Big Corp Inc. (G/T)

Part 24: Vending Machine

Since the work day had only just started, the break room was empty, except for Candy suspended inside the vending machine. Every time she tried to pull herself up or release her shoe, her ankle protested with a sharp twinge of pain. After squirming and struggling for a while, she eventually ran out of energy and gave up. Candy hung there listlessly, feeling lightheaded as her blood drained into her head from the force of gravity.

She perked up when she saw a Giant come in. Candy started to yell, hoping she would be heard and somebody could help her, only to go quiet when she recognized Ronny. He was filling up his coffee cup as usual. She went limp again. There was no way Ronny would help her; if anything, Candy just hoped he wouldn't notice her.

Candy was not fated to have good luck for the day, for Ronny happened to be hungry and wanted a snack to tide him over until lunch. He headed for the vending machine, checking his pocket for coins. As he surveyed the display of options, he spotted Candy and did a double take. Candy stared at him, mortified to be caught in such a vulnerable position. His initial bored expression turned to one of savage delight as he gleaned what must have transpired. He grinned and laughed at her, pressing his hands against the plastic. Candy wanted to shrivel up into nothing; she felt ashamed and exposed. Her only consolation was that Ronny couldn't reach her from outside, but of course such a circumstance also prevented anyone benevolent from helping her either.

Once Ronny had gotten his fill of gloating over Candy's misfortune, he selected the snack he wanted and put his coins into the slot. The solid clunk of the coins dropping in echoed through the inside of the machine. The mechanical innards whirred to life, filling Candy with dread as she felt the vibrations through her body. On one of the shelves directly below her, she could see another bag of chips emerging from the grasp of a coil. The bag flopped forward and got wedged against the plastic barrier.

Candy couldn't believe her eyes. The bag was stuck, just like the other chip bag before it. The machine was a scam. Despite how awful her situation was, she couldn't help but chortle at the comical, ironic absurdity of the whole thing. Ronny scowled at her and his coveted chips. He pounded furiously on the machine with his Giant fists, trying to dislodge the bag from the machine's clutches, but it didn't budge an inch.

"Shut up!" Ronny shouted at Candy, but she continued to cackle, feeling delirious and unhinged from all the blood in her head. She wasn't able to control herself; she didn't know how else to look at things without crumbling into despair, except to laugh. She was delighted for once to see Ronny so angry. He had gotten his just desserts; the universe had dealt him some instant karma for his indulgence of his cruel nature. Ronny glared at her and stormed off.

Candy kept chuckling to herself for a while after, recalling his frustrated face. She was bored, just hanging there for hours with nothing to do. She wondered how long she'd be stuck in this misery. Even if somebody finally noticed her and sounded the alarm, would anyone be able to free her? Probably not. They couldn't even get their snacks out of the machine, for goodness' sake. She felt like she was going insane. She was royally screwed.

As the day wore on, lunchtime rolled around, and Candy's Giant coworkers starting filtering in the break room to grab their lunches. Candy yelled and waved her arms, but nobody could hear her, muffled by the barrier. Candy saw Martin come in, retrieve his lunch from the fridge, and heat it up in the microwave. He looked glum. Candy imagined he must have stopped by her desk, only to find it empty. She shouted his name and flailed, to no avail.

She watched as Bianca came in, with a worried look on her face. Bianca spoke to Martin, asking him a question, and Martin said something in reply, shrugging his shoulders forlornly. The Giantess thought for a moment and sighed. Candy couldn't hear what they were saying either. Bianca walked towards the vending machine and Candy had a surge of hope, only for it to be dashed when she went to the adjacent machine full of drinks instead. Candy screamed at the top of her lungs as Bianca purchased a soda from the machine, oblivious to Candy's presence. She was so close.