Crowd: A Dystopian Social Network Thriller (Final Draft)

Want me gone?

Rain followed Sasha toward the dual office with her heart pressing against her chest. A fantasy guillotine hovered over her head, ready to cut her off.

From the job.

And maybe Crowd.

Was the soup just a setup to ease her mind for this moment?

Sasha kept silent when he leaned into his office chair, his eyes bright enough to blind the sun.

Rain sat down in front of him and tried to stop swallowing as it eroded her mouth. Sasha dimmed the transparent walls. The outside offices and personnel morphed into blurry silhouettes. Rain's confidence chipped away when she sacked into her chair and perked her ears. "Give it to me straight."

"The section chief talked to me this morning."

Double oh-uh.

Rain had never talked to the section chief except for her first day when she was introduced to her partner, Sasha. Never hearing from the chief meant good news.

"Is it because of Piper?"

Sasha took a long sip from his mug and stretched the pause into uncomfortable lengths. "You've been a bit on the edge lately. Emotional reactions, biases at the working place, stuff like that. Your tech tattoo registered high-stress levels."

Of course, she was stressed.

She just graduated from college, faced a new job that didn't exist a few years ago and lived in a city on the brink of civil war.

One had to be a frozen golem to not get emotional about it.

"I have never done anything like this, Sasha, but I swear, whatever I did wrong, I can fix it. I'm doing extra tutorials every single evening. I'm learning every day. I just need a bit more experience."

"I know you are," Sasha said. His voice sounded too calm. "You're eager and try everything to fulfill our challenging demands. I see that."

Where was he getting at?

"I'm just saying that your amount of stress can further negatively impact your job performance."

A sentence lurked around Rain's mind. She tried to suppress the three words pushing through her consciousness.

"Am I fired?"

Sasha's lips flatlined. "What makes you think that?"

"Suspended?"

"Look, we just think it's better if you take a prolonged weekend."

We?

Sasha and the section chief? The entire department?

"Is it one of these weekends where I come back and my desk is all cleared, and I get a bland thank you note and no one in the office looks at me anymore?"

Sasha's eyes widened before he cracked up. "Your fantasy deserves an award. Were you always that paranoid?"

"Then what's the prolonged weekend about?"

"As I said before, your stress levels are off the charts. Sometimes, the emotions get the better of you and negatively influence our work. You know we must be compassionate in our job. But compassion doesn't mean attachment. It takes some experience to learn the difference. It's a delicate one."

Rain listened but her brain had already looped.

I'm fired.

I'm fired.

I'm fired.

She imagined her rank dropping. Losing her new flat in Kahlo Park and the auto-cab subsidies. A tornado of horror thoughts spun around her busy brain. Rain forced herself to remain seated.

"Rain?"

Sasha's voice pulled her back.

"I'm listening."

"We just think it's better if you have a mini-vacation where you can just shut down and relax." He leaned back and used his therapeutic tone. "Your father's birthday is tomorrow. He lives in San Diego, right? Love that city." Awkward pause.

"I don't want to tell what to do, but maybe a bit of quality time with your family is exactly what you need right now."

How did he know about her father's birthday? Rain's father was not on Crowd, and he refused to use any social media networks.

Rain breathed in.

"What do you think?" Sasha asked.

"Do you want me to go now?"

"Whenever you like. We're here to help you."

Rain glared at her terminal. She wanted to check back on Taylor and Graham, but maybe Sasha was right and she needed a prolonged weekend. Plus, working on her cases when the section chief wanted her gone produced more pressure than she was comfortable with. The last thing she wanted was another spike in her stress levels. Although every past encounter with her father was anything but relaxing.

Sasha's hand floated near her shoulder, ready to pat her, but since she hadn't given him any consent, Sasha's hand stopped in mid-air.

"I think I go now," Rain said.

She grabbed her jacket and dragged her body out of the office. Sasha looked at her with partial interest, a faint smile edging into his full lips. "Tell your dad I wish him a happy B-day."

"When can I come back?"

"That's up to you."

But was it?

Rain walked out the office section and noticed a couple of colleagues ogling her leave.