He was woken up from a dreamless sleep by the repetitive blaring of his alarm. The horrible screeching—bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt—had him starting off his day with a dull throb in the back of his head. He groaned and cracked his eyes, the open curtains allowing him to see the orange glow of the sun chasing away the night. How he longed to roll over and go back to sleep, but that was a luxury he was not privy to.

He grabbed his phone off the bedside table, dismissing the alarm. While his phone was open, he checked if he had gotten any notifications during the night. Nothing important, only a text from his mother that simply read, ‘Call me.’

He grimaced.

He swiped the notification away, not wanting to call his mother in the slightest. It was futile, though. She would take his silence as an answer and call him anyway. Rubbing his hands down his face, he laid in bed for a few extra minutes. The motivation to go to work eluded him, just as it had every day for the past couple of years. If only he could pay someone to go to work for him. However, having the money to do that meant he had the money to not care about work at all.

The sky brightened the longer he laid there. Sighing, he forced himself to get ready for the day. He went through the motions of his morning routine: a five-minute shower, dying off and putting on a robe, brushing his teeth, not caring about his hair, shaving his face, and dressing. His wardrobe was bland. Most of the suits that hung neatly from hangers were drab. It wasn’t because he was against color or anything, but color meant that he’d have to read the washing instructions on the labels. His mother had taught him that vibrant clothes needed extra care to stay nice, and he didn’t want to extend that effort to his clothes. Also, with his limited options, he never agonized over what he wore each day. If he could wear the same exact suit every day, he would. However, a coworker of his assumed he hadn’t showed the last time he had attempted that.

The charcoal suit called to him today, so he donned it without a second thought. Skipping breakfast like he always did, he shouldered on an overcoat and a bag before heading out the door into the crisp morning air. The sky was clear enough for sun to shine through, yet dense enough for him to worry there might be rain. He slipped his phone out his pocket, checking the weather app. While it said there would be an overcast sky, there was a slim chance that it was going to rain. He still contemplated going back to pick up his umbrella but decided it wasn’t worth it in the end. His bus was coming soon, and he didn’t want to miss it.

 The bus stop was a ten-minute walk from his house. He was lucky to get a townhouse this close to one since he was outside the city center. The one downside being that the buses came every hour instead of every thirty minutes like most of the buses in the city. Peering down the street, he saw the bus idling at the stop before his. It was still four minutes until the bus was scheduled to come, so he curtailed his rising impatience. Besides, he’d rather not be early for work. Wouldn’t want to give them the wrong impression after all.

When the bus stopped in front of him, he boarded it and sat at the first open window seat he saw. At that point, he let his mind wander, tuning out the chatter in the background. He had ridden this route so much that he only needed part of his mind present to identify his stop. Pressing the yellow strip to signal he wanted to stop, he waited for the bus to slow down at 5^th and Abington. Work was a five-minute walk from the stop, which totaled his commute time to thirty minutes.

He swiped his badge as he walked into the building, nodding at the receptionist when she shot him a kind smile. Instead of taking the elevator, he jogged up the stairs. He was a homebody, so he needed to find exercise where he could. He opened the door to his floor, staring at the sea of cubicles. He stifled the sigh that wanted to escape, heading to his personal cube of hell.

Most of his coworkers were hard at work, but a few acknowledged his presence with either a wave, look, or nod. The soul-crushing despair that plagued him every time he stepped into the building intensified when he saw that his boss was loitering by his desk. The man shot him slimy smile and motioned for him to come faster.

When he was within talking distance, the man said, “Erik, nice to see that you’re on time.”

“I don’t make a habit of being late.” He wouldn’t want to give his boss any ammunition to get rid of him.

“No, you don’t. However, coming to the officer earlier than requested shows quite the initiative.”

“I’m sure it does.”

“Of course, that’s not what I’m here to discuss. Your dear coworker, Lydia, has taken her company-approved maternity leave, so our hands are a little short.”

He desperately didn’t want to take on Lydia’s massive project, but he knew he wouldn’t be lucky enough to think his boss was going to ask someone else. “Lydia will be missed.”

Another not-really-there smile graced his boss’s thin, pale lips. “Yes, that’s why I’m here to ask whether you can help out a little on her project. I know Lydia gave it to Jerome, but I’m not certain the boy can finish it by himself.”

Perhaps because you shove all your work on him, he thought. However, he knew that saying such would anger his boss beyond words, thus transforming work from the fifth circle of hell to the ninth. Instead, he replied, “I’d be happy to help Jerome. Send me the necessary files, and I’ll be right on it.”

“I knew I could count on you, Erik! I’ll tell Jerome to send over the files ASAP.” His boss clapped him on the shoulder before walking back to his office.