?" Courtney questioned while looking at the eyes of the board members. “Judging from the way y'all are looking at me I guess none of you know it." She said with a scoff. “Well, it states that if a task can be done in less than 2 minutes, it should be done immediately. The same thing is attached to this meeting; if we can finish it quickly, then why not start immediately so we can return to our daily activities?" For a moment, Sebastian seemed shocked, but his facial expression changed immediately. Courtney turned to look at him.

It says and from the big screen pops up two rules. "At the top of the maze there is visible time. Time is running down. By the time it runs out it means the game is over. At the bottom of that clock is written the theme of the game. Its either, Individual, By partner, Trio or by school.Every 10 hrs the system will change so it is important that you always look at the time, because when the theme becomes Individual.you have no one to trust but yourself.So the rule one is Always look at the time. " It says and follows the second rule.

We couldn’t afford to let impatience ruin the entire operation. Harry nodded and replied, "Makes sense, let's take it one step at a time." He was a cautious individual, well aware that taking unnecessary risks would only lead to complications. His stance was clear—he wasn’t in a rush for quick success but preferred a methodical, steady approach, ensuring that every step of the plan was executed flawlessly.

"You have too many presentation cards. You should have a maximum of two to look professional." "The presentation was 30 minutes long, how am I-?" "Not my problem", he interrupted me. "Try to not sound as enthusiastic and happy about a topic like this. You can't motivate people to go after the EZB. You want to inform them, but don't let them ignore you. You were too loud during the presentation. Loosen up for the audience. Point at the slides, point at the audience, but never with your finger. Use the back of your hand."