《Office Job》


 First Impressions I

    Today is my first day working in the big city.


    Until now I had only worked part time with fast food and retail, and it was gruesome work, those fry cookers were deadly, the sound of oil sizzling still makes my skin crawl. It was quite the sudden change too, like I spend 4 years of my life on an accounting degree, so I had to do something with it, student loans, they will not pay themselves.


    The job was everything that I could''ve asked for. A desk of my own, a chance to meet new people, I even on the days where the smoke got too thick and you could see nothing out of the windows, the air conditioner would keep it all away on the outside, really, a lowlife if no prospects like me could only dream of a work like this, and dream I did, didn''t I?


    I am ecstatic to work here, I really am, my grin would probably give me cramps if I didn''t stop,. I''m sure I looked stupid, so stupid. And yet, I still find it hard to believe that after an interview like that, I was still chosen for the position.


    The questions really weren''t that difficult and my answers were book standard in my perception, but the person interviewing didn''t looked... well, I am not sure how hard they work those guys, but he didn''t look good.


    The glazed look on the interviewer,  the monotone voice, he would pause after each question read on the screen and would fix his stare on me, demanding an answer. My whole body broke into shivers with his eyes trying to focus in my general direction, eyes like those of a dead fish.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    My hands get slick with sweat just thinking about that day.


    But I shouldn''t let some strange dude color my view of the entire company. I need to keep my mind free from prejudice, today is going to be the best day ever.


    -----


    The buildings in this city seems ... Quite tall.


    Tall did not feel like the right word to describe the scope of such a titanic structure, it extended far beyond from where my vision could reach, well past the black clouds of smoke. There was no way to see the end of it, glass and concrete filled my perception.


    So it was tall in my head, tall and wide, like all the buildings in the city. The darkness of the sky all day long did make the atmosphere quite oppressive.


    It was overwhelming to say the least. But the size of the company I would work on was by far the widest and tallest one, I think. That had to be good right? for something to grow to such an extent, it had to thrive, so if my workplace did prosper, I would as well.


    Of course, I filled my head with positive thoughts, affirmations of success and the heights I could reach in this new work environment... and even so it was not enough to dispel the sensation of entering to what felt like the mouth of a hungry beast.


    My first day at work began.

 First Impressions II

    The flown of people coming and going on the entrance hall was surreal, there was no elbow room at all. It was the first time I saw a place so crowded.


    I had the instructions on how to get to my station written on paper, may be my mistake reading, but the paper said 20th floor? it said to head to the 20th floor for further instructions, it could be a 2ath, but that would make just as much sense as I actually being on the 20th, isn''t the higher the floor, the more important you are? wasn¡¯t that too high for a newcomer like me?


    I wanted to ask someone about it, like the ladies sitting at the entrance, taking calls, filling out papers and talking with the people from outside, but I also didn''t want to be seen as a novice, inexperienced, someone who can''t even follow basic instructions, I didn''t want to be seen as the idiot I truly felt thinking I might have this good of a job.


    But also because they were too pale.


    Pale in an anemic way, like the sun was a passing rumor among them, guess they didn''t had a lot of that in the big city. They looked tired, with dark purplish circles the color of bruises under their sunken eyes. I didn''t want to be a nuisance when they seemed barely able to stand.


    It is better to face the consequences than spend a minute more standing like a fool on the lobby, at least I have plausible deniability.


    -----


    in front of the elevators was a crowd waiting for the doors to open. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    I couldn¡¯t distinguish them apart, with faces of men and women beginning to blend with the same features, Deep bags, empty eyes and pale skin.


    The number of workers was extremely extensive, I could see 6 elevators over the long and narrow hallway, a mass of tired looking workers preventing me from passing, no matter how much I struggled.


    I considered hitting someone with my elbow to let me pass, it was just a thought though, and it made me ashamed for being so restless while they all had this strange aura of mind focused precision, they were so professional. But the sound of the doors opening froze everyone in their places, heads turning painfully slow towards the apparels.


    The movement resumed with violent vigor, the flow of the crowd dragging me, like a castaway being dragged by the high tide, and like waves, the crowd pushed and pulled against my will, suffocating me. No sound other than footsteps on marble and shallow breaths, crawling painfully from their chest, were made at that moment. Eerily similar to an anthill, the suit and ties being the only change.


    When the flow stopped once again, I found myself inside an elevator with twelve others, the size unlike any I had ever used before. I felt anxious, out of depth, out of control.


    Why is everything so big?


    I pressed the button for the 20th floor and waited with bated breath as people came and went.


    My prospective co workers kept their heads down, their skin was icy to the touch, the mirrored interior prevented me from looking anywhere beyond their figures and my face, my eyes showing the growing apprehension in my heart.


    This is where I will be working from now on.

 First Impressions III

    I¡­ I couldn''t understand a word that came out of the instructor''s mouth.


    I knew the language, in theory was the only one I actually knew. But just like holding a eel covered in oil, it was hard to grasp the meaning with my brain, nothing lingered in my mind.


    I looked at my colleagues, trying to see if anyone else shared this problem, but I could only see figures nodding at each of the instructor''s pauses.


    They were different from the people in the lobby or the elevator, they looked almost normal, but there was something missing in their eyes, like a spark or something, the only difference between theirs and a doll¡¯s eyes was that theirs moved¡­ I think.


    Everyone looked like that. Except for one other Guy who was sitting on the far end on the left side.


    Like me, he was looking for something in this room, maybe a translation sign maybe a hidden powerpoint with all the words the instructor said, wish I could take a picture of that. With frowns and a concerned look, our eyes met. At that moment, I had a feeling of affinity with that stranger who felt as lost as I did, being the only lost would be kind of sad.


    Throughout the introduction, we exchanged glances, to ensure that the other had not disappeared, as if our minds had conjured up a spark of hope from a trick of the light. Time seemed to drag on during the explanation. The instructor spoke, they nodded, and the walls seemed to close, but I was no longer alone, there was another one like me.


    -----


    Before leaving the room, each person received a folder with documents with personal information to fill and data to start working.That Guy was the first to leave, I was the last. He was nowhere to be found when I left, everyone had dispersed.


    It was 9 am and the work would go on until 5 pm, which is too long when you don''t know what to do.I could feel a headache wanting to start. First day of work and I already felt overwhelmed.


    Holding my briefcase in one hand and the documents in the other, I decided to get a glass of water, to become more familiar with my new workplace and avoid the tasks that needed to be done. A huge line cut the floor, going from the entrance to the canteen, they let us through to get to the instruction room, but the number of people didn''t seem to have diminished, it just seemed to grow and expand deeper and deeper on the floor.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    I didn''t want to cut their queue, but the sink was right behind the line, I squeezed myself in between two very annoyed coworkers of mine. I could see the pure hatred boiling in their bloodshot eyes as I approached my goal, "Look at you, making friends" I thought with shame coloring my face red.


    So far, this has been the first display of emotion I''ve seen since I entered the building, and it looked like they were going to stab me with a ballpoint pen given the chance.The object of attention was this strange coffee maker. It was the size of an automatic vending machine, but with the press of a button, it would fill the little paper cups. it looked run down and old, with rust appearing in the corners, making horrible noises when filling a paper cup, it looked so foreign compared to the sterile white of the place.


    It made very curious, it didn''t look delicious at all.


    Weird.


    Back at my desk with my paper cup filled with water, I took a sip. It tasted like rust.


    -----


    I am not sure what happened that day, the moment I sat in my cubicle, it is as if all my doubts disappeared, an instinct took over my body when I opened the Excel program. I didn''t understand anything the spreadsheets said, but I knew what it wanted me to type to make it whole.


    Beside my computer was a portrait of a family, a rosy cheeked guy with two snotty children in his arms, with those wide grims that you forget how to do when you grow old.


    I lost attention, the laser focus and ready answers failing to come for me, once again I felt that oily sensation in my brain looking at those letters in the screen.


    I tried to invoke that little spurt of inspiration, but I ended up going back to square one. Lost.


    Frustrating.


    It was all fault of the useless worker who did not learn to collect his garbage before he left.


    Even after throwing the distraction in the trash can, I still felt trapped in my own body.


    Not even 20 minutes have passed since the line incident. I find myself going to the bathroom. I don''t even think splashing my face would be enough to wash away the feeling of failure that I felt building up on my back with every step taken.


    The workers'' cubicles were too narrow, I guess it is so it can accommodate as many workers as possible, but the scope was supernatural in size the way I could see a horizon of people working and fluorescent lamps on the plastic ceiling but not the end, if there was one.


    The entrance and the bathrooms just ahead, I look at the little blue sign for the mans bathroom, I felt my breath shortening, if I kept looking at the horizon, I felt like something inside of me would break beyond repair


    I sweat cold, I feel myself shaking uncontrollably when I open the bathroom door, but, in front of the mirrors, I see that Guy, breathing heavily, in his expression I could see the panic that consumed me.He was lost, just like me.


    I felt my tremors stopping.


    "Hi"


    I said without knowing what to speak.

 Learning The Ropes I

    I know he works in the cubicle in front of the printers.


    The workday is over, I am as relieved to leave this place as strange as it is depressed by the complete failure to be productive.


    I go back to my flat, too exhausted to even eat, the night goes by without a dream. I know that I will be tired for the next day at work.


    -----


    The days went by, we would go down to the cantine together. I wonder if he finds my company reassuring, it was he that came with this arrangement in the first place. I wouldn''t tell him, but I was glad that he came with the idea, I need him as much as he needs me, because I feel myself going a little crazy with every finished document.


    I am afraid of the loneliness that this job causes. So many colleagues and none of them seemed to be tangible like people, they felt like shadows looming at the background instead of people, just waiting to pounce in any cup of coffe or unfinished doc they could get their hands into. I find myself uneasy with the feeling of eyes on my back all the time, but when I''m with him, it feels a lot more manageable.


    Misery loves company, after all, it was fundamental for the workplace.


    We chose a table by the corner, as far away from our co-workers as possible. They sat in front of their tables, only drinking coffee and staring at the white walls. The only sound of conversation came from us, and this is only on the best days, sometimes it is easier to join them in silence and hang up until the end of this break with our heads low, a proof of how draining somedays were.


    He was already there when I arrived, I tried to focus on something other than the eerie people in the room, so I decided to focus on that Guy''s face.


    His attention was completely devoted to a notebook that he carried with him everywhere, even the bathroom. On one of the pages was a glued image that he used as a reference and on the other he would make drawings that hardly resembled the image on the side.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Today''s image was a willow tree and its design was anything but.


    Sharp, gnarled roots ripping through the arid ground, a sickly thin tree trunk with dead branches extending like pale fingers on the paper.


    I wonder if he drew like this before the company or if he was influenced in any way. I don''t know if I care about the answer, but one thing is certain, with drawings like this, he should be working for the design team. Anything he made would be way more suited to the true nature of this place than any publicity stunt they could come on their own.


    I still remember the pamphlet they were handing on my gradution ceremony, I remember the smiling sun and the doll like character holding a briefcase with a huge grin saying "We need you". Well,  the first drawing I saw of his was a reimagining of the add, what he drew gave me nightmares in that same night, but damn if it wasn''t accurate.


    Today was one of those days when he became so absorbed in his drawing that he noticed nothing else, in a world of his own.


    I think I''m jealous of him for that, to be able to get out of here, even if it''s all inside my head, because at the end of the day, when I come home, I can''t stop thinking about all the work I''ll have to do on the next.


    -----


    I realized that with the end of the month approaching, it seemed that the life of those clay figures that I called co-workers had been drained, even more then usual, with their faces now unnaturally thin, bony limbs highlighted by the suits and ties.


    The air conditioning blowing right over my desk always makes me shiver, that and when a colleague asked me for office supplies.


    The unfocused looks and hoarse voices accentuated by their tiredness. They invaded my personal space, reaching out to the bottom of my cubicle as if they wanted to touch me in the face, demanding pens of different colors, paper clips and sticky pads.


    And it is not like I could say no, the moment I stopped complying with their demands, stopped putting the effort in helping my co-workers, I will be seen as a trouble employee who doesn''t care for the success of the company. Not like I did, but I read in a magazine that the lone wolfs are the first ones to be fired during hard times, so I had to buy new supplies in a weekly base.


    And the worst part of this experience was touching them when giving the desired material, the sensation was cold with dry, bony hands. Those sickly pale palms showing the blue veins reminded me of the protruding skin over an embalmed interior.


    The feeling of touching those hands felt so familiar to me, as when I last held my father''s hands at his funeral.

 Learning The Ropes II

    One day when I got to work, the wall had an extensive list of names stamped across the floor. The coffee line had not formed today, instead, they filled the results area.


    I had heard about the employee of the month, but on the walls there was not only the best, no, it was a list of the best to the worst employee on the floor.


    My head was unable to process the oppressive number of names from the 20th floor, so I decided to focus on the top 100, next to their names was the person''s photo for each employee.


    In doing so, I realized that the closer to the first place, the less "normal" the employee seemed.


    They were thin in a sick way, with their suits hanging loosely on their fragile figure, it looked like a progression of pictures cataloging the condition of a person with a terminal illness. A woman in the top five had her head completely devoid of any strand of hair, no eyebrows or eyelashes, the skin seemed too tight for her skull, looking like she was seconds from kickin it.


    And the first place ... The first place didn''t even seem human anymore. It was impossible to know if it was a woman or a man, the name was blurred in my vision, like an oil stain spreading with the contact of my gaze. The creature looked... fundamentally broken, its eye sockets completely empty with tumor growths all over the exposed area of his skin. The veins were completely black, with the cracked surface of his body looking like a layer of paint on a grotesquely deformed skeleton.


    His vision made me nauseous, how could they let it¡ª That person reach that state??


    But at the same time, I couldn''t contain the purest form of admiration I have ever felt for anyone else.


    Wow.


    -----


    It took me a long time to find my name. I hated having to squirm to get through their heavy bodies, but it was the only way to move around the crowded place. I felt my body being pulled to my name near the bottom of the list.


    I knew that it would not be possible to have a very high position as a newcomer, I was still learning my place in that job and was taking it easy compared to all my co-workers.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    But I couldn''t help but imagine what it would be like to be first place, with management calling me to say that I deserved a raise and that I would gain a superior position with all the benefits involved.


    It would be great to work anywhere less cramped than that miserable cubicle.


    But those reflections of mine are interrupted when I feel a hand on my shoulder. That Guy greets me with a radiant smile when I turn my head to him, he must have come looking for his result too.


    ¡°Man, this month gave me nightmares, seriously, I can''t even look at a computer without feeling like it wants to chew me. Have you seen your position? ¡± he asks me, holding a heavy stack of papers in his arms.


    "Yes, I''m at the bottom of the list, ###### or so, and you?" I ask for the sake of being polite, there''s no way he could have scored much higher than me.


    ¡°Ah, ####, but I''m already regretting it. I was called by the manager and he gave me more work to do, he said something that at this rate I could get my own office. And I just want to lie down and cry a little, you know?"


    ... Uh?


    "I just wanted to get free faster from those docs, but now they dumped even more on top of that, how dumb is that?" He said with a melancholic smile.


    The Manager...


    "the manager called you" I must have heard it wrong.


    "Yes," he said sheepishly.


    "This is¡­ great, good for you, man" He¡­ how?


    It can''t be¡­ can it?


    I tell him that I need to go to the bathroom, I can''t bear it right now, not here, at this moment.


    He doesn''t notice anything out of the ordinary, why would he?


    He must be overjoyed on the inside, that fucking viper, he dares pretend to be humble?


    As soon as I entered the room, I felt my body give in in front of the sink, my mouth spewing bile and gastric juice without me being able to control it, I haven''t had food in my stomach since the day before, it was not in the least pleasant.


    I could see blood mixing with the mixture of my inwards through my mouth, even though I tried to stabilize myself, I felt another wave of content spill out of my control, coating the bathroom sink with my interior.


    I kept throwing up acid and blood until my insides screamed in agony and my body couldn''t take it anymore.


    I collapsed on the floor.


    He was in the ####th position¡­


    It was the last thought I had before everything got dark.


    The next day, I started working overtime.

 Exemplar Employee I

    I couldn''t look that Guy in the eye, just seeing his face made my stomach lurch violently and the memories of that day filled me with nausea, never again.


    I stopped going to the cafeteria at lunchtime, instead working on the extra documents I asked for. I wanted to overtake them all, be the best, at least better than him, but I didn''t know what I was asking for.


    Before I resented that at the end of the day, work wouldn''t leave me, but now, I didn''t leave work.


    The hours blurred together, with time losing meaning as I worked late into the night and woke up at my desk minutes before my shift started with no memories of going to sleep.


    I believed I could work without a single drop of coffee, that I needed to work without the substance, I had something to prove. Also because it scared me, what coffee did to all the office workers.


    I wanted to keep my distance from those menacing figures as much as possible, but on one of the worst and heaviest days of work I''ve had so far, I realized how futile that idea was.


    I could barely keep my eyes open of how tired I was, paired with my pounding headache, it felt like my brain was being wringed like a sponge. I could feel a liquid dripping into my mouth, hot with a metallic taste, when I touched it, my fingers showed a dark shade of red, dripping from my face like a leaking faucet.


    I felt myself shudder at the sight of blood, but too tired to do anything about it.


    Until it clicked in my head, against any preservation instinct I had or common sense, I knew I needed a cup of coffee.


    One hand held my nose while the other held the paper cup filled with black liquid like tar, it felt like nothing I had seen before, spewed out of the machine like leaking car oil, it was slimy and it seemed to absorb any light that touched it, like a hot cup of the void of space. The smell filled me with nausea as I approached my mouth, crossing the barrier of my fingers and invading my bleeding nose, but all my co-workers drink coffee, how bad can it be?


    The first sip was the worst, the taste of burning filling my mouth, not burnt coffee ... Another thing. I choked on the pale content, but my autonomous hand dumped the contents down my throat to the last drop.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    It was contamination, something corrupting my body inside, violating, breaking. A feeling of absolute disgust washed over me, but as soon as the overwhelming emotion overtook me, it disappeared, until there was nothing left.


    The headache became a slight hum at the edge of my consciousness, the way I felt started to fade, not completely disappearing, it felt like the coffee kept my disintegrating state in stasis, I felt numb, but in a good way.


    I finished the task two hours earlier than usual, as I still had time, I took another folder to fill.


    I''ve never been more productive.


    -----


    I couldn''t stop thinking about the room I was going to get after reaching first place. I would have a big table with 6 drawers, I have no idea what I was going to fill them with, maybe office supply, I doubt they would ask the assistant manager for a sticky pad.


    I wonder if I can get a window, I really want a window, I need a window. When I have to work hours late into the morning, I could look at the horizon, and instead of cubicles I would see... Other buildings, as tall as this one. Even so, any change would be positive at this point.


    The moment I see the amount of work I have to do, I feel suffocated, realizing how childlish these fantasies are in the face of reality. I''m about to finish a document when I hear someone tapping on my cubicle wall. The resounding sound in my head works like a bucket of white paint, erasing all the thoughts I had at the time, eliminating my ability to understand what to do with the tasks.


    This had only happened once before, I thought myself above of this effect nowaday. The last time this happened I was unable to work for the rest of the day.


    A whole day without being able to work.


    Wasting a whole day?


    ¡°Can you lend me a pen¡ª¡°


    He didn''t finish his question, when I came to me I  already plunged my fist in his face. There was no noise at all, the contact of my punch with his face, but the sound of him falling to the ground was enough to draw the attention of everyone around us. Like as a signal spreading to everyone on the floor, I heard the sound of keyboards dying in all directions, figures like shadows rising one by one in their cubicles to watch what I did, and I wonder, what did I do?


    Looking at the sad figure on the floor holding his face with a lost look, I felt nothing, he should have known better, trash. He doesn''t deserve to work for the company.


    I ask for the people watching transfixed on me and him ¡°What are you waiting for, there is work to be done¡± and reluctantly, they go back to work.


    I see that employee with nothing better to do staggering away to his cubicle, idiot.


    I sit in my chair and turn my attention to the computer screen, I can feel the knowledge slowly coming back to me the moment the white paint fades away.


    In the end I didn''t even need to be this dramatic, but then, maybe they will learn to not bother me anymore.


    I take a sip of coffee, there''s a lot of work to do.

 Exemplar Employee II

    Something I noticed over the months was the large number of cubicles becoming empty.


    They grew in an erratic manner, the empty spaces sometimes being an all consuming area or just an empty cubicle among a crowd of occupied ones. Either way, nobody seemed to care about those missing employees.


    I don''t know if I would have noticed it due to the vast crowd on this floor, but when all the employees who worked around me disappeared, I wasn''t sure what to think, probably a massive layoff to cut costs.


    From the empty spaces, I remember seeing one of the workers who had a broken hand, he could barely fill a third of the daily quota, probably failing to meet expectations should be one of the elimination factors.


    Good to know that I don''t run that risk.


    I started to bring a thermos to work, the line was too long and a glass was no longer enough, but I just wanted to be able to bring my computer with me, I could fill 15 spreadsheets in the time it takes to get to the coffee maker.


    Whenever I wait in line, I don''t know what to think about my colleagues. We are similar in many ways, but I know that compared to me they cannot even be considered people, they are just shadows running through the motions.


    As I rub my head, it seems the last strands of my hair finally come unbidden.


    I remember the panic I felt the first time it began to fall in clumps, but a sip of coffee was enough to take the edge of those wasteful thoughts, who cares about appearance, work was the only thing that mattered.


    The noises of the line could be simplified to nervous ticks, like tapping a leg on the ground and the sound of clicking pens to guttural grunts, the kind of noise a hungry beast would make after being trapped in an office cubicle for hours.


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    They really are like animals in that sense.


    I notice the sudden stop in the queue. Why would it... stop? It couldn¡¯t stop, it shouldn¡¯t stop, I have coffee to drink, I have work to do, how dare they let me wait, I don''t accept it, I DON''T ACCEPT THIS.


    Before I could break in violent tremor, I saw a group of people coming in carrying cardboard boxes pulled by a cart, they ran ahead of the line passing by us. I could barely register everything happening when I realized that the skinny and small creatures climbing a ladder were pouring the contents of those boxes into the machine.


    I felt a wave of relief flooding my body, those guys came to refill the machine


    Very good.


    Focusing on the contents, containers with a red substance with droplets of fat rising to the top, I could have swwear I saw a hand in one of the jars, strange.


    But the line was moving back again.


    And everything was fine with the world.


    I go back to my cubicle feeling the heat of the thermal in my palms.


    Taking a different path today following the printers, I wonder if it was by intention or unconsciously, but I end up passing by that Guy¡¯s cubicle.


    It''s been a long time since I last spoke to him. I thought to say hi and ask how he was doing, but even when he was on the other side of the plastic wall of his enclosure, he didn¡¯t acknowledge my presence at all, too focused on his drawings to notice his surroundings.


    He would rather draw than work in his spare time?


    I could feel my contempt for him reaching a new level. I can''t understand how I could have related to an idiot like him.


    I returned to my table in a comfortable silence knowing I was the better worker.

 Crashing Down

    I hate my job, I hate my life, the taste of coffee permeates my mouth and the number of documents doesn''t seem to end. I wonder how many hours must have passed since I started this extension, it seemed... I couldn''t remember the exact time I started working, my head filled with static just trying to imagine those numbers, static painfully loud.


    Better to focus on the task at hand, since that is my only purpose in life.


    I feel tired.


    I want nothing more than to sleep, but when I close my eyes I can only see the fields of incomplete tables in the exc$l and the words that are missing in documents to be compiled. I''m so hungry, but there''s no food in the building, just coffee.


    My thermos is empty, my bladder is full, but I''m drawn to the canteen, like a fly towards the light, I can''t control the impulse, the hum of that old machine forces me to feed on it.


    The end of the month is approaching, I remember almost reaching the three number positions a few months ago, probably, but this time I definitely can.


    But I feel alone. It shouldn''t have been possible, late in the night I hear people typing into the night, just like me, and at the same time so different.


    I take the first sips of coffee feeling the numbing sensation consuming my thoughts, I imagine that Guy''s face, ridiculing me with his position above mine, hate consumes me, like ice running through my veins, my focus lay solely to the screen in front of me.


    I think difference between me and them is that I have somebody to hate.


    That and the sound of the keyboards.


    While they had a steady rhythm of the sharp sound of keys spreading the depressing symphony of continuous work, I found myself in a state of frenzy, trying my best to keep working on as many folders as they left me.


    I worked until my eyes were completely red with blood and my fingertips broke the skin, forming deformed calluses when breaking the keyboard with my intensity. While everyone else passed out in their cubicles in complete unconsciousness.


    I kept working.


    -----


    Some time has passed since I was accepted in this job, the days start to mix when you have so much to do, my position has gone up exponentially as I find myself in the position of three hundred. Even though it''s 395, I''m now ahead of that Guy, at least, and that''s enough to bring a smile to my lips in the most difficult of days.


    A co-worker taps me on the shoulder while I''m trying to figure out what those black spots that look like spilled ink mean on these Exc$l tables.


    Before I can turn around, I hear him walk away quickly, I don''t have patience for them nowadays and I believe they know that.


    I try politely to ask him to leave, but he is faster, delivering a message to me.


    "The manager wants to talk to you," he said in a monotone voice, leaving quickly with a coffee in hand after he delivered the message.


    His words echoed in my head, Does the manager want to speak to me?


    I got up on the spot, straightened my shirt and tie, though I didn''t have time to use the bathroom mirror, it is not like I needed to. I know exactly how I look nowadays, no hair at all, dead skin flaking off from the crevices, sunken eyes and protruding cheekbones, but it is not what matters, I will let my work speak for me.


    I followed the sign on the wall that pointed to the management room, I knew from the first time that my department was enourmous, but it took me all my lunch break to get to his office, at times I wondered if I was even walking as the walls and cubicles started repeating with no apparent distinction. I felt myself growing nervous by the minute, the manager would not look kindly at an late employee.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    I put serious thought about just breaking into a sprint, sure it would be frowned upon by any normal person, but could he afford any more lost time?


    I chewed furiously at the snub on my fingers, they used to be nails, but now it seemed like I dipped my fingers into a meat grinder. No more room to worry though, as I reached what seemed to be the middle of the floor, it seemed all the cubicles close to the door were empty, strange.


    Faced with the black-streaked frosted glass door, my heart thundered in my ears, I believe that what I''ve been waiting for all this time is finally in my reach. Finally I will be getting the recognition I deserve.


    But before I could knock, a hoarse voice with a deep rumble came from behind the door:


    "You ... can come in ... now"


    I could feel my blood freezing in my veins while entering his office, a strong smell of coffee coming from the room.


    The place was not very well lit, just the brightness of computer screens on an impossibly large table, all displaying different types of data. It should have been impossible for a normal person to manage, but that was not the case with the manager.


    The only light in the room came from a myriad pf  computer screens, spread throughout a incredibly large table, all displaying different types of data.  It should be impossible for a normal employee to manage it all, but the manager was anything but normal.


    His face was like I used to look ... before. Well, not exactly, he was much more handsome. The kind of face you would see on TV, defined cheeks, a dimple in your chin and icy blue eyes, but that was his only human trait.


    His face was like a mask glued to a bulbous mound of postulant flesh, with obscene tendrils branching across the room, tiny and big eyes covering the entire surface of his body, all focused on different shiny screens, only the eyes of the face trying to focus on me.


    By his sides was a coffee machine all for himself. There was mugs scattered on the floor, where some of his extremities were dipped on the coffee, drinking it as if it were a tree with its roots.


    Even after freezing, taking all this ... Magnitude with my eyes, he was quiet, staring at me with glassy eyes. The noise from  keyboards started to decrease rapidly the moment he opened his mouth.


    "Mr ######... I called you here ... because I have something to discuss with you, please, sit down" I did as I was told, but was that my name he said? Nobody has used it for so long.


    His speech was punctuated with long painful pauses. With each keyboard that stopped producing sound and screens that went out, his eyes began to focus intently on me, every single one. The more human he sounded, the more nervous I felt.


    I had it''s complete attention.


    "The actions of aggressiveness produced by you in relation to your stationmates were brought to my attention, due to the number of witnesses, we decided to proceed with your resignation" he said.


    "I don''t understand" it can''t be.


    ¡°In simpler terms, you¡¯re fired, collect your stuff by the end of the day" he said with a tone of finality.


    "But... It can''t be, it was so long ago, why now?" I was so close to the hundreds...


    Without a thought the manager said.


    "Trouble with the HR, their station is quite... underfunded" that seemed like a different pause than the others, but I had no time for suspicion, I had more pressing problems to deal with.


    "Can''t you reconsider? after all those extra hours, working into the night, I haven''t left the company since I started drinking coffee, I am a great employee sure you can see it, sir" I felt myself growing frantic, trying to hold myself from falling to what felt like death.


    the mask like protrusing deformed into a ridicularizing grin.


    "You and a thousand others, you are not special little worker, we can''t have violent savages roaming around in our company, sulling our pristine name"


    "You can''t be serious" I slammed my fist on the table getting myself up to do something, anything, but he beat me to it.


    He got up, and his body towered over me, he must have been bigger than a house that away, I couldn''t move, all his aways seemed to mock me, but as his face got close to mine, I felt real fear, the kind that seeps into you bones, that loosens your bladder and make you weak on your knee, I feared for my life.


    "Go away while you still can, little employee"


    -----


    I left the office at once, I runned away from it. my whole body trembling and the urge to puke coming at full force, now I was bolting down floor.


    my breath caught short and my heart burned in my chest, even while my whole body screamed for respite, I didn''t stop until reaching in my cubicle. I leaned on my table and let my mind proccess what the hell happened.


    I had been fired, that was what happened.


    I felt the weakness on my knees coming back.

 The End

    I went to the bathroom I had to pack up my stuff, but like the tremors I felt on the first day, I was drawn to the place were I could find any kind of stability, as my body moved itself, I had forgotten why that was, until I opened the door and in front of the mirrors, I saw him.


    He was in there, it had been a long time since I last saw that Guy. He hasn''t changed at all in this time, he seemed thinner sure, but he had a full head of hair and rosy cheeks, something he rarely saw around the office nowadays. But his score hasn''t increased much since.


    The truth is that he now finds himself struggling to maintain his mediocre score.


    Not like I could look down on anyone, I was worse than trash now that I had lost my job.


    But ... He had a smile on his face, a genuine smile on top of it, he was looking at an slip of paper as if it was a free coffe maker cupon and a promotion certificate at the same time.


    I don''t even remember the last time I saw him like this. The last time I saw someone like that, happy.


    It made me ... restless.


    "Did something good happen?" I asked, his bright eyes focused on me and I could feel my skin burning under his gaze.


    I could see his smiling falter while looking at me, of what I had become. But those must have been quite the good news with only the dimming of his smile while his eyes still held that spark.


    Or maybe he couldn''t care less about me.


    ¡°I sure did,¡± he said, ecstase spilling through his voice ¡°I sent my resignation letter today. As of Thursday, I''m not going to work here anymore ¡±he said, almost as if it were something ... good?


    ¡°What ... what do you mean, you don''t have to work anymore? How are you going to live without a job? ¡± he didn''t make any sense, he needs this job.


    It doesn''t make any sense.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°But I have work, something much better, I sent letters to independent curators and galleries and finally someone sent an answer, a proposal, for me to make my own exhibition, I know that it is not very sensible, but this is the moment I worked to get to my whole life! "


    Exhibition ... Art ... what is he talking about?


    "Did your brain rot inside your head or were you always this stupid? Are you really giving up the best opportunity of your life for ... art?"


    His smile disappeared from his face, hurt showing on his face, his so expressive face, how I hated his face.


    He probably would never speak to me again.


    He tried to get out of the bathroom, but I grabbed him by the head, he didn''t have time to react when I smashe him against the mirror. Shards of glass scattering everywhere with the impact, I could feel some digging into my flesh, but I kept on holding. It is not enough, it is not enough, it is not enough.


    I felt his attempt at a struggle. But even in our designation as desk workers were to dictate us to be weak, I hadn''t had my cup of coffee yet.


    His blood a vibrant red dripping from my forearms.


    I saw panic in his eyes.


    I smashed his head against the sink, again and again and again and again, until I felt no more sign of resistance, until the only noise in there was the wet sound of flesh hitting marble.


    His face became nothing more than pulp. I continued until the white of his skull was visible, which gave way with pieces of bones and brain sticking to the broken parts of the sink. I would have continued until there was nothing left to hit, but the adrenaline that had made me act in such a way was not enough to keep my waning body in perpetual motion.


    His body fell to the ground, escaping the grip of my bony fingers in a puddle of his own blood, broken glass and pieces of marble.


    I was breathing hard, I could feel the mania fading with the realization of what I had done dawning on me.


    No...


    Why should I care?


    I already lost my job.


    -----


    The Guy''s body was cooling beside me. I washed my hands and tried to get rid of the red spots on my shirt, but the more I rubbed, the worse it got. I believe that there was no more saving it, like my job.


    I went back to my table, to my cubicle, I had things to pack.


    I drank my last coffee inside the elevator.


    But the elevator didn''t stop at the ground floor, instead it started to descend deep underground, with no button alight to show which floor I was headed, I had no idea how much time I spent going down, it could have been weeks, it could have minutes, I took one more sip from the thermos.


    When the doors opened, I saw one of the guys who filled the coffee machine.


    Than everything went dark.