The skies were still dark but it was early in the morning----the clock in the room pointed to 6:45 hence her phone's alarm rang none-stop in the most annoying tone on the planet, reminding her of the first day of school after summer vacations. She tossed and turned, holding on to her pillow, refusing to get up but deep down she knew she had to. Come on! It is my first day at the new company, the job I have been dreaming about for months! You have to get up!
With that little prep talk, her eyes opened widely, she pushed away the blanket and reluctantly got off bed, complaining and almost crying from the hardship of getting up so early and leaving her warm, comfortable bed.
She barely strolled to the bathroom, almost collapsing midway, turned on the light and covered her eyes with the palm of her hands for a few seconds before her eyes were able to adapt to the strong lighting.
Opened her eyes fully and looking herself in the mirror, Sarah felt nothing but disgust. "You're worthless, do you know that?!" a cruel male voice went over her head disrupting and disturbing her morning peace, the peace she desperately needed for her first day. She looked at herself in the mirror again, the comfortable bunny pajamas were so silly and stupid, it also made her look chubby, so she quickly took them off having only her underwear on. "That's more like it." She whispered with a sense of relief.
She turned on the little make-up mirror lamp and began to work. She did not like to put on too much make-up on a regular basis, but first impressions matter, and she had to make a good one.
After washing and putting on make-up on her face and around her ocean, blue eyes, she pulled her blonde her and tied her hair into a ponytail, ready to put on the formal clothes she already prepared for herself the night before. They were carefully laying on an armed chair next to her little single bed.
She strolled to the armchair and looked upon the clothes, an Irish green, blazer and skirt which was not too short to give the wrong impression to her soon to be new colleagues nor too long to make her look like a workaholic, divorcee in her late 40s. It is a safe bet!
Sarah put on a clean, white shirt and carefully put on the skirt and the blazer. With a green flower pin with a red gem in the middle on the left side of her blazer and looked herself in the mirror, "That will do for now."----she checked her watch----"Yep, I barely got any time to make a change now."
She put on a pair of cream low heels shoes and with one last glance in the mirror, sighed pulling herself together "Ok Sarah, you can do this, you have been dreaming and working for this your whole life. Now is time for show time!" she said with a fake, nervous smile on her face.
Nervous yet confident she walked with pride into Vienna's so ever punctual subway and reached her new office within a few minutes. Watching the building growing in size as she approached it, She stopped, "You're pathetic, you will never become anyone important in your life!" whispered the same cruel male voice in her head, her eyebrows were raised in a state of worry, but she closed her eyes, took a few deep breath, "You can do this. Don't be nervous or show incompetence, remember you are entering a jungle and the rules of jungle mean that only the strong survive!" she opened her eyes and with a boosted ego, walked inside the elevator squeezing in with a bunch of other people, making her struggle to reach the button and press 5.
By the time she reached the 5th floor, the elevator was already empty. She got off and looked around the beautifully decorated hallways of her new office, staring at the details of Picaso's paintings and company pictures hanging on the pale white walls before she was approached by a casually dressed woman in her early 30s. She had a genuine smile on her face, having her hand ready for a friendly handshake.
Sarah was dumbfounded before she came back and shook her hands nervously, "You must be Miss Mayer. I am Melanie, I'll be your guide to show you around our wonderful office, introducing you to our amazing colleagues before showing the door to your own room. It is so great to meet you!" Melanie shook her hand enthusiastically leading Sarah into the office space.
"Oh please, no need for such formalities. Just call me Sarah." She replied looking back at her with a shy smile, anxiously following her around. They excitingly passed by every cubicle and corner of the 5th floor, introducing Sarah to her new colleagues, her heart pounding harder by each step taken.
As they passed by every cubicle, Sarah curiously looked around to check not only the vibe but the looks of the place she was to begin working at. Everyone was dressed so casually, there were two guys having a deep conversation about life right next to the snack vending machine wearing nothing but a cheap pair of jeans and casual, ugly looking matching T-shirts. Melanie stopped and introduced Sarah to them. They politely stopped their conversation, gave a smile to Sarah, introducing themselves and continued to talk, as if they had nothing else to do.
Sarah and Melanie continued to walk on the light parquet, white carpet leading the way to different parts of the office. They stopped by the break room where three women were chatting their tongues out by an old red coffee machine, "Melanie, the latte no longer works. I need hot milk in my coffee!" said one of them casually.
"I'll have Edwardo check it out," she said annoyingly before turning to Sarah with a forced smile.
Sarah's insecurities slowly faded away into the background as she became bolder and bolder with each introduction, remembering the promise she made to herself and her parents to become not only a successful person but to also one who would deal with obstacles with her head held high.
Shaking hands with her co-workers, the company vibes seemed a lot friendlier and more casual than she anticipated although everything was not in place, strict regulations had to be set in since, the productivity in the company was extremely low. It disappointed her to the core.
"And last but not least, is your office where the big boss will put your skills to the test for the first few months, challenging and eventually assigning you to the head of one of our marketing departments." Melanie said pointing the palm of her hands for Sarah to enter her new office. It was covered in dust and in great need of a personal touch.
"Oh dear, that's strange?! The janitor should have been here hours ago." She paused and thought briefly and instantly turned her head towards her, "Not to worry love, I will call him right away." Melanie talked, rubbing her fingers across the study desk. Sarah, nevertheless, was happy it was quite a big space compared to all the little cubicle her colleagues had to work at.
"And the view is one to die for!" shouted Melanie excitingly, pointing out to the window. It was Vienna's Stadt Park, one of the biggest parks the city had to offer. What a beautiful view thought Melanie looking deep at the horizon with Sarah by her side who was looking at her weirdly.
Why is she acting so childishly?! Doesn't she have work to do? Sarah was hardly impressed with the view and had a lot of work to do so she gave her an awkward look, shook Melanie's hand for one last time and politely led her out of her new office, making sure she would call the janitor as soon as possible. Sarah had no time for pleasantries and Austrian extra politeness.
She glanced upon his new, dirty table and bookshelves and sighed. It was a lot of work, but she was ready for it. Hence, with a wide smile on her face, without waiting for the janitor, she began to dust and clean the room.