Paper

Shorter people can still jump high enough

It had been about a week and a few days since the group of 6 had come to The Wisdom. They hadn't managed to get very far on locating the origin of the virus, but they were all trying their best; even Reuben, Rhydian, and Oscar, who hated technology. None of them wanted the virus to spread even further than it already had, but Nina was already getting reports that the Double X virus was starting to affect local technology.

The person working the hardest besides Shuko and Ace was Jasmin. He had even started to take all nighters just so he could keep up with them. Something seemed to be on his mind. He hadn't really spoken to anyone other than Shuko for the entirety of the time.

Putting all the hours of sleep together that Jasmin had gotten, it was about 9 total, and it was starting to affect his appearance. His usual shining white-blonde hair had grown dull and messy. His hazel eyes weren't bright and energetic anymore and were now accompanied with dark circles beneath them. He was paler, too. However, he wasn't skipping meals, although his coffee intake wasn't what you would call healthy.

Jasmin's new atmosphere was starting to have an effect on some of the others, as well. Luca admired Jasmin's hard work, but seeing the normally happy and grinning Jasmin that could light up a room disappear, made him nervous.

Oscar no doubt enjoyed the quiet and the absence of teasing, but he certainly wasn't used to it and it was starting to bother him.

Reuben had been starting to enjoy Jasmin's constant- even though slightly headache arousing- chatter because it made the large office much more lively. Without it, the background felt all too similar.

To Rhydian, it felt like he himself could be doing more to help. Seeing Jasmin working so hard in an area that wasn't exactly his forte made him feel useless. Not to mention, the writer was ridiculously worried about Jasmin's health. The amount of sleep he was getting, the hours and hours of time that his eyes were staring at a screen, the amount of caffeine Jasmin was drinking so that he could stay awake... the amount of stress Rhydian felt from this was incredibly straining.

Even Shuko was starting to get put off by Jasmin. He understood how much he wanted to help, but Shuko didn't want him to go too far and end up pushing himself over the edge. And that's not all Shuko was dealing with; including the bulk of work he was now being given, he still had to deal with Ace. The cyborg was in a similar situation as Jasmin, but he didn't really need to sleep- he could just charge himself and continue to work. However, that wasn't the problem. Ace was becoming oblivious to everyone else. Despite his being a cyborg, he could still become overworked. Shuko had even started to notice him glitch from time to time. He was most worried about Ace overheating and shutting down completely, which usually lasted for up to at least 4 days.

Finally, one afternoon, Reuben was thoroughly fed up with it all and exclaimed, "That's it! We're all taking a break before I lose my mind!"

Reuben wasn't mentally strong enough to handle the atmosphere of the room. He might not have been the head of the division, but he didn't care whatsoever.

Everyone apart from Ace and Shuko jumped badly at his sudden outburst and a shocked silence filled the large office.

Reuben didn't even feel humiliated with himself. He stood up out of his chair with his hands on his desk. "Everyone shut off your computers. I'm tired of this. We all need sleep and natural light. This is terrible for our eyes and if I have to type one more word I'm going to throw my desk through a wall."

His voice was quiet, but loud enough so that they all could hear him. He was very irritated.

The first person to close their computer screen was Oscar, who had been suffering from a migraine for most of the day but chose to work anyway.