It was a hot sunny day in March, and the clocks were striking eight. I, Nathan Williams, with a spring in my step, barged inside the pristine glass doors of Insparks Corp, making it seem effortless, though it was pretty heavy in reality. The receptionist, who I first didn't see at the side of the door, welcomed me into the next chapter of my life, with me bowing in response. Freshly hired, I was filled with optimism and excitement, ready to take on my new role as a software engineer in such a highly esteemed company specializing in robotics, in which I have absolutely no experience. Believe it or not, I got in by pure luck, flaunting my only skill—perseverance, and with a lucky streak of unbefitting aspirants backing my interview. My outgoing and friendly nature, from the words of my superiors, helped me make a positive impression, which was enough to garner their interest in me, allowing for such a godsend of an accomplishment. Actually, I first thought that this place was out of my league, but as the news broke out that numerous positions had suddenly opened in the company, I saw it as the perfect time to step up and try my luck, which brought me to where I am today.

After the initial tour of the building, to which I noted every detail in my head, I was finally brought up the stairs and into my second home, walking into the spacious office. As the steel doors of the office closed, creating a thud that echoed in the entire space, everyone's gaze shifted to me. Honestly, I'm pretty excellent at public speaking. I've spoken a lot in the past, believe it or not, and it should be quite apparent from what I told about how I even got accepted here. But the problem now was that I didn't prepare much. Such an essential step in the socialization of this new group, yet I dared not list out a single word to utter due to a sleepless night, haunted by the excitement of my new work.

The hand of the clock ticked, adding to the awkwardness of the room. To break the silence, I opted for the simple route, which was the only approach that popped up in my head at that moment.

With a deep breath, I exclaimed, "Nice to meet you, everyone. I'm Nathan Williams, a software engineer from just downtown. I'm contracted to this company for five years before my renewal, so before then, I hope that I can get along with everyone. I don't have much in the talents department, but I assure you that I'm up for any task. Bring me any complicated work, and I'll do it with the utmost effort. Though I may fail sometimes, I'll never give up. I'll be in your care." I bowed, a red glow radiating from my cheeks. Such a simple introduction, its essence no less than a high schooler's, yet its formality did strike accurately. Nevertheless, I grew more nervous now than when I hadn't spoken a word yet.

To my absolute surprise, clapping stormed the room. I'm unsure whether it's just a sign of formality, a grace of pity, or they genuinely applauded my statements, but the smile on my face favored the latter. Their warm welcome immediately eased my nervousness, marking in my mind that I was so lucky to be surrounded by such a friendly group of colleagues, and I grew eager to become part of it.

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I took a step forward to release my nerves, replacing my earlier anxiousness with that of positivity. But the second my foot landed on the ground, I felt a change in texture, almost seeming unstable, my feet sinking into something. I took a quick glance and was surprised at what I stepped upon. It was a small pile of sand, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, sticking out like a sore thumb in the gray carpeted floor, its brown grains almost glistening from the office lights.

"Huh?" I muttered in confusion. How could such a prestigious corporation have a random spot of impurity? It really struck me as odd.

Suddenly, appearing randomly in the same manner, a hand landed on my shoulder. It was my manager, the same person who stood in front of me during the interview process, the very same one who made the decision to accept me into his wing. I bowed in his large presence, offering my utmost respect.

"What do you think of the place, Williams? Isn't it great?" he said with a smile, fully confident in his management.

His tone seemed to have released even more stress from my body, soothing me with his affable stature. From the outsider's perspective, he might appear to be on the fat side, but let appearances not fool you, for the mounds in his arms are quite different from the ones on his stomach.

"I like it here from the start," I replied. "But has there been some sort of mistake here?" I pointed at my feet.

He took a quick glance and then immediately looked forward. "Don't pay much mind to it. It's been appearing here frequently. I'm not quite sure where it's coming from. If I have to guess, the wind might be blowing it here from the nearby construction site. Or, it might be from the troublemakers that were fired recently."

"People got fired recently?!" I exclaimed in surprise.

He nodded. "We removed their names from the roster. We couldn't fire them formally because they never showed up again. It's like they just suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth one day."

"Alright..." I pondered for a second but ultimately shrugged it off. His words sounded genuine, and the two explanations were both logical. But, some details were missing to fully convince me, with the significant part boggling my head was about what happened to the ex-employees. People in their proper heads wouldn't just leave this place so suddenly. That would be an insult to the thousands of aspirants who dreamed of being here, including myself. My best guess is that they were too overwhelmed with personal expectations in working in this place, enough for them to lose confidence in themselves to leave and never return. But then, what's the significance of the sand?

He then guided me to my work desk—a simple station with a high-end computer adorning the organized table. I was then briefed on the software one by one, with him explaining in great detail, which took around an hour. By the time we finished, the others were already hard at work, ushering me to do the same.

"Your first task will be to continue the coding on this draft for a software," he said, handing me a USB stick. "Should be easy enough for your first task."

With excitement filling my mind, I grabbed the USB from him slowly with both hands, being as respectful as I could, and then I plugged it into the CPU.

"Here I go!"