I had just finished college and was in dire need of a job. I wanted a writing job as it was a preconceived notion that it would be quite easy for me so I put the filter “Writing Jobs” and anything that came up, I applied. 

My first day at work was memorable as it helped me quit the job in less than three days. 

I reached the office as it was about 45 minutes away from my place. I got into the office before time which was more of a rented apartment turned into a commercial and was quickly assigned to my chair. There was a computer in front of me and people getting in one after the other. It was 15mins to 10 am and I felt the waves of the rush hour more than anyone could. 

“Where is the file Sero45785496? The file was due yesterday. Where is it?”.

“I need backup on Sero74589658. This is a 5000-word job. I will not be able to do it alone”

“You have a plagiarism report of 25%. What did you do Anita? Just copy-pasted from the internet and changed the format? Disgusting”

Anita was seated beside and she looked happy. I didn’t know why but she seemed to be very jovial and resilient despite the remarks that she had just received. As if she received the complaints with an open heart and admitted that she was wrong. You do not do that in the corporate world. The moment you admit your fault, management will shove everything down your own throat. 

“I am sorry. I’ll remove the plagiarism right now”.

I was assigned a work in less than 20mins. Anita was being very helpful regarding how I was supposed to complete the job and attached references along with in-texting them in a perfect manner. She was kind and very amiable to be. The first day made me feel like hell. They made me type to death. I waited for lunch with a distinctive amount of eagerness. Anita shared food with me and asked me basic things like, “I want to know more about you” questions. I had to type 3000 words that day. I saw Anita getting insulted by the management again after lunch and she received it amicably yet again. She came back to the chair and sat beside me and I looked at her in a sad and concerned way. She leaned forward and said, 

“I am being over-friendly and nice to you because I am quitting the job today, so don’t think otherwise”.

“I am sorry what now?”

She giggled and leaned back to her chair. I felt a strong need to talk to her but we were being watched by security cameras and the management team as well. I waited for the moment when I could approach her again. I tried a shot near the water cooler but she nodded her head pointing towards one staff.

“You just joined here. Do not speak to me too much and make your life miserable from tomorrow. I’ll leave but think about what will happen to you”.

“Could I talk to you after the office hours?”

“Okay,” She said.

I had to stay in the office 12 hours to complete the job that I was allocated and waited after office. The office place seemed like the time of the kings and their empires and she was the tormented princess who wanted to run away. I put romanticism out the window and I waited to know why she was going to quit. I wanted an insight. She came outside and did not wait to catch a breath.

“They will never let you leave the office before 9 pm at night and you will work 12 hours a day if you stay here. The management staff will torture you to death with word count and at the end of the day, it is all about word count whether you live or die. Two people in the management are actually writers and they do not write. Their workload is divided equally among other writers and they sit to reap the salary. They can do this because they are related to the director of this company”.

She said a lot of other things, things that she had hidden beneath her friendly demeanor. I could see the fire in her breath as she spoke after ripping apart the happy face. She stopped coming from the next day and I had to act surprised. I went to the office for two more days to verify what she had informed and yes she was right. It was time to listen to the princess and I had to leave the palace. I wrote a huge email on the fourth day before going to the office and I sent it to the management staff. It was 9 am and I liked to sleep late. I sent the mail and went back to sleep again.

“I’ll find something else”.