Ten
The 36th floor is not what I expected it to be. Instead of polished marble and aged oak, I am greeted by an office landscape – cubicles, stained carpeting, an empty water cooler and a headache-inducing fluorescent lighting. Muted music is playing in an endless loop in the background: something trivial about love and fast cars.
There is a woman in a baggy sweater behind a desk to the right of me: if she’s aware of my presence, she’s good at pretending. Occupied with what looks like a crossword, she chews on a fingernail while lightly rocking her chair.
I take a couple of steps in her direction but suddenly feel dizzy and look for something to hold on to. What is happening to me? The woman is watching me now, reluctantly. While I stagger over to her, she shamelessly leans back in her chair, puts her feet up and starts picking her nose.
“Hmmm, hm. Welcome, I guess. You are…” her voice trails off as she consults a handwritten note. “Number 375.” She gazes quizzically at me, puts her feet down and clears her throat. “Interesting. We had little hope for you. Little hope indeed.” She grimaces, rubs her hands against her thighs and says “You want something to drink? Coffee, perhaps? We’ve been keeping it warm for… well, for you, I guess. It’s been a while.” I am suddenly aware of the smell of sour, day-old, burnt coffee.
Not really waiting for an answer, she opens one of the desk drawers and produces a beaded, black evening dress, a make up-set and what looks like a pearl necklace. With a delighted sigh, she caresses the soft fabric, gets up and walks over to the nearest cubicle, out of my sight.
“You might notice that our cubicles are smaller than average: they made the partitions just a little too narrow, the desks a bit too low, the angles somewhat off. Difficult to get any work done, honestly. Back pain comes quickly, the lumbar discs give out, you see. No one stays for long.”
Her voice comes trailing over the smelly styrofoam wall of the cubicle. Why is she telling me this? Is this a test? Is she mistaking me for someone else?