“I think I know what’s going on here,” the woman in yellow said. Since she was willing to offer me a diagnosis of some sort, I figured she must be a doctor.

“What do you mean?” I asked, with a small amount of suspicion. There’s no way she could know about everything, right? Situations like mine couldn’t be common. Or were they?

“Yesterday all the sanitation workers in your unit were exposed to Hydonpax-F, a chemical known to cause memory loss. It’s usually only temporary, but we can send a note to your supervisor about the situation. Speaking of which, you should probably be reporting in. Do you know the way to your station?” The doctor said.

I shook my head, trying to hide my joy. What luck! I had an excuse to be acting like such an idiot. This way I could buy some time to learn about the world and my job some more. I didn’t like the thought of being a janitor, but maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

“How long will it take for Erik to regain his memories?” Dave asked. He was obviously concerned about me. Was he my friend, or just an acquaintance? I figured I would find out more later on. I could probably ask him.

The doctor shrugged. “It’s all situational. Might take a week, two at the most. Some individuals never recover. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about it,” the doctor said.

We all talked for a short while about my “condition” and things I could try to regain my memories. I was eventually dismissed with a hand written letter from the doctor. It explained everything and I was to hand it in to my supervisor.

Dave took the lead, showing me the way to my work station. We eventually reached an area called the Sanitation Center. There were cleaning supplies all over the place. Mops, brooms as well as the chemicals to wash things with. It all looked familiar to me. Future-tech didn’t replace everything, I thought to myself. There were also a few people wearing the same blue uniform as I was, sitting around on chairs that were scattered about chaotically.

“Could you get the supervisor?” Dave asked one of the men.

“Sure thing, officer,” the worker said.

“Boss is in trouble now!” Said another worker. There was a small amount of laughter in the room.

A portly man with a thin mustache walked out of what appeared to be an office. This must be the supervisor, I thought.

“What is it you need, sir?” The supervisor said.

“Erik here has medical problems going on. If I didn’t escort him here, he wouldn’t have known the way. This note will explain everything,” Dave said.

The supervisor read over the note and frowned.

“Hydonpax-F exposure? Memory loss? Bah, my workers use that chemical all the time. Erik here must be quite unlucky,” the supervisor said. He gave me a strong look, as if he were seeing through my soul.

“I trust you’ll take good care of him,” Dave said.

“Oh yes, very good care. Erik, could you step into my office please?” The supervisor said. He gestured to the room he had come from. I followed his instruction and sat down on a chair beside a large desk. I was surprised by how neat and tidy the office was. There wasn’t a paper out of place. On the desk was a lamp with an open book, as well as a pen.

The supervisor and Dave chatted for a few more minutes. Not sure what they were talking about. Couldn’t make out anything. Eventually, Dave left. Afterwards, the supervisor entered the office and shut the door.

The face of the supervisor began to turn red and his nostrils flared. “Memory loss! How convenient! That’s what you’re going with this time? What, you can show up a few hours late with a doctors note and think you won’t get punishment?!”

I was reminded about why I generally try to avoid people. I felt scared and a little worried about what might happen next. What could I say which would ease the tension a little bit? This is a bit overbearing.

“I like your mustache,” I blurted out.

“You what?! That’s all you have to say for yourself? I’m not even flattered. I’m offended. You’re a disgrace to the sanitation unit and to me. If the captain ever got word of this, it’d be my head! But first, yours! Do you understand?” The supervisor said.

I nodded, a bit surprised by his reaction. He wasn't making any sense at all. What was he so angry about? Compliments usually made people feel better, didn’t they? I made a mental note to figure that one out later.

“Go to the bathroom in C5-322. Fix the sink. Now! Don’t come back until you’ve finished the job!” The supervisor said.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I nodded once more and excused my way out of the office. Once I entered the main room again, every worker there had their eyes on me, as if they heard every word which was said. They probably did. The supervisor’s screams could probably be heard across the whole ship.

It was time to figure out where I needed to go. I had the idea to ask someone. I approached the closest man to me. His name tag said George.

“Could you show me the way to the bathroom in C5-322?” I asked.

George gave me a puzzled look. “Erik, you’re joking, right? It’s across from us. Just head down to the left,” he said.

I thanked him and rushed out of the Sanitation Center. Heading left down the hallway, I eventually made it to the labeled bathroom. Didn’t see if it was for girls or guys, so it must have been for both. I knocked on the door. No response.

After opening the door, I was surprised by how clean it was. It almost made me feel proud to be reincarnated as a janitor. Like the rest of the ship, it was all white. There were three points of interest. A urinal, a stall and a sink. The sink! It was supposedly broken, right? How do you fix one of these things? Those were the thoughts in my head. Feeling around, I noticed I didn’t bring any tools with me. Not that I knew which tools to grab, of course. I had to do it the old fashioned way. With ingenuity!

I walked over to the sink and tried turning it on. No surprise, it didn’t work. I looked under it. There were several pipes connected to the bottom, including one that appeared to be glowing. I never inspected many sinks in my lifetime, but I was pretty sure they weren’t supposed to have glowing things sticking out from them. With all my strength, I pulled it out. The material wasn’t metal, it was closer to plastic tubing. However, I soon regretted my decision.

Gas started spraying all over the place from where the tube was pulled out. It smelled awful and made me cough. An alarm sounded off and the lights to the bathroom turned red. What did I do?

Seconds later, the door was kicked in. It was my supervisor, huffing down air.

“Erik!” He shouted. His face was as red as an apple. Sweat was pouring down his face and he was gritting his teeth.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?!” He shouted once more.

I shook my head, innocently.

“Now the captain and the whole bridge knows what a screw up you are! They just got notified about a gas leak! A gas leak in my bathroom! What irresponsible nonsense! Do you have any idea how this is going to look on me?!” He said.

Before I could answer, a man in orange appeared behind the supervisor.

“You there, are you the one who pulled the tubing out?” The man said. It was hard to make out what he said over the sound of the alarm. He pulled out a device and pushed a button. The alarm stopped and the red lights returned to their normal blue color.

Was I about to get in serious trouble? Admittedly, I was extremely nervous about it. I chose to be honest regardless.

“Yes, yes I am,” I said.

“You just saved my life! I was working on the piping on the other side of the wall. If you hadn’t pulled the tubing, it was likely to explode!” The man replied.

“What are you talking about?” The supervisor asked. He shot me a glare.

“Ah yes, of course. I had a vision about this. I’m kind of a psychic,” I said. It was obviously a lie. I couldn’t help myself.

“A psychic? Unbelievable! Everything makes sense now,” The man said.

“No it doesn’t! Nothing about this makes sense. Erik is just a fool who made the sink worse, it was sheer luck that you were working on the other side of it!” The supervisor said.

“Erik, thank you for your assistance. My brother works in tactical upstairs, I’m sure he could use someone with your abilities,” the man said.

“He has no abilities!” The supervisor shouted.

The man in orange walked over and gave me a hug. It was kind of weird, but I returned the gesture. I looked at him straight in the eyes. “Just keep walking,” I said. Had no idea what it meant. Although it sounded profound at the time.

The man in orange began to cry. “You’re right, Erik. I just have to keep walking,” he said.

“Nonsense!” The supervisor stomped off, leaving the two of us alone.

I still had to figure out what I was going to do about the sink. The supervisor would probably kill me if I returned without doing my job. Thinking fast, I had an idea. I raised my hands up into the air.

“I just got another vision,” I said.

“What was it?” The man said.

“I ask you to help me fix this sink and you do it,” I said.

The man in orange nodded.

“Can you help me fix this sink?” I asked.

“Sure thing. I just need to - “ the man in orange paused. “Another prophecy fulfilled before my eyes!” He said, and began crying again.

After he calmed down, he fixed the sink for me. It only took him about five minutes.

“Thank you,” I said.

“No, thank you! I’ll remember this encounter for the rest of my life. I’ll be telling everyone about you,” he said.

I nodded. “This is your destiny. Tell everyone you meet about this day,” I said.

The man in orange hugged me again. “Call me Steve,” he said.

“You got it, Steve,” I said.

We exchanged a few more words and Steve left. I wondered about how this encounter will affect my future here on this ship, but shrugged it off. Whatever happens, happens. I made my way back to the Sanitation Office. Dave was standing in front of the door.

“Need help making it back to your room?” He asked.

“Yes, I do,” I said. In truth, I had no idea how to get back to my room and there was no way any of the other workers knew either. I just needed to speak with the supervisor first. After walking through the Sanitation Center, I entered the supervisors office.

“What, the prophet need not knock?” The supervisor said in a bitter tone.

“I fixed the sink. Can I go back to my room?” I asked.

“After one job? You want to go back to your room? You really are worthless. If I’m being honest, I’ve had enough of you for today. You’re dismissed. Expect no pay,” The supervisor said, waving me off.

“Thanks,” I said.

After leaving the Sanitation Center, I walk with Dave back to my room. I tried my best to memorize the way there. I’ve always been good with directions and I think I’ve got it down.

“Hey, Erik, tomorrow is Saturday. How do you feel about getting a tour of the ship in the morning?” Dave asked.

“That would be great. I still have no idea where anything is,” I said.

“I’ll send Liz over to guide you. She can show you around. In the meantime, try to get some rest,”

I nod and proceed into my room. Prophet, huh? I like the sound of that.