Reborn 短篇故事與 Freak Workplace 小說

After I join a new company, I keep running into problems—not from people, but from the company's equipment. The fingerprint scanner fails to recognize me every single time, and I have to submit a manual attendance appeal almost daily. When I ask the admin to change the device, they respond with thinly veiled sarcasm. "Everyone else clocks in just fine. Why are you the only one with so many issues?" The air vent above my desk blasts cold air directly at me. My hands and feet are freezing every day. I ask to switch seats. My manager looks at me like I am making things up. "Everyone else sits there without a problem. How come the AC only blows cold air when you sit there?" One strange incident after another makes it impossible for me to function at work. When I get home, I complain to my boyfriend and say I want to quit. He shuts down the thought immediately. "You're making almost 60 thousand dollars a year before benefits, with weekends off and paid leave. Where are you going to find a job like that?" I think about it and realize he isn't wrong. Just as I decide to stick it out, the company elevator malfunctions. I fall from the 33rd floor and die. In my final moments, I can't understand it—why does every piece of equipment in the company seem to target me alone? All the devices are newly installed. All my coworkers are people I have just met. I have no grudges with anyone. There's no reason for someone to sabotage me from behind the scenes. When I open my eyes again, I am back at the company. It's my very first day on the job.

I was always sleepy when I was working. If I were working an eight-hour shift, I would sleep the entire shift away. Initially, I thought that I was too tired. My boss only fined me because I was the top sales performer. It was not until I got caught dozing off for the 38th time last month that I realized something was wrong. I scheduled a medical appointment. However, on the way to the hospital, I died from a car accident. When I opened my eyes again, I realized I had returned to the day the new male colleague first joined us. In the past, I had also started to suffer from lethargy on the same day. I suspected he had something to do with my symptoms. Hence, I started to stalk him in secret. As expected, during lunch time, I caught him and my girlfriend conspiring against me. “Once I plant this sleepy bug on Nick, you can transfer your sleepiness to him.” Justin Smith wrapped his arm around my girlfriend Heather Reid’s waist. He said in a fawning tone, “Heather, you’re the best. Once Nick gets fired for oversleeping, I can take his position!” I sneered when I saw them acting intimately. They did not know that I had returned to the past!

The company manager, Elton Baldwin, wants to promote my best friend, Lacey Donnovan, at work. In my past life, I, Giselle Ashford, told Lacey not to accept his offer. But after she realized that someone else got promoted in her place and even doubled her salary overnight, Lacey got extremely jealous. She conspired with her boyfriend, Xavier Pugh, to push me off the top of a building, cursing at me and saying, "You jealous bitch! You've always hated seeing me do well, and now you cost me such a good opportunity!" When I open my eyes again, I realize that my world is no longer a shattered one with crimson blood in my eyes. Instead, Lacey's inquisitive face appears before me. She asks, "What do you think, Giselle? Do you think I should grab this opportunity?"

A torrential downpour hits the city, but our boss, Emmett Price, forces all employees to stay at the company to work overtime. He even deducts 100 dollars per person per day from our wages for utilities. Discontent fills the office. My team members come to me with a petition and plead with me, as their team leader, to sign it, telling me everyone will feel emboldened if I take the lead. I'm about to leave on a business trip, and I could've stayed out of it, but I can't bring myself to watch everyone get exploited. So, I readily sign my name. However, when Mr. Price calls me into his office, I realize with a start that my name's the only one left on the petition. He publicly berates me for instigating a revolt and fires me on the spot. Meanwhile, my teammates who throw me under the bus instantly swarm Mr. Price to suck up to him and effortlessly get out of the mandatory overtime. Even the project I've spent half a year securing gets divided among them. After losing my job, I search everywhere for another one. However, I accidentally come into contact with a live wire on the street and die on the spot from electrocution. When I open my eyes again, I'm back on the day Mr. Price announces the mandatory stay-at-work notice. My team members walk up to me with the petition once again, but I simply shake my head. "I'm sorry, but I'm busy right now."

I won the first prize at the Christmas party, which came with a bonus of $3,000. My boss generously doubled the rewards, and I eventually got $6,000. But my best friend and my boss started egging me on to treat everyone. In fact, they were just getting me to cover the company’s Christmas party. If I did not agree, my best friend wanted to cut off ties with me, and my boss wanted to fire me. Due to the pressure, I had to foot the bill, and I even ended up paying an extra $50,000 out of my own pocket. After I paid the bill, they abandoned me, who was drunk, and I just froze to death on the side of the road. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back to the day when the Christmas party was held.