Haunted by Office Things
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.