Post by Ray Hudson on May 2, 2012 14:06:49 GMT -5
Beaumonde
Electric Currents Electronics store
Two Weeks Before Enlistment
Crates nearly filled the office and all were colored gunmetal gray. These crates would normally remain in the stock room but, to the manager's dismay, the stock room was filled to the brim. The only furniture in the office was a decently priced wooden desk, a worn, old leather seat, two metal chairs leaning on a wall and a metal chair in front of the desk. A small, dimly lit terminal sat on the desk along with various files and a single picture of the manager and her husband sitting on what seemed to be a comfortable, white fur couch with honest smiles on their faces. The walls were white but were concealed behind the crates and a single light embedded into the ceiling illuminated the room. White, rectangular tile covered the floor which gave the office a restroom sort of feel to it. With not a window in sight and only a single door offering escape, the office was a claustrophobic nightmare and offered no sense of comfort.
The manager was sitting in her seat facing the employee sitting across from her with the desk separating them. The manager was dressed in an official manner. She wore a black jacket with a blue button up shirt underneath and a black skirt that ended just above her knees. A name badge was clipped to her jacket with the companies name proudly emblazoned on the top in the companies favored font. The name Elizabeth Legretta remained underneath and her picture took its place next to it. Beth had shoulder length black hair with a green stripe coming to the right of her face. Her eyes were brown and her teeth were white and straight. Beth's weight was a topic that held several arguments between her mother and herself but medically she is only slightly overweight. One of the more defining features of her face was her dominant chin and bright red lips. Beth's joyous and entertaining personality had been shut away and encased in a shell of a business woman only to have it shine through at certain moments. She was aware of what she had become and has convinced herself that the change was necessary to maintain the middle class existence that she had achieved at such a young age.
The employee sitting across from her had a look on his face that implied that he was close to a realization. Confusion that would soon be remedied by bad news. The employee wore an olive shirt equal to all the other low level employees in the Electric Currents chain. His ugly mocha dress pants did not help his image but such is the uniform of the drones at Electric Currents. His name badge was similar to the Manager's but represented something different. His low level position on the retail chain was engraved on the badge with the name Ray Hudson displayed in shame. He had worked there for four years and he was incredibly indifferent towards his job.
The two of them had been talking for about ten minutes but the conversation had come to a stop when Ray's suspicions grew. While Ray leaned forward in his seat trying to grasp the thought that was eluding him so, Beth was becoming progressively more nervous. Eventually Ray clasped the thought in his mind and his pondering eyes shifted into a more concerned expression.
"Are you firing me?" Ray asked in a tone that expressed self aware denial and the desire to not believe his prediction with such confidence.
"Were downsizing." Was her swift and nervous response.
"You're firing me." He verified, growing angry. This was not a question but a statement.
"I'm letting you go." She said optimistically, as if rewording his accusation would put him at ease.
"What's the difference!?" Ray asked, now raising his voice.
"Being let go is better than being fired." Beth claimed, emphasizing on the word better. "If you’re in a future job interview and the interviewer asks you what happened at your last job it's better if you say you were let go than you were fired." Beth spoke fast, trying her best to calm Ray down. Instead Ray rubbed his eyes with his hands and sighed loudly. "I'm doing you a favor." She stated, regarding the fact that she has chosen to keep his resume clean in regards to his 'departure' from the company.
"What the fu-" Ray mumbled, but cut himself off. "on what world, in what society could this possibly be construed as a favor?" Ray asked. He began to lose it and his patience was beginning to wane. "How the fuck are you doing me a favor!?" Ray shouted, demanding an answer.
"Ray, calm down." Beth requested, pushing herself back in her chair slightly. Her face showed worry and concern.
Ray rubbed his eyes with the thumb and index finger on his right hand while his head faced down. He sighed loudly and the two of them sat in silence for a moment. Ray looked up and asked another question. "How many people you gotta get rid of?"
"Just one" She answered with shame staining her voice.
"Just one?" Ray echoed with his eyebrow arched and a grin of disbelief. "Are you serious?" Ray asked, receiving no answer. Ray got up from his chair and paced in a circle for a bit trying to maintain his anger. He chuckled to himself in disbelief but got serious rather swiftly. "You got your pick outta the whole fucking litter and you choose me?" Ray continued to pace. Fury filled his words and indignation covered his eyes. "Were friends, we've been friends for like six years. But that doesn't mean shit to you does it!?" Ray's better judgment had crumbled and his anger controlled his speech. "Why couldn't you fire someone like Sam? You hate Sam."
"Yeah, I don't like Sam very much." Beth confirmed.
"Nobody likes Sam very much!" Ray shouted back. He stared in her eyes waiting for an explanation why she choose him instead of Sam, a very unpopular co-worker.
"He's a better employee than you?" Beth answered. She did this with a nervous smile and her tone had a hint of intended humor in it. However, Sam truly was a far more valuable asset and the humor was a feeble attempt to hide this fact.
"This is bullshit, This is BULLSHIT! Look at you! You lose your nose ring and wear a pantsuit to work and all the sudden your Mrs. Bigshot. Suddenly you’re not the girl who gives her boyfriend blowjobs in his air-car after school." Ray screamed at her, making reference to the way she used to act in the years before. He had lost his temper but Beth wasn't offended by what he said. She knew him well enough to know that he would eventually get over this and move on and that he just needed to vent.
"Ray you need to relax. Just go outside and calm down okay?" She told him softly. After a short moment of him staring in her eyes with fury on his face and murder in his heart, eventually Ray turned around and made his way to the door. "You still up to go to the fair on Thursday?" She asked, already trying to move past this little debacle.
"Eat a dick." Ray replied with animosity tainting his voice, slamming the door behind him.
With the Managers office behind him Ray now stood in the store. Three customers were browsing the rows of electronics while two employees sat on opposite sides of a counter playing catch with a small, blue rubber ball. The store wasn't all that large and it was located in a shopping district in the City of Syprus.
One of the employees with the name David 'Bear' Ramirez on his name badge turned to look at Ray. Bear had a full beard and short, curly black hair. His teeth were large and white which were always exposed by a jolly grin. Bear was young and had a heart full of dreams.
The employee sitting across from Bear had the name Sam Amato on his name badge. His black hair was always styled with assorted hair products and his teeth were in poor condition, being jagged in several regions. His dark brown, slanted eyes showed that he was Chinese and he was moderately over weight. He sat there chewing gum with his mouth open.
"So how'd it go?" Asked Bear. He looked back at Sam and bounced the ball off of the counter with it landing in Sam's hand.
"She fucking fired me!" Ray answered.
Bear's expression turned to slight surprise and confusion while keeping his eye on the small rubber ball. "Really? Huh, that's weird." Was his simple reply.
Ray went behind the counter and took a seat, watching the small rubber ball bounce back and forth. He leaned back in his seat and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know what I'm gonna do. I've been barely scraping by on ends meet for four years and I've been fine with it. But now..." Ray shook his head while staring at nothing. "now I won't be able to afford rent on my condo." Ray sat in silence for a moment. "Shit... I may have to move back in with my parents." As the words left Ray's mouth, he felt the need to vomit.
Sam chuckled to himself after hearing Ray's dilemma and Ray shot him a furious gaze. Bear stayed focused on catching the rubber ball. "Why don't you just get another job?" Bear asked.
"What jobs?" Ray asked back, somewhat aggressively.
Bear turned to Ray and arched an eyebrow "You kidding me?" He asked, catching the ball without looking and bouncing it back. "War's about to break out. There's gonna be jobs opening all over the place." Bear thought for a moment. "You could work in a factory." He suggested.
"I thought all factory jobs were done by robots." Ray mentioned.
"Nah, that's in the core worlds. This is Beaumonde, we build shit with our hands." Bear explained while his cheery grin grew wider with pride in his planet. "My dad worked in a factory for years, most of his life really." Bear continued.
"Yeah well I'm not gonna work in some sweaty factory for twelve hours a day." Ray stated
Ray would have continued but a customer approached the counter with his son and Bear jumped to attention. He stepped behind the counter to aid the consumer. While Bear tended to the customer Sam struggled to hold in laughter but he eventually couldn't contain himself. He laughed modestly while the ball rolled off of the table and bounced onto the floor. The laughter was oddly quiet for someone who seemed to be enjoying himself so much. Ray was aware that the laughter was directed at him and he did not enjoy being laughed at.
"What?" Ray asked Sam with obvious aggravation in his voice.
"Nothing nothing, I just thinks it's funny that your moving back in with your parents when your 23 years old. It's also pretty pathetic that you can't keep a job where your friend is the boss." Sam explained.
"Not as pathetic as that time you the shit your pants When we all went to the theater." Ray retorted. "Didn't you bring a date with you when that happened? Are you still with her?" Ray asked, pretending like he wasn't sure. "No wait... last I checked, Bear fucked her in the stock room." Ray had mocked Sam on several occasions for defecating in his pants at the theater, but he had never mentioned Bear's affair with the girl Sam was seeing at the time. Ray had never mentioned this before because Sam never knew until now.
"She was something else." Bear chimed in expressing no feelings of guilt or regret for what he did, for nobody liked Sam.
The customer standing before them was very displeased with what he and his son had just heard. He covered his child's ears to prevent further exposure to the profane nature of the employee's conversation. He waved his hand at Ray and called to him "Hey, hey!" He began to snap his fingers as well. Ray turned to look at him and when the customer got his attention he spoke. "Real professional buddy." Said the customer, motioning towards his son to show whom he was trying to defend.
"Fuck you, I don't work here." Ray spat back, flicking his name badge onto the counter.
Electric Currents Electronics store
Two Weeks Before Enlistment
Crates nearly filled the office and all were colored gunmetal gray. These crates would normally remain in the stock room but, to the manager's dismay, the stock room was filled to the brim. The only furniture in the office was a decently priced wooden desk, a worn, old leather seat, two metal chairs leaning on a wall and a metal chair in front of the desk. A small, dimly lit terminal sat on the desk along with various files and a single picture of the manager and her husband sitting on what seemed to be a comfortable, white fur couch with honest smiles on their faces. The walls were white but were concealed behind the crates and a single light embedded into the ceiling illuminated the room. White, rectangular tile covered the floor which gave the office a restroom sort of feel to it. With not a window in sight and only a single door offering escape, the office was a claustrophobic nightmare and offered no sense of comfort.
The manager was sitting in her seat facing the employee sitting across from her with the desk separating them. The manager was dressed in an official manner. She wore a black jacket with a blue button up shirt underneath and a black skirt that ended just above her knees. A name badge was clipped to her jacket with the companies name proudly emblazoned on the top in the companies favored font. The name Elizabeth Legretta remained underneath and her picture took its place next to it. Beth had shoulder length black hair with a green stripe coming to the right of her face. Her eyes were brown and her teeth were white and straight. Beth's weight was a topic that held several arguments between her mother and herself but medically she is only slightly overweight. One of the more defining features of her face was her dominant chin and bright red lips. Beth's joyous and entertaining personality had been shut away and encased in a shell of a business woman only to have it shine through at certain moments. She was aware of what she had become and has convinced herself that the change was necessary to maintain the middle class existence that she had achieved at such a young age.
The employee sitting across from her had a look on his face that implied that he was close to a realization. Confusion that would soon be remedied by bad news. The employee wore an olive shirt equal to all the other low level employees in the Electric Currents chain. His ugly mocha dress pants did not help his image but such is the uniform of the drones at Electric Currents. His name badge was similar to the Manager's but represented something different. His low level position on the retail chain was engraved on the badge with the name Ray Hudson displayed in shame. He had worked there for four years and he was incredibly indifferent towards his job.
The two of them had been talking for about ten minutes but the conversation had come to a stop when Ray's suspicions grew. While Ray leaned forward in his seat trying to grasp the thought that was eluding him so, Beth was becoming progressively more nervous. Eventually Ray clasped the thought in his mind and his pondering eyes shifted into a more concerned expression.
"Are you firing me?" Ray asked in a tone that expressed self aware denial and the desire to not believe his prediction with such confidence.
"Were downsizing." Was her swift and nervous response.
"You're firing me." He verified, growing angry. This was not a question but a statement.
"I'm letting you go." She said optimistically, as if rewording his accusation would put him at ease.
"What's the difference!?" Ray asked, now raising his voice.
"Being let go is better than being fired." Beth claimed, emphasizing on the word better. "If you’re in a future job interview and the interviewer asks you what happened at your last job it's better if you say you were let go than you were fired." Beth spoke fast, trying her best to calm Ray down. Instead Ray rubbed his eyes with his hands and sighed loudly. "I'm doing you a favor." She stated, regarding the fact that she has chosen to keep his resume clean in regards to his 'departure' from the company.
"What the fu-" Ray mumbled, but cut himself off. "on what world, in what society could this possibly be construed as a favor?" Ray asked. He began to lose it and his patience was beginning to wane. "How the fuck are you doing me a favor!?" Ray shouted, demanding an answer.
"Ray, calm down." Beth requested, pushing herself back in her chair slightly. Her face showed worry and concern.
Ray rubbed his eyes with the thumb and index finger on his right hand while his head faced down. He sighed loudly and the two of them sat in silence for a moment. Ray looked up and asked another question. "How many people you gotta get rid of?"
"Just one" She answered with shame staining her voice.
"Just one?" Ray echoed with his eyebrow arched and a grin of disbelief. "Are you serious?" Ray asked, receiving no answer. Ray got up from his chair and paced in a circle for a bit trying to maintain his anger. He chuckled to himself in disbelief but got serious rather swiftly. "You got your pick outta the whole fucking litter and you choose me?" Ray continued to pace. Fury filled his words and indignation covered his eyes. "Were friends, we've been friends for like six years. But that doesn't mean shit to you does it!?" Ray's better judgment had crumbled and his anger controlled his speech. "Why couldn't you fire someone like Sam? You hate Sam."
"Yeah, I don't like Sam very much." Beth confirmed.
"Nobody likes Sam very much!" Ray shouted back. He stared in her eyes waiting for an explanation why she choose him instead of Sam, a very unpopular co-worker.
"He's a better employee than you?" Beth answered. She did this with a nervous smile and her tone had a hint of intended humor in it. However, Sam truly was a far more valuable asset and the humor was a feeble attempt to hide this fact.
"This is bullshit, This is BULLSHIT! Look at you! You lose your nose ring and wear a pantsuit to work and all the sudden your Mrs. Bigshot. Suddenly you’re not the girl who gives her boyfriend blowjobs in his air-car after school." Ray screamed at her, making reference to the way she used to act in the years before. He had lost his temper but Beth wasn't offended by what he said. She knew him well enough to know that he would eventually get over this and move on and that he just needed to vent.
"Ray you need to relax. Just go outside and calm down okay?" She told him softly. After a short moment of him staring in her eyes with fury on his face and murder in his heart, eventually Ray turned around and made his way to the door. "You still up to go to the fair on Thursday?" She asked, already trying to move past this little debacle.
"Eat a dick." Ray replied with animosity tainting his voice, slamming the door behind him.
With the Managers office behind him Ray now stood in the store. Three customers were browsing the rows of electronics while two employees sat on opposite sides of a counter playing catch with a small, blue rubber ball. The store wasn't all that large and it was located in a shopping district in the City of Syprus.
One of the employees with the name David 'Bear' Ramirez on his name badge turned to look at Ray. Bear had a full beard and short, curly black hair. His teeth were large and white which were always exposed by a jolly grin. Bear was young and had a heart full of dreams.
The employee sitting across from Bear had the name Sam Amato on his name badge. His black hair was always styled with assorted hair products and his teeth were in poor condition, being jagged in several regions. His dark brown, slanted eyes showed that he was Chinese and he was moderately over weight. He sat there chewing gum with his mouth open.
"So how'd it go?" Asked Bear. He looked back at Sam and bounced the ball off of the counter with it landing in Sam's hand.
"She fucking fired me!" Ray answered.
Bear's expression turned to slight surprise and confusion while keeping his eye on the small rubber ball. "Really? Huh, that's weird." Was his simple reply.
Ray went behind the counter and took a seat, watching the small rubber ball bounce back and forth. He leaned back in his seat and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know what I'm gonna do. I've been barely scraping by on ends meet for four years and I've been fine with it. But now..." Ray shook his head while staring at nothing. "now I won't be able to afford rent on my condo." Ray sat in silence for a moment. "Shit... I may have to move back in with my parents." As the words left Ray's mouth, he felt the need to vomit.
Sam chuckled to himself after hearing Ray's dilemma and Ray shot him a furious gaze. Bear stayed focused on catching the rubber ball. "Why don't you just get another job?" Bear asked.
"What jobs?" Ray asked back, somewhat aggressively.
Bear turned to Ray and arched an eyebrow "You kidding me?" He asked, catching the ball without looking and bouncing it back. "War's about to break out. There's gonna be jobs opening all over the place." Bear thought for a moment. "You could work in a factory." He suggested.
"I thought all factory jobs were done by robots." Ray mentioned.
"Nah, that's in the core worlds. This is Beaumonde, we build shit with our hands." Bear explained while his cheery grin grew wider with pride in his planet. "My dad worked in a factory for years, most of his life really." Bear continued.
"Yeah well I'm not gonna work in some sweaty factory for twelve hours a day." Ray stated
Ray would have continued but a customer approached the counter with his son and Bear jumped to attention. He stepped behind the counter to aid the consumer. While Bear tended to the customer Sam struggled to hold in laughter but he eventually couldn't contain himself. He laughed modestly while the ball rolled off of the table and bounced onto the floor. The laughter was oddly quiet for someone who seemed to be enjoying himself so much. Ray was aware that the laughter was directed at him and he did not enjoy being laughed at.
"What?" Ray asked Sam with obvious aggravation in his voice.
"Nothing nothing, I just thinks it's funny that your moving back in with your parents when your 23 years old. It's also pretty pathetic that you can't keep a job where your friend is the boss." Sam explained.
"Not as pathetic as that time you the shit your pants When we all went to the theater." Ray retorted. "Didn't you bring a date with you when that happened? Are you still with her?" Ray asked, pretending like he wasn't sure. "No wait... last I checked, Bear fucked her in the stock room." Ray had mocked Sam on several occasions for defecating in his pants at the theater, but he had never mentioned Bear's affair with the girl Sam was seeing at the time. Ray had never mentioned this before because Sam never knew until now.
"She was something else." Bear chimed in expressing no feelings of guilt or regret for what he did, for nobody liked Sam.
The customer standing before them was very displeased with what he and his son had just heard. He covered his child's ears to prevent further exposure to the profane nature of the employee's conversation. He waved his hand at Ray and called to him "Hey, hey!" He began to snap his fingers as well. Ray turned to look at him and when the customer got his attention he spoke. "Real professional buddy." Said the customer, motioning towards his son to show whom he was trying to defend.
"Fuck you, I don't work here." Ray spat back, flicking his name badge onto the counter.