In the afternoon as scheduled before, we were having the meeting. The writers, staff and the management were all called over for it, probably to discuss some schedule or new event. I went into the meeting room along with Paul, still it was only the writers and the management that got to sit at the table, Paul and other staff had to stand at the corner of the room.
The meetings at work were not my favourite thing, all the souls I would love to avoid at any other circumstance, would gather here, and not to mention all the blabber they talk until the meetings start and all the arguments that begin.
I went and sat beside the main editor, she was one decent person I would like to stay beside. Much older than me and wiser, I guess the more wiser she became, the quiet she grew. She just smiled at me as I sat beside her. I was watching the others come into the room, when I spotted the new designer come in through. He saw me and smiled, I just smiled back and he quickly hurried into the room, just for me to notice that he came and sat right on my right, while I was seated right to Mrs. Joe.
"Good afternoon" He greeted in a quiet voice as he sat beside me.
"Good afternoon." I said back and continued watching the people coming in.
"After the meeting, will you be free?" He asked.
"Let's see." I said.
He just nodded and turned to greet the other senior staff members. The room was busy with each and everyone chatting around and blabbering. It was chaotic. I was staying silent and already bored when Mrs. Joe suddenly turned towards me.
"Zara..." She says for me to widen my eyes and raise my eyebrows with a "Hmm?".
"Haven't you decided on anything new yet?"
"No, not yet. why?"
She just nodded and said nothing. "Why?" I asked again.
"Well, you already know it yourself. It's been some time, you barely came up with a new idea." She said looking across the room.
"I will" I said.
Hans came in, Our boss with some other management staff. Everyone quickly stood up to greet while some still were on their seats. Working in the book creating sector is something rather different from the ideal office atmosphere, it's more of art and morals sometimes.
"Well, I hope we've got everyone we need in here." Hans went on to say. He signalled a staff member to start a presentation with some slides popping up the wall to be seen by everyone.
'Recent Trends.' The slides read in big bold letters.
The staff presenting the slides went onto explain how new trends of genres are on the rise recently. How some sales have dropped while some skyrocketed, with reasons to such blooms and booms. As the presentation was ending, the last slides displayed a pie chart of the recently read genres and other information on them. The slide was still displayed when the staff ended her presentation letting Hans to continue it further.
Hans stood up from his seat and looked at all of us.
"So, just like you heard now, these five genres are on the rise accordingly. I know that some of our author staff has already begun creating their own work, and that they are already busy and working on their individual ideas. Accordingly, I would like the rest of our writers to work on these five genres too." Just as Hans said this, everyone started their own discussions in small voices. It was a little confusing since this was the first time we were kind of forced to work on a genre that the work assigned us to work on. I didn't like the idea at all but I wished that I could work on the top trending genre.
"So, you all might be already deciding on the genres you would like to work on?." Hans went on.
The few of us writers not working on anything just nodded and smiled looking at each other. There were seven of us for the five genres already, and each one of us had our own preferences. And I am pretty sure everyone wanted to work on the first trending genre; Romance.
"Miss. Elle I hope you can work on the first one?" Hans suddenly said making everyone pause for a moment. Miss. Elle would normally work on documentaries, she was surprised herself to receive the best trending option. But I'm sure she felt happy too. This was getting intense now, turning more into a competition. The next was fantasy fiction. This would normally be my genre, which I used to work on. Everyone was eyeing at me now. Probably thinking that Hans would give it to me, since everyone including me in the room knew I had already proven justice to the work I produced. I had no worries, I was going to get the second trending to myself, I was safe, I thought.
"Jake and Kale, you guys can take the second." Hans spoke out.
No way. What was he up to now, I thought. He literally is going to mess up giving that to them. The rest of us left now were nervous and worried. Everyone had an 'at least the next would be mine' expression on them now and waited impatiently.
"... and Kristen and Nisha, I would like you to work on the third" Hans said.
This was not gonna end up great, I thought. I wouldn't want to work on a entirely new genre nor would I want to work on something I didn't like. There were just two more of us left with just two more genres left. One being mature and one being crime. Out of the two, I knew crime was the best and so did, Elise, left with me.
Elise and I were not really on good terms, and most anyone would know it. She always thought of me as her greatest rivalry and competition, which made the two us end up in bad terms, while I would always wish to avoid her at any point. And here I am stuck with her again. I was literally praying that I could have the crime genre.
"the last two, crime , and fifth mature." Hans continued and paused for a little to look at me and Elise.
"Zara can take ... " He said and I knew it. Crime it is. Come on Hans I thought, just say the damn word, I was already happy and hopes high.
"... mature. Elise can take crime."
Great. I could only sigh.
"Yess!!" I heard Elise say in a small voice. What's wrong with Hans, why on earth would he give me the last trend and that even being mature. Oh god.
The meeting was ended that way and everyone seemed happy except me.
"Do you like the genre?" Adrian asked as everyone stood to leave the room back to work.
I was about to answer him when someone called him. He excused me and went off.
I stayed until everyone left the room to talk with Hans. Just as he was about to leave, I went dashing off to stop him.
"Mr. Hans!" He looked back and waited for me.
"Mr. Hans. Why is it mature? You know I've never created any mature genre work and who would want to read mature. All the peple who read my work would only wait for a similar work I already did, no one would expect me to suddenly change into a literally different genre." I went on saying and he just listened.
"Well, It is a change for everyone then." He finally said.
"But I can't do it. I'm not confident in creating such work." I said.
"Oh! Come on, Miss. Zara. I gave it to you because I'm sure you're the only one I could trust something new with." He said.
"Mr.Hans! It's mature. The book will be limited only for a set number of readers. It's not gonna work at all. Please give me something else."
"I believe in you." He said patting my shoulder and left the room.
It was no use. I had the worse of it all. I was done. There was no way I could gain my place again now like I used to. I have to talk myself out of this. I thought and followed Hans into his office. I made up my mind that, at the end of the day, somehow I was going to get a new genre to work on. And not this, not mature at all.