[ Lost and Found ]
Vanilla, maybe? When Arue came down onto the street from the high-rise her office was located in, she thought she'd walked into a field of flowers. "A-ah!" she yelped, drawing back from the impact. A shock of red hair obscuring her vision, the woman she'd bumped into toppling in slow motion. Her drowsy eyes betrayed no awareness until she was an inch away from the ground, whereupon they opened wide: beady little emeralds with black sclera.
The woman landed with a soundless thud. She lay there for a moment, processing what had just happened, before sitting up and looking around. "Oh dear. Did I fall?"
Arue shook her head. "Are you okay, ma'am? I bumped into you."
The dazed woman glanced upward, still a little confused. She finally focused on Arue's face. "Ah!" Her eyebrows rose and she stood in a single motion, smiling. "I'm fine. Thanks for stopping," she said, turning away. She circled in place, looking around bewildered, and Arue frowned.
The woman wore a long shawl, tattered, over a polka-dot dress. Ratty runners. Homeless, maybe? Regardless, Arue was impressed by the sheer width of the woman - she wasn't fat, just built like she hailed from Willendorf.
"Um, excuse me, miss..?" Arue ventured, waving her hand timidly.
The woman stopped and turned, a dreamy smile on her lips. "Hello! Have we met?" she asked, her head tilted.
"Not exactly?" Brows raising, Arue wondered if she should have just kept on moving. "You bumped into me just now, I was checking if you were okay. You seem a bit confused..."
She shrugged and giggled. "I'm fine, thank you! What's my name?"
Arue blinked; the scent returned, stronger now. "Poppy," she murmured.
"Oh, it is, isn't it?" The woman, Poppy apparently, smiled brightly and nodded to herself. "Thanks for reminding me. Good luck!" Without a second look, she strode away, seamlessly weaving into a crowd heading further downtown.
Arue stared in the direction the woman had gone. "Huh?" Fuzzyheaded, she shivered briefly, and turned the opposite way to head home.
***
Stepping off the bus, Arue was lost in thought - what the hell was that yesterday? 'Poppy,' she'd said, and the woman lit up like a Christmas tree and walked away. "Why'd I say that?" she had asked herself, once her brain had cleared. Still, the disturbed were a dime a dozen in the city, and she had seemed – and smelled – quite pungent, so Arue wrote it off before even making it to her apartment.
Up ahead, there was a commotion at the bridge. Built in the 50s for a booming industrial town, it was now decrepit and subject to an unceasing amount of 'repairs' that never seemed to progress, outside of detours and lane closures. A long line of morning commuters idled on the entrance ramp, with orange cones and portable signage noting bridge work ahead. Evidently it didn't, as the din of horns grew louder the closer Arue came to the pedestrian railing.
At the entrance to the bridge was a woman with two traffic batons, weaving arcane gestures. Two SUVs faced each other at the entrance, intermittently stopping, reversing, honking, angling their wheels a few degrees, moving forward, and coming within a hair's breadth of each other before repeating their dance number.
Arue's brow furrowed. The traffic lady, confusing as her motions were, was actually conducting the two vehicles at the front. That was her job, of course, but the lag between her movements and the vehicles' – in perfect sync – was infinitesimal. Each driver angrily mouthed at the other and slammed their hands on their horns, but minutely followed the traffic director without even looking at her. It would probably be twenty minutes before they both managed to get through the squeeze, but-
Stumbling forward, Arue felt a sharp pain in the side of her knee. A woman in a pencil skirt tugging along a briefcase had clipped her with it, following the stream of pedestrians down the bridge towards the city. She didn't seem to notice. Arue took a forced knee, the pain rising as she took a strained breath.
"HECATE! What did we tell you about the bridge?!" Two officers jogged up the pedestrian path before cutting through to the traffic lady. Arue patted her knee, testing the joint.
"Hello! Flats and Donell! I am performing my duties as a voluntary traffic coordinator!" The woman's voice rang out above the din of the horns, and Arue looked over. She *was* directing the traffic, but her outfit, a plain blue skirt, flats and a blue button-down with double breast pockets, gave the impression of a Spirit Halloween clearance sale. The two officers walked up, and while one snatched the batons out of her hands and went to direct the opposing drivers to reverse, the other stayed to scold her.
"This has gotta be the fifth time we've told you - if the bridge is down to one lane, have the cars take TURNS." The shouting officer was stout, barely reaching the traffic lady's chest, but her irritation grew her to gargantuan proportions in her victim's eyes. "B-but the-"
"NO! For fuck's sake, Hecate, it doesn't matter if you can squeeze both through, it takes half an hour each time!" Hecate shrunk back, and Arue stood up; the pain in her knee dulled enough to continue her commute. She took a final look at the traffic lady, still getting chewed out, and it occurred to her that the woman's hair was either professionally or horribly done; the sun was beating down, but her hair didn't shine at all. Pure matte. Arue twirled a lock of her own mousy brown hair around her finger as she let the current of pedestrians carry her away to work.
***
Half past noon, Arue rubbed her temples. Irritated by the combination of the office's dingy fluorescent lights and the glare of the sun on her monitor, she felt a migraine coming on.
"Think this new office is gonna give me cataracts," her deskmate mused. Unfortunately, it was just more fuel for the migraine. Arue was beginning to curse her assigned location - the man, Parker, was simultaneously meek and cocky, completely unaware of social cues, and had the stink of fermenting sweat come off him in waves. Granted, Arue was no social genius herself, but she was forgettable, whereas Parker was the kind that got himself into everyone's bad graces without ever realizing it.
Arue stretched her arms, sliding her chair back. "Going on lunch." In response, she received a grunt of approval, a wave, and accompanying the wave, a fresh helping of stink.
The breakroom was near empty except for two people - a remarkably tanned man with a low ponytail, sat so straight at a table Arue wondered if he was some new office decor, and her supervisor. The water cooler slowly filled her mug; Arue looked down and squeezed her eyes shut. Kaleidoscope patterns flickered at a steady 60 hertz behind her eyelids. The microwave dinged.
"Thanks again for coming on such short notice, Mr. Set. Corporate never informed us the Sapporo division would be joining us." Arue's manager, equipped with her most saccharine tones, piped up between bites of her poke bowl.
"Set is fine, ma'am. No formalities, please," the man replied. "I'm sure it's just a mix-up."
Arue went to free her lunch from the microwave. It was a cup of soup, the third helping of the giant batch she'd made to fuel her week: two packets of instant chicken soup mix accompanied by a bag of frozen spinach and a package of mashed-up chicken sausage she'd seen on sale that Sunday. It had a strong, one-dimensional flavor (chicken and salt), but enough variance in texture to keep her from getting sick of it quickly.
"I completely agree, Mr. Set! Why else would they-" her manager chirped back, about to barrel into a long list of cheerful complaints, before the man raised a hand. "Is there somewhere more private we could talk?" His gaze darted towards Arue in the corner of the breakroom, and their eyes locked for a moment as she turned to grab a napkin – her bowl was too hot for her bare hands. He scowled, and Arue froze up.
"Hmm?" Her manager scanned the room, eyes passing over Arue without recognition. "Most of us go out for lunch, I don't think anyone will be coming in. But we could talk in my office, if you'd like?"
Arue piped up, worried she'd be targeted for 'eavesdropping.' "U-uh, sorry, I'll-"
"Yes, well, better to be sure, don't you think?" he interjected, still scowling at Arue. He stood up in one motion, stock-straight, and looked over at her sup. "It's easy to cause offense without realizing. Aside from language, each culture has their own norms and standards for proper behavior. I'd like to brief you in full." He shrugged. "Translation is really the bare minimum I offer."
Brushing off her hands, Arue's manager stood as well. "Of course, Mr. Set! Our, er, colleagues from the Far East have their own way of doing things, of course..." She held the door for the man, fixing her hair and pinning on her haughtiest expression in the process.
Set looked back towards Arue in the corner, lips curled in distaste. "Rat," he mouthed, before exiting.
The door closed with a click, and Arue let out a long sigh. "The hell did I do to him?" she wondered, taking her bowl to a table and sitting down. "Not my fault she didn't notice me." Taking the first spoonful, she cursed. Still cold.
***
Dark velvet curtains, walls in deep browns and purples. Polished wooden tabletops, a decorative piano in the back, spotlit. Thick smoke cloyed the air around the bar. Behind it, liquor bottles from every conceivable culture, though an entire shelf was dedicated to sake. "Tips are all yours, of course," the hostess said. She took a puff from her pipe, looking down at the goblin across the bar from her. Not yet open for the night, the overhead lights were full-blast, enveloping the decor in a nauseatingly sterile atmosphere.
The goblin scoffed; chubby, tiny arms raised in outrage. "No shit, with what you're offering-"
"-Our clientele is well-to-do, and you have a reputation for-"
"Being worth more money?"
The hostess fixed her with a stern gaze. "Once is a mistake. Twice, I'll forgive..." Tapping her nails on the bar, she continued. "Yes, the base pay is minimal, but the Ezo Lounge has a much higher class of clientele than you're used to. Just make sure they put a dent in their wallet on drinks, hm?" Her eyes bored into the goblin's. "I'm sure that's no problem for you, Saoirse. Just have them drink with you."
Saoirse shrunk back a bit, unnerved by her vulpine smirk. "Y-yeah, alright, I'll take it." Eye contact faltered for a moment; the goblin's gaze darted down.
"Of course you will. Don't worry about keeping my kind company, they keep to themselves." The hostess smiled, but there was no mirth behind her eyes. "You'll deal with our mortal guests. They're easy to corral."
***
A few years into her career as a hostess, Saoirse had a bad rap for causing scenes at the more well-known bars and clubs and was between jobs. She'd received a letter in her apartment unit's mail slot the day prior, inviting her to talk about a job opportunity at the Ezo Lounge.
Saoirse'd torn the letter up, having heard rumors about the owner being a snobby bitch, but the next evening, the crazy traffic lady was outside her apartment. "You have an appointment with Inari," she said, kneeling down to eye-level with Saoirse.
"The fuck? Shouldn't you be causing traffic jams?" Saoirse spat out, wide-eyed.
"I am performing a SACRED, CIVIC-" The crazy traffic lady bit her tongue, instead grabbing Saoirse by the scruff. She opened the door to Saoirse's apartment and threw her in. Instead of the scratchy, thin carpet, Saoirse landed on a plush entry-mat. She looked around in abject shock, too confused to yell at the traffic lady. In front of her was the main area of the bar, and the owner herself, smirking as she took a puff from her pipe.
***
Saoirse hopped off her stool, looking around the place again. "Didn't have to be a cunt about it, but alright." Warm lights, overabundance of curtains. "How do I get home?"
"Hecate will show you the door. See you in a few hours, Saoirse. I'll have someone help you with your makeup when it's time." Inari shook the pipe at the goblin and frowned. "Keep that graveyard-chic outfit. We're trying to drum up a new crowd." She turned and stalked away, wrap-dress swishing behind her - there was a slight protrusion at the back, trailing down, but ultimately hidden.
Saoirse scowled, heading back to the entrance she'd been thrown in from. The crazy traffic lady was there, looking down at Saoirse with a faint smirk. "Hello, little one."
"Hecate, right?" Saoirse grunted. "Can I leave yet?"
Hecate nodded. "I'm sure you'll come to enjoy it. Inari can be prickly, but Nox says her jobs are the complete package." She opened the door, leading to Saoirse's apartment.
Saoirse was still bewildered by the weird door-magic Hecate just performed, but didn't want to lose what little dignity she felt she still had. She opted to nod stiffly and walk through the doorway. It closed softly behind her, and Saoirse waited five minutes before testing the door - it led outside again, as it should. Saoirse slumped against the wall, grumbling to no one in particular. "Fox bitch and her doorkeeper, the traffic lady. Figures."
***
Five o'clock. Arue sighed in relief. Parker was gone. Nobody wanted to see him after working hours - let alone play games with him, like he kept suggesting. Arue mouthed a silent prayer on her way out, hoping for Parker to stay gone. She'd faked taking a call, urging him to go on ahead.
Exiting the elevator, she grimaced. Parker was gesturing animatedly with the scowling guy from earlier. "Didja ever have sake? I tried it once, and oh-hohoho boy-" The stocky man guffawed, but was met with nothing but a frown from the scowling guy. Arue continued walking, smiling contentedly. His name was Set. Serves him right for calling her a rat!
"Sake is not just rice wine, fool. Don't mistake drinking a shot of cheap swill with the refined art of-" Set cut himself off, catching Arue in the corner of his vision. He waved Parker away, making a beeline towards her. His scowl was still there.
Arue's eyebrows raised in fear, and she hurried along, pretending not to have caught his gaze, only to trip over her own feet, stumbling against a pillar. "Ow ow ow fuck," she cursed under her breath, slowly standing.
Set was there, unamused, but at least not scowling. "You were in the breakroom earlier, yes? I would like to exchange words. We are in public, so it is safe."
Arue blinked, nodding. "U-uh, yeah. Sorry, I didn't, er... I was just heating up my lunch, I didn't mean to eavesdrop? Tiff didn't notice me." Her mind raced, trying to figure out how she'd offended him without so much as a word.
"Yes, that is what I meant to inquire about. She did not notice you, even though I gestured at you and mouthed words at you." Set crossed his arms, scanning Arue's face for a reaction.
Her cheeks flushed red, and she nodded. "Um, y-yeah, that happens sometimes. People kinda forget I'm in the room with them? I-I didn't realize you were talking about something important, I'm sorry, I just had a migraine and wanted to eat my soup?"
He considered for a moment, his eyes boring into Arue's. "Very well. I apologize for calling you a rat. I was under the impression you were sent by my siblings. Your name, if you do not mind."
"A-ah, I'm Arue. Er, Arusetra. Arue for short. Thanks, er, for apologizing. Can I ask, who-"
Set nodded. "Miss Arusetra. Thank you. I am Set, translator, interpreter." He smiled. "Have you ever dealt with a woman named Inari? She is a good friend of mine; many of her employees bear similar skills to yours."
"No, I haven't had the pleasure, I'm new in town," Arue managed to get out, now that the conversation was on more familiar track. "Skills? Like tech support..?"
"Something like that," Set smiled. "In any case, as further apology for taking up your time," he continued, taking out a notepad and scribbling into it, "please enjoy a drink at my expense. The Ezo Lounge has a sublime amaretto sour."
Setting a business card atop the paper, Set tore it out and handed it to Arue before turning and walking away. "Have a lovely evening, Miss Arusetra."
Arue, for her part, accepted the note gingerly. "Th-thank you very much, Mr. Set. Same to you!" She sighed in relief, tucking the note into her pocket without bothering to look. She was just glad to have escaped unscathed.
Setting off for home, Arue began to smile again. Her prayer had been answered after all; thanks to Set, Parker had been long gone by the time she'd left the building.
***
Shortly after getting home, Arue cursed her luck. She'd miscounted the portions of her soup, and the pantry didn't have anything quick to make. It was getting dark, too.
She thought about delivery, but th fees and tip would end up doubling the cost of anything she ordered. Despite living in the city for a few months now, Arue hadn't really taken the time to actually go to any of the sights or good restaurants - stuck with Parker at her desk, she wasn't really in the mood for any unnecessary outings by the end of the day.
Set had given her that note about the lounge, but Arue was in the mood for an actual meal. Shrugging, she set off back towards the bridge, half-mimicking her commute to work. The waterfront on either side was pebbled with restaurants; surely she'd find something there. The sun was low in the sky, streaks of orange and pink painted the horizon. It was a nice night.
Beef, grease, noodles, herbs, and tepid water cycled through Arue's nostrils as she walked down the street, trying to decide what she was in the mood for. She closed her eyes, picking a place at random.
"Hihi! Just one?" A bubbly waitress beckoned Arue inside through two doors, seating her near the entrance and dropping a menu off. It was some hole-in-the-wall fusion place, but packed. Arue ordered something she recognized, a salmon dish with lots of vegetables, and leaned back in her seat.
On the other side of her booth, a pair was arguing - one tiny lady who looked like she'd just gotten out of bed, and a familiar woman with long, black hair. The crazy traffic lady, out of uniform?
"Nox, please! It's good to get out of the house. Think of the lovely roads we got to cross."
"Hmph. It's so bright out, the sun won't finish setting for another ten minutes! What if I end up burning?!" The tiny woman huffed, crossing her arms and leaning back into the booth.
The waitress returned, bearing a plate of salmon, veggies, and fried rice. Arue dug in, glancing over towards the arguing pair. Hecate threw her arms up. "Okay, okay. What say we head to Ezo? Inari has me on the doors tonight. You should at least try to socialize with the others; too much time alone in your room has given you... Ideas."
The woman, Nox, scoffed. "Whatever. You just don't understand the finer points of male love."
"Love between men was normal in my time, Nox. What you write is anything but normal."
Arue was mid-bite when she realized the tiny lady was wearing her own hair like a dress. From the top of her head it spread out in all directions like coils, but wrapped around her body like a long gown. It was darker than the traffic lady's, if that was possible. Arue covered up a cough, trying to refocus on her meal. It'd been a long, weird day – no point in questioning more strangeness.
"Look, Heca. If I think about boys kissing, I could probably survive the sun. That's all there is to it," the tiny lady pouted between bites. "I'm just trying to help you understand!"
The conversation died afterwards, and Arue was able to focus on the more bland chatter of customers around her. Idle smalltalk, goodbyes, summaries of days... She wondered whether to fall asleep to a podcast about Icelandic sagas, or the brown noise playlist she'd spent months building. Whale noises were for suckers, it was always the soft patter of rain in the background of a crackling fire that knocked her out.
The waitress brought Arue's check; she paid by card and tipped generously. The risk of a dirty look or being shit-talked in the kitchen (god forbid she find herself a repeat customer) filled Arue with too much unease to not tip well, even if the service had been subpar. Thankfully, this had not been the case. She was about finished when Hecate and Nox stood up abruptly, surreptitiously whispering.
They left ahead of her, and as Arue opened the first door she saw the pair arguing again. "No! They're all gonna mix me up with my sister again!"
Hecate patted her on the head, cracking open the door. "On my honor, they will show you the respect you're due." She flung it open and pushed Nox through in one motion, quickly following suit and shutting it behind her. Arue reached for the door, assuming it was another case of her being unnoticed, and walked through.
Hecate and Nox were nowhere to be found.
***
Right between the dinner and bar rushes, the steet was relatively quiet. Only a few people were ahead of her, and the dim orange saucers of the streetlights were just beginning to become helpful in the dim twilight. Arue buttoned up her jacket as she headed home; the warm temperature of the lighting was deceptive.
She wondered where the pair had gone. Unless they were sprinting, Arue should've been able to see them leaving. Maybe the Ezo was just next door? She didn't see any signs, but it could've been down the alley. Once she got to her complex, Arue took her time ascending the stairs, savoring the cool end-of-summer breeze on the second floor. Unfortunately, the scent was ruined by cheap tobacco. Arue leaned over the railing, trying to figure out where it was coming from, when her neighbor slammed open the door.
"The fuck?" Slam. Arue looked over, bewildered. It opened again: "I'm gonna be laaaate!" Slam. Arue shook her head, shuffling over to her unit and opening the door. She slid the deadbolt into place once inside, and heard another slam as she stepped back. "Fucking!" Slam. "Door!" Slam. "Won't!" Slam. It cut off at that point.
Arue's neighbors weren't silent, but she'd never heard a peep from her neighbor on that side. She wondered if they worked the night shift; the occasional package at the door was all the evidence that it was occupied. Best to just count her blessings thus far and hope this was a one-time event; if she hadn't gone out to eat, Arue would have been cozied up on her sofa by now.
***
At work the next day, Parker was impressively taciturn - he didn't talk to Arue at all. Whether it was his own choice or if he still harbored some angst from Set yesterday, Arue didn't know and didn't care. Set himself was shut up in her sup's office most of the day, so things were looking doubly good! Arue spent her idle time flicking through a used history book on the Opium Wars.
She was jolted out of her reading trance by the sound of her sup's door closing. Glancing at the clock, it was already noon. Set walked past her without so much as a glance, while her sup walked over to Arue's desk with a sigh. "Arusetra. I need to speak with you about your performance so far. Are you free?"
Arue glanced up, nodding. "Yeah, queue's been dead all day." She curled the corner of the page she'd been on and stood, following Tiff to her office. It was roomy, with the windows half-shuttered and a floppy-looking series of potted succulents on the far cabinet. Pictures of Tiff's family collected dust on the shelves. Arue felt her palms begin to sweat; Tiff was a firm believer in open office culture and preferred meeting in the breakroom or her unfortunate target's desk whenever possible.
"Sit down, Arusetra! Would you like some coffee? I have some tea bags lying around somewhere, too." She bustled over to the corner of the office, plugging in a kettle and opening the cabinet above it.
"N-no, thank you ma'am," Arue replied, sliding into the seat in front of her sup's desk. "We're meeting about my performance, right? Is there something wrong? It's the slow season, but I'm still clearing tickets as they come in?"
"Mm? Oh, no, no. You've done fine so far. I have good news for you, actually." Tiff said, pulling out some instant coffee and sugar packets. She ripped them all open into one cup. "It's about this branch as a whole. Upper leadership has been debating the cost of keeping this branch operational for a few months now, but they finally agreed to close it!"
Arue blinked. Close the branch? She looked around the office, counting the number of empty cubicles. "W-wait, what's gonna happen to us then?"
Tiff sat down, smiling. "Approximately two thirds of support staff are being laid off, but the rest are being offered positions at the Sapporo office. That's where the good news comes in, Arue — you're being transferred!"
"I'm locked into my lease here until the end of the year," Arue protested, shaking her head. "I don't have anyone who can take over the rent, either..."
"Oh, dearie! I'm so sorry to hear that. You have until the end of the month to work something out, but I'm afraid I can't change the date. Mr. Set actually helped us work out the specifics, so we could move the timeline up! We'll be doing the layoffs a week from today, so keep it quiet, 'kay?"
Arue nodded blankly, standing up. "Thanks for letting me know, Tiff," she murmured, shuffling to her desk like a ghost to its haunt. Once sat, she cradled her head in her hands. "I can't afford to move to Sapporo..." Arue felt tears brimming in her eyes. "I just got here three months ago. I don't even have friends in town. How..." Her phone rang, and Arue grabbed it like a lifeline, desperate to focus on anything else for a moment. "Thank you for calling Support, this is Arusetra speaking, how may I help you?" She thought she might even be grateful for what Parker considered 'banter.'
***
"Got the news, huh?" Parker sidled up, the scent of sweat announcing him well beforehand. "Yeah, Darren in T2 told me. Don't let it get to ya, Arue, they're letting me go too. Don't know what they're gonna lose!"
"Huh? Letting... Yeah, yeah, they're letting me go too," Arue lied, still disoriented. "Can I help you, Parker?"
"Well, me and the fellas are headin' to the barcade, gonna blow off some steam. Y'know, we've all got our résumés updated, figured we'd start scouting for new gigs tomorrow, you comin'?"
Arue opened her mouth, about to decline, when she paused. Fuck it, she didn't want to go home, she didn't want to think about this any longer. "Yeah, when? Now?"
Parker's grin spread ear-to-ear. "Hell yeah! Go clock out and meet us in the lobby. Man, they're gonna be so jealous of me, they'll never believe I got you to come out with us!"
Arue pointedly ignored his last comment, already packing her stuff. "Yeah, be there." Parker ambled off, nodding proudly to himself. He made little 'ho' sounds every few steps.
Arue walked towards the punch machine, clenching and releasing her fists. She was on autopilot, thoughts whirling around how she was thoroughly fucked unless she could start a new gig the very day after the inevitable layoff. No friends, no savings, no family to help her out, she couldn't possibly afford to move countries, and the severance package was abysmal. She'd never banked on being a lifer here, but had expected at least a year of steady, monotonous employment before switching to be a sup herself somewhere else. Her mouth went dry, she replayed the conversation in her head on repeat, focusing on Tiff's expression, the dust on her family photos, the wilting succulents in the corner, the-
Set was in the elevator. Arue stepped in, staring straight ahead. She wanted to puke, her heart was racing. What was it Tiff said?
"Hey."
"Hello, Miss Arue. Are you well? My services have concluded here, so I suppose this is farewell."
"Did you help them move the timeline up?" Arue asked, bunching her fists again. She looked up, staring directly into Set's thin, severe face.
Set's eyebrows rose. "I did. Were you impacted?"
The elevator dinged. Arue began to hyperventilate. "I'm screwed! I'm so screwed! They offered me a transfer and I can't afford it and I can't afford to stay here and you fucking-"
The door opened; Set strode out fluidly. "Oh. I do apologize, Miss Arue, I did not expect you would be among the casualties."
Arue stormed after him, unable to control her emotions anymore. "Me and sixty other fucking people! What the fuck, Set?! You said you were a translator! Why didn't you just fucking translate?!"
Set stepped back, a look of worry on his face. "Do not direct your fury at those who are merely agents of fate. It was corporate's decision to close your office. I am not some petty translator; I am a full-service interpreter and consultant."
"Fuck! I'm fucked! I'm so fucked!" The flood of panic rose in her chest, drowning out Arue's limbs. Every breath brought her closer to the waterline. "You didn't have to speed things up. You just ruined my life. You ruined it!"
Before Arue could go on blubbering, Parker and company rounded the corner. "Woah, what's going on?" One of the guys from the call center walked over, concerned. Parker elbowed them away, putting on his best macho face and strutting towards Set. "Hey, buddy, I know you're some bigshot but we just got laid off. We're hitting up a barcade," he leaned in, winking at Set, "and I think me and Arue are gonna hit if off if you know what I mean, so if you wouldn't mind just skedaddling-"
It released in an instant; a ball of hate and despair in her chest that knocked the air out of her lungs. "Fuck off! Fuck you, you stinky, slovenly piece of shit! I didn't get laid off. I got offered the transfer over you, Parker, even though you've been here five years and I've been here three months! Because I'm not a bumbling goddamn idiot! Wanna know how they all think about you, Parker?! Nobody gives a shit about your games, nobody thinks you're witty, charming, funny, anything! You're a bug! You're less than a bug, Parker! Eat shit! Eat shit and never open your fucking-"
Set clapped Arue on the shoulder, yanking her towards the lobby exit. "Shut your mouth," he whispered, more fearful than stern. Arue tried shoving Set away, but he just gripped her harder and put a hand over her mouth. "Hush. I'm going to help you, but you have to be silent."
Arue, in a fit of desperation, bit Set's hand. He grimaced but held firm. "Not now." Dragging her past the receptionist's desk, he called out. "Forget us, please." The girl behind the counter nodded and returned to her work.
Outside, Set dropped Arue unceremoniously onto the sidewalk. "Are you not aware of what you almost did just now?"
Arue stumbled up, spitting on Set's shoes. She felt real, like she was actually present in the moment for the first time in her life. Her jaw clicked, clenching and grinding. "Yes! I just told the most disgusting man I know to eat shit, and I would have liked to tell him to go die in a fucking gutter for all I or anyone in the department cared. I would have liked to not be forced to lose my job right after I moved across the country for a bullshit, dead-end job, too, but I guess I'm not that lucky!"
Set grabbed Arue by her hair, forcing her to turn and look at the lobby. Parker was there, doubled over, hands clutching his knees, heaving. Everyone around him gave him a wide berth, and Arue was able to make out a few of them laughing, before their faces turned to shock and horror. Parker was expelling a steady stream of liquid from his mouth, brown and speckled with white lumps that crawled away on the tile.