“Lucas, I think you should be reconsidering your options. You know that nothing good will come from having this much on your plate.”
The projection screen dwarfed the two figures, long-since empty chairs orbiting around the podium. Behind them lingered a half-fleshed-out presentation, with crude stock images.
The slender woman held an inexplicable expression as her eyes flicked over the slide contents. The RGB colour model, used in digital devices, is also referred to as the additive colour model ← TODO: explain in further detail + CMYK = subtractive
She sighed and lowered the lid of the laptop, the gargantuan screen behind her abruptly turned black. “Please consider my words, not as a professor to a student, but as a heart-to-heart. This is the fifth time you’ve turned in unfinished work, and I think it might really be too much for you.”
“Look, professor, I know you might think that, but this degree is my everything.” Lucas readjusted his glasses and sharpened his gaze at his lecturer. “I love digital media and it’s where I want to be, where I’ve always wanted to be. It’s my world.”
“I know and Lucas, you don’t need to use honorifics. I’ll give you a day to fix up this presentation and resubmit it, but please, let this be the last time.” She shrugged on her white blazer and picked up her tote bag, a small image of a plump seal parading in the centre of it.
“Thank you, thank you so much prof- Anna!” Exclaimed Lucas, bowing his head. She smiled and his eyes followed her frame as she left, the door closing with a resonating click. He let out a sigh that had been suspended within his throat and tossed a thick bag over his shoulder, it slamming into his back. He kept his head down as he walked towards the door, clutching the handle and ushering it open until it softly shut behind him.
~~~
Lucas shifted uncomfortably on his wooden chair, his eyes glued to the blazing screen in front of him. It was like a carnival, a horrible attraction filled with 2000s websites that screamed “GraPhIc dEsIGn Is mY PAsSiOn” whilst simultaneously having the most extensive array of blinding colours known to mankind. Text scrolled sideways, upwards, and downwards, images were flashing and he could feel the migraine rolling in.
He changed the application window back to his presentation and glanced at the slide count. He let out a huge yawn and rubbed his eyes. Decent progress had been made so far, maybe about three-quarters of the way there. A little bit longer, and he might get a whole three hours of sleep before his next shift at work! New slide. Click on the title. “RGB colour theory in practice. A retrospective on the early 2000s”. Copy and paste some text, edit it slightly and insert some screenshots of horrendous websites. Done. Next slide.
His phone buzzed and his eyes darted to the notification.
“Yo, Lucas my man! Can you cover my shift today? I’m out with th…” Sent at 3:46 AM - Brent
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
He didn’t need to read the rest. Lucas flipped his phone over and leaned his head down on the table.
Just how many times had he covered his shift? He pinched the bridge of his nose and furrowed his eyebrows. Clearly, he had been too lenient.
He brought his head up and straightened his back. He opened a new Google tab and typed, “How to be more assertive.”
“Practice saying no!” Offered one website. “Value yourself. Voice your needs and wants.”
So he typed in the search bar again. “How to say no when you don’t want to say no.” He scanned the screen and decided upon a response.
“I’m sorry, but I really don’t have the bandwidth to take that on.” Sent at 3:52 AM - Lucas.
Yet another notification popped up.
“Your routine optometrist checkup is scheduled tomorrow at 4 PM. Please reply with ‘YES’ to confirm your attendance.” - Automatic reminder.
Lucas brought his head back down onto the table with a muffled thump and groaned. His lamp flickered and emitted a peculiar buzzing noise before finally shutting off, leaving the eye-watering websites on his laptop as the sole source of illumination. He glanced at it.
Who would ever think that using such a bright colour of cyan would be a good idea? Not to mention a background of completely saturated red. Sure, maybe complementary colours, but… Lucas closed his eyes, no longer wanting to assault them.
Darkness, peace. He felt his consciousness slipping further and further away. Away from his coworkers, away from his professor, away from the appointment. Something squeezed at his chest, but he could not decipher if it was relief or pain that he felt.
He would wake up and drag himself through yet another day, the droning of unhappy colleagues worming through his ears and drilling itself into his head. He would return to his decaying apartment flat and would be too exhausted to even attempt his university work. “That’s all there is,” he mumbled. “That’s how life is.”
“Is it really?”
“Who? What?” He tried to move, but he was pinned down, his eyes glued shut.
“I hope you will find something more here, though I’m sorry it had to be you. It had to be someone after all.”
It was a female voice, but he didn’t have the faintest idea who it could possibly be. He hadn’t been in contact with anyone like that for a long, long while.
Suddenly, he heard a loud growl and a harsh light appeared. It tried to tear through his eyelids and force its way in, but he kept them clamped shut.
“May the suns guide your way, and along that path may you find peace and happiness.”
“So this is someone’s idea of a prank then.” He ground his teeth and exhaled sharply. His body felt numb, but he managed to lift his arm. “Alright then. They’re going to regret this.”
He flung himself upright and lifted his head up, forcing his eyes open to what he assumed would be a group of unruly teenagers, perhaps running around the apartment block.
But instead, he was faced with pointed luminescent fangs, dripping with saliva. A deep growl ripped from the throat of the beast.
Shit.