Charlie, Richard, and Claudia reached the vast cubicle rooms and went to meet a young woman who worked on a fax machine. She wore blue business attire with a black jacket and had short black hair. The boss introduced her as Mindy, one of their coworkers. The woman noticed and approached the group with a stern look on her face.

Richard and Mindy introduced each other and made pleasant greetings. Things went well, until he extended his arm, only for her to step back and recoil in horror.

“What’s the matter?” He asked.

“Your hand, it’s filthy!” She exclaimed. “Hang on!” She dashed over to her desk and brought over a bottle of hand sanitizer to apply on his hands. Charlie just shrugged and whistled a tune.

“I didn’t think it was that bad, but if you insist...” Richard muttered with uncertainty. He went along with it and rubbed his hands.

“That’s more like it.” Mindy sighed. “No matter what, you need to come to work, properly clean.” She adjusted her sharp glasses. “I’d deduct points off your track record, but I’ll let it off the hook since you’re new here and don’t know how things work yet.”

Charlie cleared his throat. “Mindy, could you show this man his new job for the time being?” He suggested. “And after that, bring me two cups of coffee, one black and one with sugar.”

“As you wish.”

Charlie and Claudia soon left them alone to handle the situation. Silence filled the vast room, the only sounds that filled the area were clocks ticking and fax machines buzzing. Richard hadn’t encountered many people as he followed the secretary and looked around. Richard was about to ask her what she meant by ‘points,’ and ‘track record’. Mindy insisted they get the tour over with, as she claimed to not have all day.

Mindy showed Richard a computer area and explained to him his job. Each day he’d be getting something a little different, whether it be typing an assignment, printing and scanning documents, etc. She also explained to him that when he finished his work for the day, he’ll need to see her for turning his assignments in.

Mindy handed Richard the schedule and mentioned she’s in charge of monitoring him to make sure he doesn’t slack on the job. The program showed his breaks and time schedule for each day.

“Be sure to look at everything, and don't forget it,” Mindy warned him. “If you follow these establishments, you’ll get paid well. However, failure to follow the rules, and this will go on your record, you start off with a certain amount of points. If you lose all your points and go into the negatives, I’ll have you fired.” She turned to him with a cold deadpan stare. “Any questions?”

Richard tried to process all that information in his head before responding with a nod. “When does the S, in School, play a part in this?”

Mindy facepalmed and groaned. “I thought they would change that old plague, it’s supposed to be Service!” She shook her head. “Never mind, sorry about the mix-up.”

“It’s fine.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah, one more thing. Kelly’s married, right? To who, by chance?” Richard pointed toward the doors that led to the first floor.

Mindy twitched her eye and stared at him in disbelief. I can already tell you’re going to get on my nerves. “Just get started and operate the computer.” She stormed away, back to her cubicle.

“Well, gee, thanks for not telling me how to operate this thing.” Richard hissed as he slumped down in the chair, sighing.

“She must’ve assumed you knew how to use one since so many people rely on technology nowadays.” Fawn showed up to mention. “If you want, I can help you out.”

“Sure thing, I’d appreciate it.”

Fawn showed him the ropes on how to handle the computer and turn on the system. He found a small message notification bubble appeared. Richard used the mouse to hover over and click on it to see what it’s about and ended up finding a forum.

“Greetings and salutations, if you see this message, then please reply.”

Richard typed up a response to send to the anonymous message. “Okay.”

“Ah, excellent. You’re probably wondering who this is, this is Mindy messaging you from across the room.”

“Could have mentioned that first?”

“Apologies for that. I’ll be sending you the first assignment through your sub-box. Check it when you finish chatting with me. It should be easy enough for someone like you.”

Richard checked the sub box and found a long list of what appeared to be complicated equations and things to write via essays. He looked at them all in bewilderment.

“This is supposed to ‘be easy’?” He complained.

“I don’t know what to do about this, but do your best.” Fawn encouraged.

“Gee, thanks for that.”

“You’re welcome.”

An hour later, Richard’s eyes burned from staring at the screen too long. He arched his back and rested his head on his hands.

“Why is this so complicated? I’m having a hard time concentrating!” He slumped in his chair again and glanced at Fawn, looking defeated. “When is lunch?”

“You already had a break an hour ago, I’m pretty sure.” Fawn reminded him.

“It feels like an eternity, though. Why couldn’t I have gotten an easier job?”

“No job is easy!” Mindy retorted from a cubicle far away. “You need to put in the effort if you want to succeed!”

“Hey, Mindy?” Richard called out.

“Don’t yell so loud, just message me!”

“Ugh.” “Is it alright if I take another break? I need to use the restroom.”

“Sure, go on ahead, but don’t take too long.”

“I won’t.”

.-.-.-.

Richard pulled out from his chair and headed toward the bathroom, with Fawn following him. He stopped and took notice, warning her to stay put as he headed toward the restroom, to which she complied.

Richard went into the bathroom toward the sink. He splashed water on his face and looked at the mirror. How did he end up in this situation again?

“I can’t believe this...” He murmured.

“Richard, is that you?” A voice spoke from the stalls.

“Boss?”

“How do you like your job so far?”

“It’s too soon to tell, to be honest.”

“I understand. If you have questions, don’t be afraid to ask.”

“Thanks.” Richard looked down at his hands and sighed. Maybe I should ask for help after all...

He squinted his eyes upon finding something odd: a blue splotch was on his hands. Richard used some soap to try and scrub them off, but they only grew more and more. His fingers stretched together and formed. His eyes widened upon finding that his body had changed once again.

Oh no, what’s going on? He thought out loud. What’s happening to me?

“Is something wrong?” Charlie asked. “I can hear you screaming from—”

“I need to leave, it’s an emergency!”

“Oh, ok then.”

Richard looked around in a panic as he darted out of the area. Fawn glanced at him and gasped.

“It’s coming back! How is this possible?” He cried.

“Oh man, I had a feeling this might’ve happened,” Fawn said, flabbergasted. “It seemed too easy turning back to normal like that.” She materialized the trench coat and hat and gave them to Richard. “Come on, we need to get out of here.” They rushed out of the building and made a mad dash to the nearest hiding spot.