Return Me Back

Prologue - Return Me Back

Prologue - Return Me Back Sunday

Clark Romanson Looked at his alarm clock when it woke him up, and saw it was already 7:46 in the morning. He looked pale and exhausted, like 8 hours of sleep was not enough for him. "Oh Fuck!" he muttered while immediately getting up. He walks back and forth to the bathroom or the kitchen for his coffee. Since he can't decide what to do, He just munches a slice of bread and brushes his teeth. He looks again at his Clock and he has only 10 minutes left. "God, I'm going to be late for work. The report starts at 8."

Clark has a report for his newly proposed product that he made with his team. Their company invested in the product that their workers made in the name of their company. Being a leader of a team was a tough and serious job for Clark. This opportunity was a big leap for him, granted by the CEO. He used to complain a lot about having too many projects and reports in college, but when it came to a real job, the pressure was much more intense. That's what Clark is feeling right now.

Realizing that he didn't have enough time for anything he wanted to do, he rushed to the closet for his formal attire and grabbed his new pair of black shoes. He sprayed body spray all over his body and used mouth spray for his mouth.

Clark quickly made his way to his car and drove off to work. He was grateful that his condo was conveniently located near his workplace building, although it still took him 10 minutes to get there. The area around his place had become dangerous for women and kids, as they had been frequently targeted by criminals for the past two months. There was traffic, and the families of the victims were protesting around the city with signs saying, "We want justice," "God help us all," "Where are the police?" and "Hands Off."

People were shouting and crying, and Clark was having a hard time resisting the urge to join them in protest. He parked the car and ran as fast as he could, sprinting like Usain Bolt defending his championship title. He was determined to arrive before his boss. He was aware of people staring at him, but he didn't care. His sole focus was to reach the office before his boss, who happened to be Luise Benedick, the CEO of the company—or rather, I should say, the owner of the company.

In his mind words kept repeating, 'Be there before him, Clark.' as he rode the elevator. Upon arrival, Clark took a deep breath, feeling sweaty from his rush to get there on time. He quickly straightened his suit and composed himself before heading to the room. However, as he opened the door, his eyes widened in surprise as he saw a janitor inside. A janitor on a Monday was unexpected, as they usually clean on Sundays. It dawned on him that he didn't have to go to work today and should have just stayed at home sleeping. The Janitor was staring at him. "Sir?"

Embarrassed, he slowly gave a nod and said, "Sorry," as he slowly closed the door. Clark walked to the restroom in the building. He looked at himself in the mirror and laughed.

And of course Luise Benedick was in his office, doing his own thing. This just proves that Clark was really prepared for the project proposal tomorrow, despite the mix-up, he felt confident in his abilities to handle the upcoming challenge. Making his way back to his car, he sat there for a few moments, trying to collect his thoughts. He had woken up early, rushed through his morning routine, and hurried to work, only to find out that there was no work to be done. After a few minutes of thinking, he drove back to his condo and crawled back into bed, feeling foolish for not double-checking the date. He stood up for a minute and aggressively poked a calendar on his door.

It was the result of drinking too much on Saturday.

Saturday 11:34pm

"Chug, chug, chug," Clark's team chanted as he drank his fifth bottle of beer. He slammed it on the table when he finished and let out a groan.