Just another day

Liam and Clarise go to work

I woke up next to my beautiful girlfriend, Clarise. We'd taken a nap before going to work.

I looked at her; she was still asleep. I looked at her light brown hair, disheveled because we were in bed. I twirled my finger around a strand of it, twisting it.

"It's 5 o'clock." I tried to wake her up. It was 5 in the afternoon.

"Hmm... that's weird, Liam, did you wake up before me?" She opened her brown eyes.

"Yeah, a miracle, right?" I joked. Normally, it was Clarise who woke me up, and I would complain, "5 more minutes..."; leaving the bed was difficult, but no one understood.

I got up, went to the bathroom, and while Clarise changed, I decided to take a shower. When I got out, I dried my black hair, which reached the nape of my neck, and my pale skin.

I put on a bluish-gray sweatshirt and some red plaid pants—yep, I was ready. Simple, but enough for me.

I went out to see Clarise. She had put on a black blouse with a rounded neckline. She was wearing one of those tight skirts, the same color as her blouse, and tights a shade darker than her skin.

I walked over to her and kissed her.

"Ready to go?"

"I'm still mentally preparing myself to put up with you-know-who..." Clarise sighed.

"Aw, come on, she's not THAT bad..." I knew exactly who she was referring to. Rocío Yani, one of our bosses along with Grace.

"Doesn't she know what it means to treat people well?!" she exclaimed, already on her way to the door of their shared apartment. "I swear it's not that hard!"

"Well, well, I guess you're right." Clarise HATED Rocio. Yes, it was that typical hatred one has for their boss, for not paying them well, for example, but there were several other reasons...

It was a normal day at the studio. I was responding to comments in the fan space on the page. I moderated the page, looked at the drawings, made sure no one hacked the page, that sort of thing. But mostly, I responded to the kids who sent their drawings to the page's email, responding as if I were the very character they sent their drawing to.

I was responding to a drawing when Rocio appeared behind me. She looked at me, and she looked at me for about... five minutes until I turned around.

"Is... everything okay?" I asked, stuttering a little. I'm not good at talking to people...

"...You’re doing it wrong"

"I’m doing it wrong...?" I repeated.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rocio asked. "Lacey wouldn't answer like that. Lacey wouldn't say any of that. Lacey would speak with more... life, with more enthusiasm!"

"Okay, sorry... I'll correct it..."

"No, no, leave it like that." Rocio glared at me. "You know what? I'll do it."

Rocio pulled me out of the chair and started answering the drawings again, quickly, without really thinking about what each one would say. It was as if she were the character herself.

"When I do it, it's faster." Rocio finished writing. "Liam, your job from now on will be to... supervise who enters and leaves the studio! Sure, yeah, why not?"

"Yeah... okay... I understand..." I mumbled.

"Remember?" Clarise mentioned. "I hate her so much..."

"Okay, okay, yes, that's true, but..." I tried to continue, but she cut me off.

"Besides, what's this job she gave you? Supervising who comes and goes from the studio? That's stupid! It's not like they're going to rob us, no one knows us!"

"Yeah, but..."

"Besides, let's be honest!" Clarise began. "What the hell are you going to do if someone breaks in? Warn us while they're threatening you?"

"Well, you're right about that." I agreed with her.

"I don't understand why she won't let us do anything! She takes all the work for herself, why does she have a studio?"

"...I don't know..."

"Stupid, stupid, stupid..." Clarise was very angry with Rocio. Anyway, it wasn't the first time she'd treated the workers like that. There had been multiple stories of this...

A girl was doing promotional art for Lacey's when Rocio stood behind her.

"Why are you drawing it like that?" she asked sharply.

"Oh! That's exactly what I was going to ask you!" the girl exclaimed, excited. "I was thinking of a change of style for Lacey, you know, something more... commercial. Something that would attract attention."

Rocio took this to heart:

"Are you saying the current style isn't good?"

"No! No! It's good, very pretty, and original! But I was thinking of something that would make it stand out more..." She was cut off.

"ARE YOU SAYING MY ART ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH!?" She yelled. "IF YOU'RE GOING TO CRITICIZE THE WAY I DO THINGS, YOU CAN GET OUT OF HERE!"

The girl looked at her, scared:

"I...it was just a suggestion!" she stammered. "Y...if you don't like it, that's f...fine!"

But that wasn't enough for Rocio; she wasn't listening:

"GET OUT OF THE STUDIO! NOW! AND I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" She pointed toward the door.

In the end, at Grace's request, they didn't kick her out, but it left a very bad taste in Clarise's mouth.

"How could she yell like that at someone who was giving her a small suggestion? She can't be so irritable! She has to take criticism if she wants to survive in the world of flash games!"

Clarise walked toward the studio with Liam:

"Lacey's is going to fall," she predicted. "With the way Rocío acts, they won't last long. Or at least, I hope Rocío doesn't stay in the studio long. The games will be just fine without her. In fact, they'll even improve."

"...Okay, okay, don't worry. Look, if we run into Rocío or something... she'll kick us out."

"But we're still far away! I can still complain!"

"Okay, okay, whatever you want, but if Rocío kicks you out or something, don't complain," I warned her. "She's not in the studio 24/7; she goes out too."

"Oh, really? There’s no way to notice. She's always there. Not even a little break outside."

"Yeah, sure, but she leaves college at this time."

"She still goes to college?"

"Yeah."

"What does she study?" She asked.

"Programming, computers, that kind of thing, I forgot what it was called..." I tried to remember...

"Computer science, love." Clarisse smiled.

"Ahh, right, computer science, that's it."

"You're still studying and complaining about people who programmed something wrong? Shut up, dear..." Clarisse rolled her eyes.

"Well, well, we're already getting close to the studio," Liam advised.

"Yeah, yeah, well."

We soon arrived at our work. We greeted the people there, everyone responding kindly even if the energy inside wasn't the best.

Not with Rocío there, with her typical serious but tired face. At least, that's what I saw. Sometimes I wondered, what's happening to her? How bad must life be with her for her to act like that?

I ignored that thought; it had nothing to do with what I had to do, but what I have to do is also… boring. Watching who comes and goes from the studio, asking for names, and then showing Rocío the list. Most of the time, though, she tells me it's not necessary. I don't know why I do this, but... hey. I get paid well.

Actually, very well. My other boss, Grace, is my cousin, and my aunt, her mother, is your typical millionaire aunt. She married a rich man. I don't know if they're happy, but Grace is definitely happy with all the money she has. It's enough to rent this part of the studio and much more. But god, what a mess it was when her parents, strict about their children's future, discovered Grace was a programmer.

Grace lied about going to med school, when in reality she was studying computer science and programming. It's what she'd always loved, but her parents wanted their daughter to become a doctor.

For a time, Grace went from being the one throwing money around like it was nothing to the one asking for money, or so they told me. But then, Lacey's games became popular, and wow, the way her parents came back…

Meanwhile, Rocio...

I have no idea. We know NOTHING about Rocio's life, what else she does for a living, if she has another job in the first place, where she lives, her hobbies, whether she has money or not. We know she's studying with Grace by pure luck!

And asking is definitely NOT an option. As soon as you get even a little close to Rocio, you could already feel that strong negativity that came with her. Her face, which seems to be angry all the time, is terrifying.

But that makes me wonder: what's going on? What's making her be like this all the time? Yeah, she's mean, but why?

I'm always trying to find the reason for everything, so it wasn't strange that I wanted to understand the reason for Rocio's constant bad mood. You need to stop being angry for a second if you want to be happy. It would be different if she genuinely, as Clarise often jokes, enjoyed watching us suffer, but this was different. Rocío...she never seemed to be happy. And I wondered why.

Anyways, I have many hours of work on something as simple as checking who comes and goes, so I'll have time to reflect on this and more.

I looked at Rocío. She was sitting in a chair in front of a computer. She tends to take all the work for herself, as Clarise said, which is why she usually stayed longer in the studio. Being a kind of "guard," I stay until twelve. Rocío usually leaves thirty minutes or an hour earlier.

Now I realize all the little things I noticed about Rocío...for example, the inhuman amount of coffee she drinks. Four cups in a row in one afternoon is absolutely fucking insane. Or that she smokes. Although Clarise apparently doesn't notice (because she seriously thinks Rocío stays in the studio all afternoon without moving), she always takes at least one smoke break. And she always leaves by the door where I am.

The first time was somewhat awkward. Rocío came out, pack of cigarettes in hand. I signed her out because... that's my job, as strange as it may be.

"H... Hello!" I tried to greet her politely, but received no response.

"Do you want one?" She lit her cigarette.

"...I don't smoke, thank you." I tried to smile at her. She just looked at me even angrier than before, muttering something under her breath.

I managed to hear something that I believe I am... but I didn't understand anything. What do I believe I am??

Then we remained silent until Rocío decided it was enough smoking: One cigarette, each day she increased more, or so I noticed. At least her smoke breaks were increasing.

There are also days when she spends an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom. I noticed she smokes there. Yes, because not even Clarise takes that long, and she always complains about the cigarette smell in the women's restroom.

In general, Rocio doesn't lead the healthiest life. Or at least, that's what it seems to me. I mean, if she smokes that much in one afternoon, how much will she smoke in a whole day? It seems like a sure way to death. But why does she smoke? Is it to look cool? To relax? Rocio always seemed stressed, so it could be. Does she know the effect smoking has on her? And if she does...

Does she even care?

I looked at Rocio. Did she even care about the effects of nicotine? Does she even care about her life? Well, the truth is, I can't assume anything. After all, I don't really know Rocio. I'm just making assumptions about her.

So the afternoon passed, with me writing down who was coming and going in a notebook, the times next to it. At this point, I was bored, so I started reading the newspaper. At least until Rocío walked by. I grabbed the notebook. Speaking of how she smokes...

We don't usually say anything to each other; she looks at me, sometimes I look back. That's right. Just silence from both of us.

I should try to start a conversation with her, I know, but it's hard for me to talk to people. I don't even have any friends, only Clarise since I was 16.

Rocío looks at me, seemingly wanting to say something, but she couldn't think of what. We stared at each other.

This was awkward.

I could go and ask all the questions I have about her right now. Unlike every time I see her, she didn't seem so angry. Possibly because she's smoking; she's probably more relaxed. But when I wanted to say something, my mind would go blank.

"...Bye." She put out her cigarette and walked back.

...What a long talk we had (What am I saying? She was the only one who spoke)

I've never thought about Rocío as much as I did today. Rocío, Rocío, Rocío, she was the biggest mystery of the entire study. Why the hell does she hate us so much? Does she hate us or is she just grumpy 24/7? What's going on in her life?

Still, I suppose I can find reasons why Rocío would be grumpy. As a moderator of the page, I found...things...in short, parents hate her. First of all, because of the way she dresses. She's not your typical, everyday girl like Grace. Rocío dresses in dark colors, purple, black, always those colors. She has dyed black hair, I noticed, her roots are brown, but her natural hair is becoming more noticeable. I think she's stopped dyeing it. Her makeup, I'd describe it as a raccoon face (not in a negative way, I don't really care, it suits her, I just don't know about makeup), and she has two highlights that she's dyed like... in lines? Raccoon tails, I think it is? Okay, I made my point, didn't I? Rocio isn't just any girl. And parents HATE this.

And another thing... Rocio is obviously a foreigner. I mean, Yanina Rocio isn't a name you see every day in the United States. And let's just say this country isn't exactly known for its Latino-inclusivity... Combined with everything I've already said, she's like a demon for parents. They're just racist idiots.

And thinking about this, I think I understand part of why Rocio is so grumpy. Some parents seem to absolutely hate the idea of someone unique, even though Lacey's is about that very thing, being yourself and being original. Or at least, that's what Clarise told me.

She has a job as an artist, and from what she told me, Grace seems to be increasingly affected by the parents' comments, causing Lacey's to lose more and more of her originality. Honestly...it's sad. Lacey is less and less what she was originally supposed to be.

"Lacey's is going to fall, with the way Rocío acts, they won't last long. Or at least, I hope Rocío doesn't stay in the studio long. The games will be just fine without her. In fact, they'll even improve."

It could be, maybe the games would improve without Rocio. Maybe they'd be twice as successful without her. Without her treating people badly, with a studio that actually enjoys their jobs, without people being thrown out every two seconds, without Rocio taking all the work for herself when she obviously can’t do it herself—that always ends up delaying the games' release.

I checked the time; time passed surprisingly quickly today: it was already nine o'clock. Normally, Clarise would be leaving by this time. I'll write her down before she even comes; after all, I know she'll leave.

"Hi, love." she greeted as she reached me.

"Hi" I smiled at her.

We exchanged a quick kiss, and then she spoke again.

"How was everything?" I asked.

"Good, good, and for you?" she replied.

"Well, you know, I'm bored..." I laughed.

"Good luck surviving the next two hours..." She smiled at me, kissed me on the cheek, and then left.

Then I continued watching, everyone leaving, until it was 11. Normally, by this time, Rocío and Grace would already be leaving, but I managed to hear a conversation between them amidst the great silence.

"So, should we ask for one more day?" Grace asked.

"What?" Rocío laughed. "Asking for one more day? They won't give us any more time, let me finish it."

"But it's late, Rocío! There are only two hours left!"

"I'll make it, there's not much left."

"...Okay. Whatever you say, but don't call me at 3 AM asking for one more day, okay?" Grace grabbed her things. "I'm not going to continue with this, not today. I'm already tired and I value my life."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. If you're not going to do anything useful, go."

"Ugh, you're so grumpy...well, bye." Grace turned and walked toward me.

"Bye Gracie..." I greeted her, somewhat hesitantly because she was in a bad mood, and really... I'm afraid of doing something wrong when she's like that.

"Bye Liam..." She left without looking at me.

Well, I guess I understand... making a game for tomorrow must have been stressful. And on top of that, they didn't finish it... but apparently Rocio was going to try to finish it! That was good, right?

I feel like Grace could have stayed to help, but she's tired too, and I guess if Rocio wants to...

So, I assumed Rocio would stay longer.

And so the minutes passed, the keyboard being the only sound in the place besides the occasional footsteps.

Until it was 11:50. In 10, I had to close the studio. But... Rocio didn't seem to stop programming anytime soon...

I approached slowly:

"Rocio?" I called. "Rocioo?"

There was no answer.

"Rocío? Yani?"

…

I noticed she had headphones on. No wonder she wasn't listening.

Then I thought, how to get her attention without making her angry...

Touching her wasn't an option. It wasn't the first time Rocio had stayed late, no, this was a common occurrence. There had been several days where Rocio would simply stay until late coding and coding for hours on end, and every day I tried to find different ways to tell her there were 10 minutes left until closing time. The first time, I tried to touch her, and god, if I didn’t miss that hit maybe I wouldn’t be here now.

I thought and thought, reflecting on everything that went through my mind today.

Rocio...

-She doesn't care about her health.

-She's always in a bad mood.

-She reacted strongly when people touched her."

I thought and...

I...

I recognize these patterns.

I'm not sure either though. I don't think there's any way to see if I'm right or wrong. I don't think there's any way to be sure, but either way, these patterns are signs.

Rocio is NOT okay.

But right now, there were five minutes left until closing time, and I really had to let her know. It wasn't time for me to start thinking about what to do about this; I could worry about it when I got out.

Finally, something occurred to me. I put a hand in front of the screen, and finally, she looked at me, without threatening me, without hitting me.

"Hm...? Oh, I didn't notice the time. Sorry." Rocío turned off the computer and stood up.

"No, don't worry..." I said. "It's fine."

Rocio put her things away, and then we walked together toward the exit.

"You should go too," she commented.

"Yes, yes, I'm leaving. Just let me put you on the list...' She cut me off.

“Are you still using that list?”

“Yeah...?”

Rocío remained silent, looking at me with a face that could only be described in one sentence: 'Are you kidding me?'

“...Stop using the list, nobody cares, Liam. Just...make sure no one comes in...But now, go home,” she said, leaving.

“Okay, okay.” I left with her as well, and closed the studio door.

We walked in silence for a few blocks, Rocío smoking as she walked. I coughed a couple of times, and I swear I heard her mutter 'weakling.' And we continued walking in silence until she turned around the corner, without even saying goodbye...

But she never said goodbye anyway, so I just ignored it.

When I returned to my apartment, I found Clarise waiting for me with dinner ready. I smiled.

"Hello, love..."

"Hello, Li!" Clarise came over and hugged me, giving me a kiss.

I sat down at the table, thanked her, and we ate.

Meanwhile, Clarise was telling me about her day; nothing special had happened today, luckily.

Then, I remembered a question that had been on my mind, and as if she could read my mind, she asked:

"So, what's up with you? What are you thinking?"

"Uh..." I stammered a little. "Well... I was thinking... maybe...

Rocío isn't mentally well?"