February, 28th, 2033
it was evening. kurt woke up and he felt rough, though that's what happens when you get less then the standard 8 hours though some might argue that 8 hours isn't nearly enough, and they might be on to something.
insomnia, the condition for when you can't fall asleep or at least can't sleep long enough for it to mean something.
narcolepsy, the condition that makes it hard for one to stay awake and of course, insomnia's polar opposite.
either one of these by themselves could destroy a persons sleep cycle as well as life threw out the day long term, but to have them working together, partner in crime, back to back, now that was a double whelmy of a time. so of course it was just Kurts luck that he was born this pair of disorders being spit-roasted by this condition made it extraordinarily difficult to operate in society when he needed to. insomnia active during the night and his narcolepsy active during the day.
it was for this reason he worked the night shift exclusively. still, even when he tried to defy his conditions he either found that he couldn't sleep the full 8 hours or that he would suddenly become drowsy and found himself going to sleep with no memory as to when he fell asleep, often referring to this instance as " blacking out" even with his best efforts these black outs seemed inevitable.
with a groan and on his twin mattress stacked on 2 other twin mattress stacking on the floor he muttered. "ugh, what time is it?" he could see that it was dark at least, the blinds carelessly opened for anyone to pear in or out. looking at the cieling he yerned to stretch his body but feared he would pull a muscle. a leg, his chest, his side, or even his neck, all places he had pulled a muscile in and none of them pleasent. kurt checked his phone the time 6 pm the battery a measly 60 percent. the newer models always seemed to take longer to charge espacially if you weren't using the bands charger, though given how they were now selling the chargers seprate from the phone kurt felt it was not worth the trouble he certainly didn't want to give them the satisfaction of screwing him over like that.
" alright ive got some time" he responded in a low tone. an alarm was set to go off at 7pm but surprise, surprise he woke up before it almost every time. it almost seemed useless to have it but in earnist he was too lazy to disable it at the time, and every time before. within the hour he had left, he was able to complete his routine of simply washing his face, brushing his teeth, and lotioning up his legs. he had a condition called Terra firma-forme dermatosis, a condition where a layer of dirt and dead skin cells build up over the skin. it was especially bad on his legs below the knees. sometimes it caused his legs to swell and leak some kind of fluid like a elephant, though instead of going into horny rage he was just mildly inconvenienced as his shoe and sock would get wet, and the place were it was leaking would often loosen some of the dirt and dead skin as he went hours before even noticing it at all which only added to the inconvience.
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lotion was supposed to fix it but perhaps he needed a certain type of lotion and unironically so, he never made the effort to look further into it. showers were always a ordeal for some reason he had trouble trying to wield the will power to take one despite how simple the task it self should have been. he could never do it consecetively. he usually managed either every other day or every 3 days as a rule. though he'd never tell anyone that. he would rather gaslight them into thinking they were nose deaf rather then admit that he might be nose deaf himself.
during breakfast if he even decided to partake in it, it would usually be something one might have for lunch or dinner, since he personally hated breakfast it was probably the closest thing to desert without actually being desert not to mention he never had the energy to cook anything less it was something considered microwavable.
up to this process, he was without thought, just a stead grumpiness till his body adjusted to waking up. he put his jacket on knowing it was going to be cold. he stepped out locked the door behind him, his mind stimulated by the hit of the crisp air. he didn't know the weather cuz he didn't bother to watch the news or tv in general to be honest, but suspected that it would be at least cold given thats how it had been for the past few days prior.
the chill air made his breath dense making it easier to see. he could probably pretend to smoke a cigarite then again at 32 he probably doesn't need to when he can partake in the real thing. he took his stride to the bus stop waited for 30 min but in this cold it seemed almost like a eternity before it finally pulled up. he rode it to the train station and took another short nap on the way.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIxX4WDGbo
after making it the platform of the train station, waiting for the train he decided to pop in some music. riding the train would be tough and he typically couldn't afford to fall asleep when he needed to be able to spot his stop same for the bus after. before finally making it to work.
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even as he approached the entrance Kurt could see employees leaving employees for the daytime shift heading home to their families after a long day of work or perhaps lack thereof. it remained to be a good sign that he got to work on time or perhaps even early...117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsouJETkB69
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Kurt clocked in, the time? 8:12 pm. but then after that there's always this awkward feeling of cluelessness that fills his head. sure he knows what to do but he still occasionally gets help for and have his work looked over. you'd think he'd get better with time, but no, he still needs help afterward. this reputition natrally has forced him to become more and more reliant on co-workers.
aware of this he lets a sigh of stress and fustration. left facing the machine employee's use for clocking in and out. with the moment passed, a comforting hand lands on kurts shoulder or at least it was ment to be one. kurts neck snaps back over his shoulder his expression clearly stern and tense.
the target of comfort was a slightly shorter lad. eyes of emerald and goldilock-hued hair. a young man with a proper posture yet with a feminine-like figure. a white button down dress shirt and khakis. he was dressed like a sterotypical office worker even though the work place didn't have a particular dress code.
he responded in kind. his hands raised almost defensively to Kurt's stern expression.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FU6nrDENm
" s-sorry, are you ok, you seemed lost? MENTALLY I mean!" Kurt's expression seemed to become less strained afterward to which he too would reply in kind.
" no, not really" the tone in which he replied was nonchalant, like a person who had accepted what normally would have been a life crisis as the new norm. this gentle lad who possibly defied gender norms was named Matthew, Matt for short. he worked the evening shift, clocked out around the night shift, and went home at the start of the day shift. he was a standard office worker, working to pay off a student debt. working in a different department from cyber security but because of his odd schedule, he often got to mingle with staff in the cyber security department.
"oh, I see" Matthew's eyes shifted down words, by now Matthew and other staff alike have their perceptions of Kurt that he is naturally pessimistic about the overall looks of life and that him, saying so should not be taken too seriously but even with that Matthew can not help but take his word at face value. Matthew's thoughts were sentimental ' I know this is how you are, but sometimes I wish I could see an optimistic side to you... ugh, you'd probably say that sounds like a line right out of a rom-com, but it's true.'
kurt took a big inhale before exhaling a reply that seemed oddly...hearty. " alrighty, I guess I should get to work" to which Matthew shot back with a reply of his own, "Do you mind, if I watch you work till sunrise, like the usual" Mattrew's fingers niched together, like the love interest of some romcom animations. this had also become part of Matthew's schedule. In the beginning when he started working here. one of his arguable toxic traits was that he was a people-pleaser, finishing his work faster and more efficiently than other office workers he was often left with nothing to do. his time doing so was occupied doing small errands and jobs at least for the evening shift... but when the night shift rolled around this trait came off as a nuisance people during the night shift were a different breed, they clearly were not night people and some weren't happy working the night shift either.
"and as per usual, I would like the company... but uh you should clock out first... you know how the boss gets when you forget to do so." Kurt evokes to Matthew, its not like something that matthew would forget, but rather that it comes as a tick for Kurtis to remind people of things, in his experience people in his life have forgotten things despite their simplicity either forgetting things completely or forget certain details or try to substitute those details to which kurt refers to as half-assing. It's one of the bad habits of people and though he never voices it with people he does think less of those who do it often. As a result, he instinctively doesn't bother asking favors from those people unless he really has to, certain, that they won't deliver.
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mathew clocks out, the time? 8:18 pm
the night shift rolled from 8pm to 4am and could be extended to 9 am for those willing or desprate to work overtime into the next shift between those times at least 3 other particular employees may make themselves known to kurt for better or worst but almost certainly worst. when this dynamic first occured they usually would chat back and forth, about intrest. world views and hobbies. though after awhile there conversations flat-lined and they kinda ran out of things to talk about. fair to say they knew almost everything about each other but the really personal stuff.
9: 23 pm the space between the two remains almost silent filled with nothing but the tatter of the keyboard and the chatter from the background. at best it seemed they could only conjure up small talk...
" Hmm... seems like it's been a quite night." kurt chimed in
" your the one who said we don't have much to talk about anymore" Matt pouted
" that i did, that i did." kurt seemingly didn't even try to fight back against said aligation.
" do you want to play the game again then" matt sprung the notion of playing the game, what was this game. well originally this game was called "would you rather" it was a game that detailed one to create two options and then have the player decide which of the two they would prefer. over the years however that primise along got stale fast. so they modified it. creating rules and conditions and sometimes winning conditions to the game at which point they started sounding more and more like story prompts. but it kept the game entertaining to them. they didn't have a name for it so they just called it "the game" not to be confused with the meme.
natrally kurt agreed " sure, should help pass the time... rules?"
then a after thought came to kurt almost immediately 'i shouldn't have asked him that'
there was a silence filled with nothing but background chatter and the sprinting of keys it took a while for matt a bit to come up with something. he was starting to look panicked but after 5 minutes he had a response though not a good one.
" i-i can't thi-"117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKlvPH8C2z
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" take your time...oh sorry" kurt responded with haste. it wasn't his intention to cut matt off like that though, it was his running gag's, during times when someone was taking there time doing something simple that didn't take alot of time but also didn't need to be rushed... the irony of it was the gag.
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" sorry usually i could come up with something... but now adays it's like, i don't know like -"
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" we've come up with every possible prompt we can think of to a point where we could guess how the other might answer?"
" y-yea, couldn't have said it better myself honestly"117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdugh1YMflD
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" that alright im mostly just happy for the company. we can figure something else out to pass the time if you want"
" no, no, ill think of something i promise"
kurt continued typing the keys on his hey board. frequently there was a pause between each task he was doing his adhd was acting up causing his to fill fidgety, lacking focus and of course grow a little tired. unbeknown to how much he was rocking back and forth in a chair clearly not ment for rocking of any kind. unrelated his arm, leg and even fingers were falling asleep. likely due to pour
10:30 pm
it was looking bad, a hour had only passed and for the last 10 minuetes kurt had been blacking out a few minutes at a time. only for matt to try and wake him up. for certain it was one of the bad days for kurt. he was feeling the stress of not being in control again. it nearly drove him up the wall, he was slouching. his head was started to fill with self doubt, regrate and damnation
' damn it im starting to black out, how long was i out' the realization was absolutely agonizing it was like a warm fog was looming over his head and escaping it was all but certain he needed something to keep his mind stimulated but his usual methods were considered disruptive or to be more accurate it was thought that they would be more disruptive.
a hand comforted kurt as matt displayed concern. " are you ok, do you want to walk around." kurt found his hands trembling and his vision was feeling hazy he could kinda make out the computer screen. it should come as no suprise though this work was pretty boring. he had bearly started and he felt like he was going to collaps from the warm fog. this feeling of a hazed meadow
" i don't want to... but i have to... walk around with me, will you."
" y-yea ok"
they got up from there seats and cycled around the main floor. by now it is acknowledged that kurt is one of the few that can roam around anytime he wants and not get yelled at for it. though some may still resent him for that fact.
they made it to the bathroom, kurt was leaning on the wall almost the whole way there. and his knews were buckling and this may or may not have been related but his eyes were rolling back a bit as well...117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamQ9AIqw7T
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" im gonna go splash some water one my face"
"do you want me to get you something from the vending machine"117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyDRePIow7
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" sure if your offering. man this sucks." kurt responded restlessly
the 2 split off from there. kurt was going to wash his face and matt would hopefully get him something from the vending machine. the whispers get louder during these times. rumors, speculation, back handed insults centered on kurt and sometimes matt. given kurts position, a majority of employee's and sometime even cliental don't like kurts liberty to be able to walk around when ever despite having less work to do. still no one would admit to it while he was in ear shot or to his face for 2 reasons117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgOFu1JOabN
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1. legal repercussions for not only them but the company its self
2. though its in there heads many believe thatt kurt character archetype is the kind that would take less then legal action if pushed or cornered some most typically try to tip-toe there way around him when he's in view.
3. they might get reported to HR and it might affect there ability to get a job or climb the corporate ladder
in this world problems that they had have only gotten worst. inflation only keeps rising and and school shooting are now spreading to work place. you hear it on the news every now and then about a co-worker who blew up because of one bad monday and took it out on there entire company. before offing themselves if they even got the chance. so natrally many kinda feared that anyone too loud or too quite was headed there again. and they couldn't just act nice cuz speculation goes that acting nice appears disingenuin to kurt and he hates that. so all they can do is avoid him and be direct when they need to be. perhaps not all were envious of kurt's disposition but if such people exsisted in the work place it would have to be the manager, assistant manager or the sluck's during the day shift.,
still all matt could do is grin and bear it as people got libral with there opions of kurt and he couldn't tell kurt ,because kurt wasn't trying to hear that shit, as he put it. after all what was he supposed to do about it. and the last thing you want to do is out yourself as the person who got the whole night shift staff fired. so matt carries on.
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approaching the vending machine. it donned on matt, it always did to look out for 2 specific individuals. many treaded lightly but there were at least 2 others not so easily phased by the situations... even though one of them had a issued restraining order on kurt, yet it didn't seem to have the effect they were hoping for and thus it had the opposite effect.
" has our late night mascot crashed so soon" a voice taunted from the rear. matt turned his head with a expression of worry and anxity, it quickly evaporated into an expression of indiffrence. the owner of this voice was a worker of the company a member of the cyber security team who was probably the secound most experianced in the company or at least during the night shift. twice matts age and with a amoral compass that trumped kurts own. his name was Lucas or Luke for the short of it.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1aIzD0lBu
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for as far as anyone knew Luke at least among the cyber security team, was something of a prodigy in his field not only could he easily do more work then anyone he could complete it faster then anyone. despite this he did not hold the highest position cause he understood his worth and did not feel the pay for the highest position was satisfactory enough. still with all his skill and work status he is only the 2nd highest on the payroll.
matt despensed his green thin parchment into the vending machine punched in the cordinationg number 'A7' and watched as the mechanism ascended and descended to retrive a bottle of water.
the cold silence broken with a equally cold response " hey, luke... i take it you've finished your work" the tone and rhythm in which matt spoke sounded kinda exhausted like he was rehurssing a tiring routine he didn't want to do. that was a fair estimate of how daunting it was to talk with Lucas.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIua0QPV7ps
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" why of course, i always do and never disappoint... our slouch on the other -"
" can we not do this" matt interjected
" what do you mean" luke inquired disingenuously
" we've done this gage long enough, so i know you just do this bit so you can insult him to my face instead. cuz if you did it to his he'd probably get agressive and take regreatable action, thats even more true after or during when he's passed out... sense he has even less patients with people like you..." matt unironically contrived with a explanation for lukes spicific antic's
" that certainly sounds like a interesting theory" luke incurred to matts plausible explination on Luke's psyche
" im sure your tip toeing around kurt like everyone else, this stunt is just away to get to him indirectly, and im getting tired of it."117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFY1AP9RUU
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" tip toeing? it doesn't appear that way, ive been hearing some pretty hanous rumors just walking down the halls... does he really not know?"
the vending machine dispensed the water bottle and matt reached for it embracing it with his arms, matts silence was his answer. the conversation was going no where fast. and when that was the case it prompted matt to return to kurt.
"let me ask? do you know why he crashed this time" luke inquired. despite his none sense so far his question was good and non-provoking enough for matt to at least contemplate giving him a answer
matt turned to luke with a answer " we were playing a game" matt answeered in kind
luke repeated puzzled " a game? should you really be doing that, what kind of game was it?"
matt gestured luke to walk with him back to kurt. kurt and luke were still on the clock after all so they couldn't just sit there talking that was a luxury only matt had at the time.
" the game; would you rather, are you familiar with it?" matt responded
" i believe so, a hypothetical choice where one chooses one of 2 choices, is that the game" luke conjectured
" no but it is a spin off from it... we use to play it but, in the few years working here it kinda got stale. so we kinda tweaked it" matt corrected
" so what does this have to do with kurt crashing" luke recalled
" i couldn't think of a prompt, and i guess he fell asleep before i could come up with anything" matt explained
" odd, wouldn't the lack of a distraction allow him to focus more on his work" luke theorized
" apparently not, i don't really know the specifics as to why either?" matt concluded
" can't you just ask him?" luke suggested
" no, its his rule you see" matt stated
" to not try to help him find the cause of his crashes?" luke sarcastically conjectured
" to not ask about personal questions between employee's" matt rebuked
" may i inquire as to why?" luke continued
" you'll have to ask him yourself, sense i never bothered to ask myself" matt infered
the conversation safely ended there as they were approaching kurts desk they could spot him hunched over they couldn't see his key board or computer but there was a inconsistant tapping of keys. and then luke had a thought, with smug expression it went;
' im guessing that he's only pretending to sound and look busy'
another step forward and the sound of tap dancing keys suddenly stopped almost abruptly, his hands only hovering over the keyboard. kurt was trying to brace himself with the presence of 2 specific employees and luke being one of those employees kurt could always expect a uneasing onslaught of drama that would passive agressively be aimed either directly or indirectly at him and with anxity, a pressure in his chest and stomach and whatever hormone responsibel for emotional hate never being far behind
" Kurtis, im back from the vending machine, i got you a bottle of water like you wanted" matt answered coyly
kurt let out a sigh of surrender and relief. luke was there but at least matt was there with him which perhaps made this ordeal slightly easier. he wabbled in his chair towards matt before obtaining the water bottle
there was a silence and a heavy tension as kurt was taking the time to drink his bottle water though eventally the silence would need to be broken
" sigh, so how far along are you in your work this time" luke pestered
" thats not your business, i'll finish when i finish" kurt rebuked
" but of course it is, it should be we're on the same team after all" luke argued
" bite me, your not my superior." kurt exclaimed.
another breif moment of silence took up the room funny how a simple statement could slowly become the catalus for a argumental onslaught of drama.
" side note then; matt tells me you have a rule against sharing personal infomation" luke continued.
" yea, and what of it"
"why do you have this rule"
"your...." Kurt abruptly stopped before he could really start his explanation. Luke once said that employee's are here to work not make friends around the time of his betrayal towards Kurt when he was still in training, but if he told him this Kurt figured he use this as some kind of power move over Kurt about how he influenced Kurt with advice that Kurt had heard a 100 times from others. it is one of Kurt's pet peeve's for someone to take or insinuate that they alone may be responsible in influencing for a aspect of Kurt's personality when there not. though perhaps calling it a pet peeve would be a understatement. regardless it was a since of joy and power he couldn't allow Lucas or anyone to have over him.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAizGBsYNx
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" i'm what?" Luke inquired
but kurt remained silent, he wasn't even going to bother coming up with an excuse. with this lucas felt stomped and confused not sure what kurt would have said but for a moment he woundered if it was because what kurt would have said would have been a personal matter, and thats why he stopped himself.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94Anqcmc8b
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lucas turned to matt as he had another inquiry
" matthew this spin of game has peaked my intrest, how do you play it"117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdyVaMrVNU
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" oh well-" matt trailed off. he understood the concept but not the actual rules cuz kurt was the one to establish them and there were so many eventually matt had lost track...lucas still waiting for a reply of some kind.
" its basically a story promp, ask a hypothetical, feature conditions, caveats, what if's or even require they answer in a certain way...of course respectfully they can always pass for whatever reason"117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjs894BbSJ
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" is there a point system? or penalty to not answering"117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAl7YgtHvh
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" only if you want there to be... of course between 2 people there wasn't really a point in doing something like that, no pun intended"
"this game appears to test one's creativity, i can't imagine how you were having such trouble" Luke alluded.
" when your playing it between a limited number of people you over time realize there's a prompt bia's prompts that there only comfortable or willing to answer for some that bia's is narrow for others the bia's is vaste" kurt explained
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' that must mean kurt has a extremely limits bia's as to what he will and won't answer...' Lucas though further more he figured he might be able to use it to gage the personality and understanding of others.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhrluYjXD0
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" do you mind if i give this a game a try" Lucas continued.117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHqfR2V98u
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" knock yourself out... though leave me out of it" Kurt insisted. his trust in Lucas had been fleeting for years now so he didn't trust that any prompt used wouldn't have anterior motives behind it...
kurt continued there work and luke and matt well they proceeded to try playing this game just short of kurtis desk.
"hmm alright luke... lets say your speeding in a trolly there are 2 path ways one on the left, where 5 people are tied to the track and one on the right where one person is tied what would you do?"
' the trolly probablem? i was expecting more of a curve ball, maybe he's just testing the waters, but i wounder?' lucas poundered
" am i allowed to ask follow up questions pertaining to the prompt"117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDuPEJ0AVe
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" well yea, but only from three to twenty depending on the complexity of the prompt"
" so...three then?"
" yea three" matt confirmed
Lucas continued trying to discern if there was anything about the victims in the senario that would lead one to have a morally bia's obligation to save one over the other. but with each reply matts reply was the same " they're just normal people" in the end lucas made the hypothetical choice of flaying a single person over the other 5 but even with that answer matts expression remained a slight bit dubious. with a tilt of his head and eyes glued to the floor matts responds had a almost ominous impliance.
" i see... so thats the kinda person you are"
" do you believe i choose wrong?"
" in Kurtis words there supposedly are no wrong or right choices in the face of morality...so i guess not"
that answer was anything but satisfying, to the knowledge of most there was only 2 choices perhaps there was something about the victims that matt neglected to tell luke in the senario but at the end it probably didn't really matt
" care for another round" matt irked
" i suppose" luke replied in kind.
the two spent the few hours in hypothetical conversation and though kurt wasn't involved in it personally he found the conversation something of a stimulant to keep him going well into the first half of the working hour. with any luck perhaps this would become a regular occurance that would feed into a method of more affective work being done.
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