Hour 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1125115769/ Prev Hour: N/A Next Hour: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1125349702/ Read instructions first, then notes and credits! “I'm sorry.” I would say that if I was late to work one last time, my boss is always on my tail, it is like he hates me or something. Aezrielle Morningstar, that’s my name, don’t wear it out. I’m usually the only co-worker to do the damn assignment and do everyone else’s work as well. The only co-worker that’s not a football ‘superstar’. Those things breathe down your neck when you’re trying to be mentally stable. You don’t believe me when I say my life sucked? I work a 9 to 5 at a dead-beat, underpaying job that keeps me from starving in my horrible capitalistic society. Never looking out for the little guys that are constantly struggling to stay afloat under the constant pressures of the social norms that are always trying to shove us back in the waters and drown us. Of course the woman with basic, brown hair, dead grey eyes, eyebags large enough to carry milk and detergent, and a constantly tired, almost monotonous facial expression would get stuck in this type of situation. So, there I was, sitting there in my white dress shirt and beige slacks, struggling to fit 2 weeks into 8 hours, wanting to either tighten the tie around my neck so tight that I die from asphyxiation or bash my head into a table so much that it could be a good beat for a 6-minute diss track on one of my co-workers. You know what happens when you try to do something completely impossible, but you keep on trying because you’re a software engineer and you need to finish this specific task right then and there, because literally no one else would do it and you’ve been struggling to even do your own work because your boss realizes that you’re the only one doing it so he gives all the work to you so- too much. I work at a software engineering facility, but those kinds of facilities where they test out the BRAND NEW stuff. Brand new as in they literally just built it, and they need us to try it because our minds aren’t special. Well, I was working at my desk (like always) before my co-worker, Josh, came up to me holding his laptop. “Hey, Aezzie!!” God, I hate that nickname. Aezzie?? Really? Let me specify, I hate it when he specifically calls me that. He always says it in an EXTREMELY annoying tone. Like I want to bash my head into my head into a wall enough already. “What?” I groan, composing myself to finally look at his face. “Well…” He stalled, he looked to the floor before looking at me again, an irresponsible look in his eyes. “Well- there’s a bug in my code, and I can’t really—” I took the computer, and just deleted a clause that was right in front of his eyes. That man has 2 braincells and they’re both fighting for 2nd place, I saw him casually give me one of the worst smiles known to our human race before he walked back off to his desk, a grin large as hell plastered onto his face. I slammed into my desk and checked my watch. I was only 5 minutes in the day. I sighed, pushing my chair up to just reflect on my life and the mistakes I took before coming to this way. Originally, I was an extremely positive person, I was a bright girl, straight a’s, I got along well with everyone, I was decently athletic too. I was… popular! Which, looking back, thank GOD that was only temporary and in elementary school. That was the same school that told me I’d be where I am right now! I guess they were right! Crazy how mini me took everything in elementary school so seriously. It’s slightly frightening when you think about it. If you told me the sun was going to eat me when I became 23, I would believe you then! But now? Well- that moment would have already passed. I’m 25, and no sun has eaten me yet! A baker’s dozen years ago I would have had rocks thrown at me if I had done literally anything I do now. Well, I DID have rocks thrown at me either way, those hurt. I learned my passion for tech and coding, I also loved to sing, which was very interesting for my fellow peers. They didn’t like how much ‘talent’ I had. Which is bull, personally, I just think I was a little goblin. I’m unlikable!!
That continued to high school where I was the first kid to turn to for answers. From tests to homework, I was the one to call on even though I hardly knew what I was doing. I spent countless sleepless nights doing things that would make me end up in the same place. Doesn’t matter the timeline. I will always be at a dead-end 9 to 5. I will always hate myself and I will always be annoyed by Josh. I will never be what I wanted to be, and everything will crumble apart as soon as I think about trying to do something better with myself. I will always be the woman named Aezrielle Morningstar. I will always be the co-worker that does literally everything. I will always be nothing. I’m okay with being nothing. If I’m nothing, then there are no expectations for me to reach, and if there are no expectations, then I can’t fail. Sorry, not sorry, but I prefer keeping my… ‘perfect’ record of not crying due to failing. The reason why I don’t cry when I fail is because instead, I bash my head into a wall every time I’ve tried 50 different solutions but literally none of them have worked and I need to submit my work to my boss the next day. But that’s enough of me. Who wants to learn about a random woman who works a 9 to 5? You probably want the people next door, the modelling agency. That place has drama, it has beautiful men and women and not to mention, it doesn’t have me!! So… shoo. Go. You can leave now. I’m not forcing you to stay here. You can shut the book or close the tab. You can do something better with your life. I’m not important. I’m not a ‘main character’ I’m a background character. You’ve seen those cop shows, the ones where they need like- 50 different background actors? I’m one of those. I don’t do anything interesting or important. I’m an amalgamation of self-hatred, tiredness, probably mentally unstable!! You’re reading something about a BACKGROUND character. How bored are you? To have literally NOTHING else good to do except read my pain and suffering. You are reading my hate for not only the world but myself. FINE. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Software engineering is a field in science where workers develop, design, fix, and test software applications that you use on your phone. Software Engineers develop a plethora of things, from computer games to websites and is considered #1 in the ‘best technology jobs’ category and is #2 in the ‘best STEM jobs’ category. Our entry level wage is about $60,000 and— Oh damn, you really are that loyal. FINE. I’ll show you a day in my life. Here’s my 9 to 5, hour one. I start the day with a good coffee, and I make my way to my cubicle. It's minimalistic, with literally nothing on it because I don’t have much family to flaunt unlike Josh with his girlfriend, which I’m at least 80% sure he’s cheating on. I only have a small plant on my desk, named him Jeffry, Jeff for short. I rest my hands on the keyboard for a moment, thinking on what I need to do for a moment, listing the tasks in my head and seeing if I can crunch them into this ‘wonderful’ day I have with you. I can’t. Anyways, I try to get myself in the mood for another horrible 8 hours of a mixture of Josh trying to get me to do all of his work, Jeffry just sitting there and not doing anything at all, my constant battle with my exhaustion, my code that I have no idea if it works or not and I’m just praying to whatever divine being is up there that it will work and just hoping the devil takes me now before I become a raisin. Which won’t be long considering the stress. Purely wishing I could just stop it all. Pause everything to focus on myself for a bit. Instead, my eyes are more bags than sight and I think I fell asleep on my keyboard a couple times. Just… focus. That’s what I need to do. You are NOT watching me. I am NOT being watched, and therefore, I can work. I can do what I must do today and then the next and it will just be a monotonous nightmare. It's fine. I took a deep breath. My hands rested on the keyboard longer, my fingers hovered over the keys, my brain was fogged beyond comparison, my eyelids were getting heavier with each passing second and I simply couldn’t feel my feet until the speakers announced something. No one hardly even used the speakers, but they used them this time, the most horrifying words were spoken. “Aezrielle Morningstar, please head to room D-6.” Room D-6. The CEO’s office. I’ve never been called there in my entire life. Here goes nothing.
