The office worker stood up and began to walk to the branch head's office with his supervisor. For the past year he had given his trust to this man, who seemed to always wear that signed baseball cap. His complimenting smile gave it all a fatherly air, a confident and well liked mood.
If memories served him right, he said it was given to him by his dad and that he wore it on special occasions. Perhaps today was the supervisor’s birthday or an anniversary. He wasn't sure, he wasn’t good with holidays or special occasions. They never really stuck unless he added them to his phone’s calendar. It was embarrassing every year that he had to ask his few friends and his family when their birthday was.
Hoping what was to come wouldn’t be awkward, the office worker reminded himself to trust his Supervisor. The man would always be willing to answer his questions and was forgiving for the small mistakes he would make from time to time. Over the year he knew him for, the office worker felt they were close and that they would build a long-lasting bond through future projects. Suddenly, he got that chill down his spine. Just what was going on? In the past he would obtain bursts of excitement or energy from this chill, but this time was not one of those times.
This chill was similar to the numerous times he witnessed his past and current mentors conversing with everyone else in the workplace. Just what had they been talking about? My performance? Probably, but.. Why? He assumed that they were just reporting his progress in a professional manner with no bias like the skilled professionals they were. That had to be it.
He was wrong.
“Ahem!” After coughing to clear his throat, the tired looking branch head straightened the papers by tapping them against his desk. “After multiple instances of mistakes and simple carelessness, I am somewhat sad to say that we will be“letting you go. Your track record shows a large amount of effort, but no substantial gains to your time here, and I would like to say..”
His words drew silence in the office worker’s ears. Sitting in the chair across from his branch head, he had gotten the answer to what he was feeling. It was fear, fear of being in trouble, in losing his job. And here it was, he was being fired from this organization and that would leave a mark on his history. Fortunately, as unfortunate this situation was, the branch head drone on to finally deliver him a choice he. There were two, but in both they had him losing his job in the end.
After 17 years of study, self-reflection, trial-n-error, hardships, sleepless nights, and stress, he had finally obtained the job he wanted. It had everything he needed and dreamed of doing for a technical nerd like him. A good pay, insurance, and not to mention the fantastical task of repairing ships of such a variety of sizes and purposes. Albeit, it wasn’t his preferred study, but everything engineering wise was fascinating.
But his pursuit, his dream, came to an end on this day. Today was November 4th, 2022. It was at 9:38 AM that he was given the news and had half an hour to leave. He signed his name on the form for resignation rather than termination, which would have forever banned him from ever obtaining a similar job. The branch manager had at least kept the less damning of the two choices open. Looking down the page, the reasons for his removal from his position was a list of what he knew were nitpicked facts. The branch manager had eaten it up, they were true words but a gross twisting had been done to make these indictments hit hard. Was this what the branch manager observed, or was it the supervisor? No, it was neither. Whoever it was, he or she put a lot of work into making his incompetence and lack of ability seem worse than it was.
Giving the page one last look, he realized it. These words, the pattern of how they were described, they were all from his mentors, both of them. He checked again and was sure the most recent documented discrepancy he’d wrought was a failing of his mentor's test. A test he passed, yet was stated as failed because of a number of so-called key mistakes. This was blatant nitpicking. He wanted to bring it up, but who would believe him. It was his word against them and he was certain his branch manager trusted his mentors more than him.
With another panicked look at the pages, he also noticed that there was no mention of his upward progress. Nothing.. Not a single mention of it even once. He had been doing his work as he was told. Except not once was it noted, they had just thrown those details out as if they were an as expected outcome. I busted my asses for you. And you don’t even talk about how hard I worked! An emotion began to stir in the office worker.
He hiddenly gritted his teeth. This did not matter to the branch head, the man had already made his decision. He glanced up from the documents and noticed that the branch head looked at him with tired eyes. He just wanted to get this done quickly and move on. It stung to see that this man didn’t care. An awkward atmosphere started to rise in the air and was getting only more awkward as time passed.
The office worker glanced at the supervisor, the one the office worker could always fall to for dire help. Perhaps he’d over turn this decision. But.. nothing. The supervisor pulled his cap down. The office worker saw the hint of a sorry expression. Nothing could be done. Nothing at all. This must’ve been difficult for you.
Putting on a fake smile, the office worker understood that both the branch head and supervisor had given up on him. They gave up on the potential they once saw in him only a year and a half prior. That time as an intern was fruitful, they had been fruitful. That was until now.. Until today. It was over.
“I thank you for the opportunity to work with you.” The office worker said, “It is sad that I will be leaving, but I want you to know that it was a good experience.’
“Indeed.” The branch manager said bluntly, his expression more worried about something else. “This is just how things played out kid, Goodbye.”
Burying his emotions, the office worker let his despair fade, or tried to. His dream was off, the road was gone. The future he looked forward to was gone. The chance to help had been snatched. His hope to not be a burden was reversed. Now he was seen as the shortcoming of his peers. The end, he failed, and he was deemed a failure by those above. As he began preparing his luggage to leave the office, he caught his coworkers at the lunch room. He wanted to say one last goodbye.
Around a table were his older coworkers that he looked up to, and also saw others of similar age to himself. He felt especially connected with one coworker that he knew for many years as they went to the same school and college.
But when he saw his current mentor, his mind came to a dark understanding. She was ecstatic, hiddenly so, but nonetheless ecstatic. The damn woman even giggled when he wasn’t looking. She didn’t know he had a good pair of ears on him. In the face of this, the office worker kept his professionalism up. He’d at least show some pride in himself. While he respected his mentor for her skills, he would no longer feel respect for her as a person. The smiling look of glee on her face was enough for him to have to resolve to erase her from his memory without mercy
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
This is your fault! He screamed in his head.
Over 70% of the reasons for why he was being removed from his job was from his mentor. A gut churning emotion of conflict began to fester in his mind as he said his goodbyes to her with a fake smile to hide the inappropriate facial expression trying to surface.
This conflict in his mind was only increased by the absence of his past mentor who stepped out to do other work and seemed to purposely miss the chance to say what was likely the last conversation he would have with his past mentee. Such a heartless desk neighbor, he thought and almost chuckled at himself. I really didn't mean anything to them. They only saw me as a nuisance. They’re glad I’m going to be gone.
As he continued his goodbyes, he shook the hands of his coworkers of similar age. He was emotionally struck again as he felt no reassurance from their grips. They were loose and their eyes were uncaring of his situation. His emotions threatened to spill out.
After so many years, he thought there was a friendship between himself and his longtime colleague, but again.. Nothing.. Empty eyes looked at him. All of them expect him to leave.
“Do well out there.” Said one of the older workers who reached a hand out for shaking.
The office worker breathed a sigh. This was a relief, a slight amount of ease he could take solace in. This handshake was not only firm but their smiles were warm. It was like a mint, a wind of fresh air. Things had at least ended on a good note.
After all was said and done, he left the office with his large suitcase in hand. Loading up the car, his trip home began. The afternoon light was shining down and he wondered what he’d do when he got home. Going down the highway as quickly as he could, he realized the sweet relief of resting in his bed and the silence of his home to be able to think clearly once again. Realizing that he should at least inform his family of the situation, he thought about who to call.
What kind of son wouldn't do this? We’re close, he thought. Right?
So, as he began fiddling with his smartphone with one hand while keeping his eyes on the road, he attempted to call his dad. Mom wasn’t an option since the last time they had talked was over a year ago. His dad was who he felt he could talk to about his situation. The old man was so accepting of his hobbies and passions from when he was a child. They both loved to talk about a variety of topics. His mom didn’t. As he listened for the call to connect, there was the sound of cracking in his ear.
But it wasn’t from the phone. Suddenly a loud crunch was heard. He turned his attention to the left and saw that an enormous figure of what looked like the front of a truck was rushing towards the side of his car. He could not turn the car away fast enough, he only had one hand on the wheel with the other pressing a phone to his head. I shouldn’t have done this.
He should’ve known better. His mind raced for a solution as he cursed his carelessness. Just another small mistake, and now it was costing him more than his job. The thoughts that ran through him, about what was going to happen or where the truck came from, didn't matter in the next few moments. The next thing he saw was a red and brownish puddle in front of him. A cold sensation in his lower body pierced him, it was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. He attempted to move his legs. Nothing. There was a lot of that today, in this sense there was no response. The ringing in his ears was dreadful. Like a rending sound that hit him over and over again. It was maddening.
He suddenly realized that he was pinned into the seat of his car. The frame had deformed so much that he could see his legs were crushed from the knee down. His realization was further worsened by the noticeable smell of gasoline mixing with his blood and other unidentified fluids and solids. So much was happening. Everything filled his nose and eyes, and out of nowhere he began to retch. The gory sight of his crushed leg and his flowing blood made him queasy. At his second heave of bile onto the ground, a bang deafened him and a momentary burning sensation overcame him.
Then, all he could see was black.
***
Addendum: Anonymous Journalist Entry
On November 4th, 2022, at 12:32PM, the car of the previously known Ship Engineer, Azi Montagne, was caught in an accident with a cargo truck containing liquid and solid fuels required of the ships he previously worked to repair. The very lifeblood of the ships that this young man worked to repair had covered him and taken his life. Reports say both the solid and liquid fuel was ignited by a spark, currently investigated say it came from the car’s still running engine block. The news would report that there was no body to recover as it was concluded that the explosion had vaporized all traces of the accident. In fact, only 10% of the wreck was recovered.
While the loss of this life would constitute wide interest due to the person’s background in the government job he had only recently resigned from, this was not the case. Instead of his death being the main topic of the news of the day of the accident, it was instead the mysterious disappearance of the transport of solid fuel that got the attention of society.
The qualities it had were believed to be durable enough to take on a nuclear strike and had mysterious properties that were yet to be fully researched. It seemed that Azi Montagne was forgotten, and while his family had tried to file a lawsuit, after a month of attempts, all charges were dropped out of a lack of interest to continue.
In an interview with the mother, she said it was all too troubling to file the case. The father agreed but had a layer of reluctance in the words he said. Months later, the father was found to have killed his wife and further investigations into the murder found that Azi’s mother was abusive.
The husband had blamed her for Azi’s death. Findings of a strained household were found in a diary kept by Azi. The father also had a dairy, likely a habit they both shared. As quoted by the father, If not for his sheltered upbringing, then maybe, maybe Azi would have led a better life. The father showed support for Azi to be himself and stated in the diary that Azi didn’t know what he wanted in life, he was such a daydreamer, which didn’t sit well with my wife. The father noted a large amount of regret in trying to help him handle his overbearing mother. To summarize, the man valued the marriage more than the child.
When presenting these findings to an Analyst and Psychologist, they agreed that the father’s wish for retribution was solely because of Azi’s death. Several months later, after the incarceration of Azi’s father, the verdict for his murder was concluded.
Wherever he is now, I hope he’s in a better place. These were Azi’s father’s last words before his execution by the death penalty.
Note by Anonymous Journalist:
While Azi’s life had come to an end and his family shattered by the callous hands of reality, in some sick twist of fate, luck, or coincidence, I feel this event gave him a new opportunity in his life's tale, an opportunity he didn’t know. He’s dead, but his diary talks alot about his dreams. His hopes of adventure. Perhaps he is out there, traveling through tales as a spirit. Maybe he got a do over? But a reset isn’t as cut and dry, or easy. Life is never easy, so just how will he cope?