One-Shots

New Beginnings

New Beginnings: A One-Shot

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My day starts with a backache. I slept in my living room, with no padding to protect me from the wood flooring. Not my living room in Northfield Village, Ohio. My living room in New York, New York.
Today, is my second day in this bustling city. Today, I will meet people, figure out my surroundings, and find my workplace. I am an engineer for Apple, so my job is never boring. When I lived in Ohio, I had a 30 minute commute to the Summit Mall, where I worked in the Apple outlet. I was used to living there, but then, I was transferred. I was transferred to the New York City district, so now I will be working in Apple Headquarters. Apple. Fricking. Headquarters. I have mixed feelings, about moving. But seeing how I was promoted to one of the best jobs in the company, I don't know how I could be to upset. But I don't like the bustling city, I don't like the way that the streets are never empty. It's just too loud. But, beggars can't be choosers, can they? Well, the top Apple employees can't be choosers, either. We are placed where they need us, in order for the company to run smoothly. So, I am stuck in New York City, in a new apartment that I didn't want.
I get dressed, making sure I look professional. I put on foundation, mascara, eyeliner, and light brown eyeshadow. I wear a charcoal colored pantsuit, and black flats. I pull my dark brown hair back, twisting it up into a stylish updo. When I am finally satisfied with my appearance, I grab my keys and purse, and walk out of my apartment, making sure the door is locked behind me.
I walk to the corner of the bustling street, trying to find the office building. Eventually, I flag down a taxi. "Where'd ya wanna go," he asks, voice slightly slurred from a hangover. The driver's balding head shines with sweat, and his shirt clings to his fatty arms and torso. He has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. I get in, knowing I have no other choice as far as cheap transportation goes.
"I need to get to the Apple Headquarters, as fast as possible," I say. I try to stay calm, put together. But it is hard. Hard to stay professional when you are being driven around NYC by a drunk man that you don't even know. I must learn to find my way around this massive city, that I just moved to.
When the taxi pulls up to the Apple HQ, the driver says, "Your total is $5.72." I hand him a $6 bill, and he hands me 28 cents for my change. I walk into the HQ.
The receptionist greets me, "Good morning, Ms Lloyd."
"Good morning to you, too, Ms...." I pause to read her name badge. "Ms Harrow. Could you direct me to the lab?"
"Yes, it is on the fifth sublevel. You can take that elevator, it will lead you to the lab."
"Thank you!" I call as I stride confidently toward the elevator. The door opens when I set my finger on the scanner.
In a monotonous, robotic voice, the elevator says, "Good morning, Bridget Riley Lloyd. Please step inside the elevator." I do. "To what floor would you like to go?"
"The fifth sublevel, please." The elevator lowers to the level I requested, and I step outside.
"Have a good day, Bridget," the elevator's droning voice resonates through the elevator behind me.
Before I enter a lab, there is a locker room. I enter it, and see various dispensers. I pass one that monotonously calls out, "Please place your finger on the scanner so you can receive your uniform." Uniform? Well, I might as well see what it is. I place my finger on the scanner. The machine says, "Good morning, Bridget Riley Lloyd. Please leave your finger on the scanner, your uniform will be ready in a moment. When you leave work today, please deposit your uniform, in the recycler. Your uniform is ready, Bridget." A powder blue wad of fabric falls into a bin. "You may remove your finger. Have good day, Bridget." I pick up the uniform. It is a set of blue scrubs, like a doctor's uniform. What the crap is this? I came here in professional clothes, ready to rock the first day at my new workplace, but now, I'm not so sure. I change into my new uniform, scrubs, and walk to the next dispenser before it gets the chance to drone on about something else.
When I place my finger on the scanner, it says, "Good morning, Bridget Riley Lloyd. Please leave your finger on the scanner, your lab gear will be ready in a moment. When you leave work today, please deposit your gear, in the recycler. Your lab gear is ready, Bridget. You may remove your finger." A brown box falls into the bin, and I pick it up. "Have a good day, Bridget."
I walk to the third dispenser and place my finger on the scanner. "Good morning, Bridget Riley Lloyd. Please leave your finger on the scanner, your name badge will be ready in a moment. When you leave work today, please deposit your name badge, in the recycler. Your name badge is ready, Bridget. You may remove your finger." A gold colored metal badge falls into the bin, and I grab it. "Have a good day, Bridget." I pin the badge to my scrubs, and walk to the final dispenser.
I put my finger on the scanner. "Good morning, Bridget Riley Lloyd. Please leave your finger on the scanner, your new iPhone X will be ready in a moment. This iPhone X is yours to keep, until a better phone is invented. You will then deposit your iPhone X into the recycler. Your iPhone X is ready, Bridget. You may remove your finger." As I take my finger off the scanner, a white box falls out into the bin. I retrieve it. "Have a good day, Bridget." I gather my things and sit on one of the benches. I open the box, and a shiny black phone falls out. I pick it up. The phone is almost six inches in height and three inches wide, and has no home button for touch ID. Instead, it a facial recognition system to unlock the device. I quickly set this up before sliding the phone into the largest pocket on the scrubs. That was my biggest achievement before I was promoted to the HQ. I open the brown box and find a 3D printed electronics carrier. I open it and find all of the newest electronic devices: an iChip, a MacBook Sleek, and an iPod Pro. I smile. These are products that I helped create, products that I will use to help invent better products. And, I get a new set every day! I slip the iChip into my ear in order to receive any important information that I may need for today.
I pick up my case and open the stainless steel airlock that will let me into the lab. It closes behind me before releasing a cleansing solution that disinfects me and my things. When I have been deemed disinfected, the second door opens and I step into the lab.
Instantly I am greeted with four smiling faces. "Good morning, Ms Lloyd! I would just like to say, I am in absolute awe of your work! How do you do it?" a girl who looks to be around my age with long, curly brown hair and a striking smile, asks. "My name is Sheila, by the way, Sheila Piper."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms Piper. And to answer your question, I have no idea how I come up with ideas for new devices. It's just my job," I say, smiling politely. I don't want to become too attached to any of these engineers, just in case I am transferred again.
The rest of the engineers introduce themselves to me: Jakki Thatcher, Hayden Clark, and Levi Westbrooks. They are all dressed in similar blue scrubs to mine, making me feel less self-conscious about my attire. Looking back down at their stations, I feel the urge to fill the silence.
"So what are we working on today?" I ask, stepping into an open station.
"Well, Ms Lloyd, we were waiting for you. You arrived rather late this morning, and we were told that you are now our head engineer," Ms Piper says, looking up at me.
I nod, looking at my new colleagues. "Alright, so I'll bring it back to you. What do you guys want to work on today?"
"Well..." Mr Westbrooks says, glancing towards the others with squinty eyes, "We've actually come up with a new device that we want to show you..."
"Perfect!" I exclaim, smiling broadly. "What is it?"
"Why don't you explain it, Jakki, since you know the most about it?" Mr Westbrooks suggests, handing Ms Thatcher, a stout woman with close-cut platinum hair, a blueprint. She carries the blueprint to my station and sets it down on the work surface. The white design of the device concept seems to stand out against the blue ink on the paper.
The design that is drawn out on the paper is a microchip, not unlike the iChip earpiece, but it's dimensions tell me that it is even smaller. It is, as I am reading from its description, a piece of equipment designed for something like a brain implant.
"Alright, so explain this concept to me, guys," I say, looking at Ms Thatcher and the rest of the--no, my--design team.
"So, basically, this is a microchip that can be implanted in the brain to allow for your brain to connect to your phone. We hope that we will soon be able to convert Apple products entirely into this little chip. Since we haven't really come up with a permanent name for it yet, we nicknamed it the 'iMplant'. It's a cool concept, isn't it?" Ms Thatcher explains, looking at me for approval, her eyes wide with anticipation and hope. A bead of sweat rolls down Mr Westbrooks' forehead as he looks towards us, hoping that I like the idea.
"It's pretty neat, I have to say," I comment, watching everybody collapse just a little at my compliment. "But," I continue, causing them to tense back up again, "how are we going to pull it off?"
"Like we always do," Ms Piper says, looking at me with a mischievous smile. "Magic."