Before she can finish her question, an email on her computer jolts her upright. In her eyes, I see a flicker of shock mixed with relief—a sort of one-to-one example of the phrase "saved by the bell."
"O-Oh crap! I forgot to get any work done!" She quickly changes the subject and glues her eyes to the computer.
"Ehh, all right then…" I mumble skeptically.
I turn my chair back to my own work. I want to know what she was going to ask, but I don't want to pry. It is pretty weird, though; she's never been one to be this ready to work, especially this early in the morning. Still, I have quite a bit of work to do myself, so I let it go and focus on my own tasks.
Personally, I get my work done well. After all, all I have to do is look over the stories sent to me and fix what are, most of the time, minor issues. I actually passed university with flying colours and could have gone to work in a high-level position, but I decided to work entry-level at a building near me rather than somewhere far, since it better fit my needs. I'm not actually 100 percent sure why this building in particular stays open regardless of how few people are here, and it doesn't help that we just barely meet the monthly quota for work completed. Work around the company is split by 'sections' depending on your area. Every month, each section is given a quota, or a certain amount of work they need to complete before the end of the month. Because it's just me and Masuyo-san, our quota is quite small and should be easily attainable. Still, we somehow can barely reach it…
"Hey, Masuyo-san, did you get through that folder that was sent a week ago? The end of the month's coming soon, you know," I remind Masuyo.
"Shit, shit, shit! I completely forgot! We're so screwed!" she exclaims quickly, typing on her computer. I sigh, practically expecting this outcome.
"Don't worry, I'll do half of it," I groan.
"You will?!" she exclaims, beaming with gratitude. Out of nowhere, she quickly pushes her seat toward me and hugs my arm.
"Thanks, Hidefumi-kun! You're the best!"
My face quickly goes hot, and my chest starts pounding. I rush to get her off so she doesn't notice.
"H-hey! Look, don't worry about it, just get to work!" I exclaim. She lets go and rolls her chair back to her laptop. She stares at me, slightly disappointed.
"Fine, but y'know, when a girl tries to show you thanks, you shouldn't push her away," she pouts.
"I'm only doing it because I know you won't get it done if I leave it all to you," I complain.
She giggles in response and says nothing more. And that's half of our problem. I suppose she is in college while maintaining this job, so I'll cut her a bit of slack. However, she tries very little here at work. And knowing her, she puts just as much effort into her studies. I can't say it's all her fault, though. I don't work as fast as I could, either. Personally, I like to read stories thoroughly, as I've always loved to read and write. While my job definitely allows me to do that, reading each story well takes time. These days, most of the newer workers in the company use a company-trained AI to do most of the heavy lifting. I dislike the use of AI, so I go the old-school way of reading line by line. And then there's my hobby...
"Be right back, going to the bathroom," Masuyo-san says.
"Alright."
As I watch her leave, once the office door closes, I quickly pull up a different paper from the one I should be working on.
"Alright, where did I leave off?" I say to myself. I crack my knuckles and get ready to write. I'm instantly filled with excitement.
That's right, I love writing so much that I write my own stories on company time!
Writing stories and becoming a big mangaka has always been my biggest dream… However, that didn't go too well for me. I read over what I have so far, and my confidence and excitement are quickly destroyed. My eyes wander from line to line. My initial drive to work today completely tanks as I continue reading.
"Shit, this is horrible," I complain. My face contorts in disgust.
I click delete on my doc; this story is a complete waste of time. I've always been incredibly picky when it comes to writing, which is what led me to where I am now. I could never find the perfect story for me to write. This was, of course, the biggest reason I took a break from writing. I'm a firm believer that if you can't add anything special to writing with what you create, you shouldn't create anything at all. Because of that, whenever I made something, I always felt I could do better. Though I had started to get a little popular years ago when I was writing religiously, the stories I created—and continue to create—never seem like enough.
Unfortunately, pipe dreams don't pay the bills, so I had to get this job to hold me over.
Oh, who am I kidding? I've been "holding it over" for 4 years now! I think to myself.
Sighing, I rub my temples, not wanting to think about my past failures. With my excitement so quickly snuffed out, I cut my losses and switch back to my actual task.
"Whatever, I'll just get to work," I groan, switching to a different tab. I sigh once again, not even feeling like working anymore. The reason I'm so frustrated is that I spent half of last night writing my latest story, only for it to be another bust. Losing precious sleep over a waste of time is sure to put anyone in a bad mood.
A minute later, Aoki-san walks through the door.
"I'm back!" she says in a cheerful tone, much to my dismay.
"I'm aware," I shoot back, harsher than intended, though I doubt she was fully listening. She sits down and stretches in her seat.
"Ugh, can this day just end already? I'm so tired," she complains.
"We've barely been here an hour," I shoot back. The lack of energy in my voice is apparent.
"What's up with you?" she asks, resting her head in her hand while looking at me. "Did something happen when I stepped out?"
"It's nothing, don't worry about it," I sigh. "It's nothing."
"Well, alright, if you say so," Masuyo-san replies skeptically. She looks at me for a second, probably knowing I'm not telling the truth, then turns back to her work. Once she starts typing, I put on my headphones. Usually, she won't bother me if I put them on, and I don't want to speak as harshly as I did due to my bad mood. I'd like to apologize, but I don't know how to without it being awkward. A little later, I look at the time, and I'm surprised it's so late already. Music really does help your day move a little faster.
"Well," I say, taking off my headphones, "looks like it's nearly the end of the day, Masuyo-san." She sits back in her seat and lets out a sigh of relief.
"Finally, I'm way too tired," she groans. "You're so lucky you're done with college," she complains.
I did finish college around one to two years ago. Still, while it was hard to balance a work/school schedule, it wasn't nearly as hard as Masuyo-san makes it out to be. I've always been good when it comes to work, though, so it might just be my natural knack for adulting that helped me get through it.
"You don't have much left of college, right?" I ask, raising my eyebrow.
"Yep, just a couple more months. I'm so excited to graduate!" she beams as her face lights up. I can tell she's ready to get college over and done with. I'm not sure what it is she's planning to do after college, and I doubt any other workplace would be as lenient with her.
"That's great. I hope it's as good as you imagine. Just please try to get the work we need to do done. It's nearly the end of the month, you know," I remind her. Masuyo-san's cheeks puff up in anger.
"Jeez, you're such a buzzkill, Hidefumi-kun. Learn to think of things other than work," she pouts, pointing at me.
I roll my eyes in response. I guess maybe that was the wrong time to say something like that… Still, for the sake of both of us, it's my duty to hammer these reminders into her.
"Whatever, I'll see you Thursday, Masuyo-san," I sigh as I stand up to leave. Masuyo-san looks up at me from her seat in surprise; her cheeks take on a light tone of rose.
"O-oh. You're not working tomorrow?" she asks. Her eyes widen, and her tone sounds a bit disheartened.
"Nope, I have that day off, remember?" I reply while grabbing my sweater, putting it on, and stuffing my laptop in its case. While I have my back turned to her, I notice an eerie, deafening quiet. For some reason, I can almost tell that she wanted to say something, but since I want to get home and sleep as quickly as possible, I decide to brush off the feeling.
Ignorance is bliss, as they say.
"Well, I'm off, see you thu—"
However, nothing ever really goes my way.