Muddy Relations (Stardew Valley Fanfiction)

Fall, Year 0

Work was an endless nightmare. Work at Joja, however, was an eternal nightmare. My eyes lingered on the clock on my dull computer, fighting to stay open as I clicked randomly on the screen desktop. The camera positioned above my head, blinked its red eye at me, ready to report if any work was not completed. The company was not able to see what I was really doing, but was able to tell enough.

With one last click, my head fell from my hands straight onto my keyboard. I wanted the jolt of the blunt keys to wake me up, give me some feeling, but nothing of the such happened. I just sat there instead, waiting for a supervisor to angrily push me awake. A buzzer echoed through the large room instead. It was demeaning.

Everyone around me stood in immediate response. Just as humans trained dogs, Joja trained workers. Anytime the front light turned red, dopamine was guaranteed to hit, and you were guaranteed to forget the past five hours of slaving. My dopamine tolerance had grown, unfortunately, and the twelve years of dedicated labor had meant that the green buzzer meant nothing. My head still rested on the desk.

I was tired enough to not be able to control my body, let alone keep up appearances and mingle, but my mind was wide awake. I thought how usually I would have the spirit to grow anxious, but to my, what would have been, surprise, nothing came up. Absolutely nothing. It made me groan, it made me sick to my stomach, but it made me think. Think of any possible way to get out of this tortuous existence of which I lived. Fake a headache? Over done, but with my history with the supervisor, he'd easily take it. Other possibilities flashed through my mind: Sprain an ankle, break an ankle, fake a cold, claim my car crashed, scream like a madwoman, asteroid, lycanthropy. I could maybe make lycanthrope look plausible.

Finally, the dreaded hand clasped my shoulder. It was lighter than what I expected, but expected nonetheless. My neck turned and glanced at a shorter man with thick black hair and charming round glasses. My coworker, and not my supervisor.

"You look rather tired–" His voice was nasally and forced. "Perhaps you lost sleep thinking about me." He leaned against my cubicle, shaking the camera attached above. His face looked sincere after a moment. "I have."

I sat up, feeling uncomfortable. It was the first time in a while that I had felt something.

"I keep thinking about last month's company retreat, you know. How we snuck away when we should have been attending that panel. It was amazing– You were amazing. It was the most alive I had felt in years."

I had felt alive, I admit, but looking at him made me squirm. It was a stupid mistake.

"Listen, I know that we both have some vacation time that we haven't used, so how about we spend a month on the Fern Islands, just you and me." He pleaded. He kneeled as he said the invitation, clasping his hands together in a show of dedication. It was all a show and I knew it.

Seeing me frown, he grabbed my hand.
"Maybe you'll like to go to Castle Village, I heard they make the best velvet, and just imagine the experience we'll have." I remained silent. He frowned in confusion, looking me up and down. "I suppose you'd want to go somewhere closer–" He trailed off. "Grampleton?"

"Morris, was it?" a voice boomed from down the walkway. Neither I nor Morris had seen them approach. Morris stood from holding my hand, his face flushed, and his mind off of me. I exhaled with relief.

"You've got it! I'm quite impressed with your memory."

"Hmm," the supervisor hummed. His sly face turned to me. "I hope I'm not interrupting," he spoke with just the same tonality.

"Not at all, sir– How can I help you?" Morris was thoroughly enjoying the attention, but the supervisor was slow to turn his eyes away from me and on to Morris. It made Morris squirm.

"I just wanted to congratulate you," he hummed nasally. "We're considering you for the position of manager," Morris said something along the lines of Delightful! or Outstanding!. The man continued. "Not only are we considering you for manager, Morris, but we are thinking of sending you to open up a branch in Pelican Town. One of the more quaint parts of the Ferngill Republic. Jojamart will do exceptionally well there." He turned to leave. "Oh, and Morris? Be on your best behavior. I personally am wanting you to get the position."

With the supervisor's last words, the light turned back green, and a silent moan spread across the office. Morris tipped his non-existent hat, and left to work. The supervisor turned to me next.

"Don't quite start working just yet, dear." My hands didn't move from my lap. "I wanted to let you know that your name also came up for this promotion." He stopped for a moment, increasing for dramatic pause. "You're not going to get it."

"We know about your fling at the retreat last month, and we do not approve. Morris has such a promising future, and you led him astray. Don't speak to him again. He will get the same vow of silence, and he will take it. Any suspicious behavior between you and him, and only you will get terminated. This is your first and last warning. Do we understand each other?"