(Day 101/122 of the experiment)
In addition to all my morning rituals and activities, I've now added putting on makeup and choosing clothes and shoes for work. Ugh, it’s been so long since I’ve worked in an office. I don't know if I will like it. And today officially marks the beginning of my last twenty days. One hundred days have flown by so quickly that I hardly even noticed.
Tristan gave me a ride so I wouldn’t hurt my feet in heels, and I was already there by 8:50. Julia gave me a tour of the office – she showed me where the kitchen is, how to use the coffee machine, and the desk where I will be sitting.
The day starts with a meeting with Inga Nickyivna. I hope this is the worst part of the day.
- Hello everyone. This is Cinderella – our new journalist. Listen, your name is so long. I’ll just call you “Intern,” because I keep forgetting what your name is.
- Okay – I said with no particular enthusiasm. What’s so complicated? The name of the most popular children’s fairytale is my name.
- Kat, what are you wearing? Your blouse is too revealing! – yelled the female boss.
- I’m sorry, Inga Nickyivna. It’s already hot outside, so I wore a light sleeveless shirt.
- That’s not a sleeveless shirt, it’s a stripper’s outfit. Go home and change, and today you’ll work an extra hour – you’ll spend at least that long on the commute.
I looked at Kat and her blouse and didn’t understand what was so revealing about it. Just a regular, even opaque sleeveless top without an open neckline.
The rest of the meeting – 35 minutes – we listened to how poorly the editorial team is performing, how the texts have become utterly uninteresting. According to her, Inga is carrying all the work herself. And if the work continues to be like this until the end of the month, we can forget about the bonus.
When we returned to our workstations, I exhaled, but as it turned out, it was premature. The office phone rang, and Julia briefly responded with “okay.”
- Cinderella, Inga is calling you.
- I'm coming, thank you.
I took my laptop and stepped into the she-devil's office.
- Intern, I’m giving you tasks for today. First – listen to a three-hour interview with me and select the most important parts, presenting the information in the form of a dialogue. Second – write a review of 10 films produced in Ukraine, that have already been released or will be released this year. Third – write a 20-page A4 article on how women can become more confident after childbirth.
- Inga Nickyivna, but that seems like a lot for one day.
- Is it too much for what we pay you if you have such an approach to work? If you are weak, just say so, and you can be free.
- No, I will do everything.
- That's it, go, intern. You'll report on this tomorrow at the meeting.
My workday ended at 8:30 PM when Tristan literally forced me to pack up and took me home from the office. Tired, I worked another two hours at home.
Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time for Instagram or my own course. I barely made it to bed and collapsed into sleep.
(Day 102/122 of the experiment)
I had neither the strength nor the desire to go for a walk. The atmosphere at work could hardly be called creative or inspiring; rather, it was tense and unfavorable. Tristan made us breakfast and suggested I take some time off. My motivation was my story about the morning meeting, the number of tasks I had each day, and the personality of Inga (about whom there are plenty of rumors in the city).
But summoning all my strength, I went to work. I even managed to drink my coffee while finishing my tasks before the meeting.
-Intern, it's your turn. What have you managed to accomplish?
-Inga Nickivna, I have a big request for you. My name is Cinderella – like the heroine of the eponymous children's fairy tale. Could you please call me by my name rather than just “intern”?
-Look here, intern, for some reason your parents didn't name you a human name – Kateryna, Olena, Viktoriia – but chose this strange “Cinderella.” I don’t even want to burden my brain because today you work for us, and tomorrow it might turn out that you are just a pointless girl, and I’ll fire you. Continue, intern.
-I have a name, and I am one of many who passed the selection for this position. You have no right to call me a pointless girl and refuse to call me by my name, even if it is rare and unusual. The girls who work for you don’t see the light of day because they sit here from morning till night. And by the way, they are very talented and could have been creating long ago in a place where they would be valued. I have been reading “Women’s Stuff” articles for more than a month, and all the most popular texts are not yours. Their authors are these poor women whom you insult for no reason. I hope that one day they all come together and leave your publication. They will create something of their own and achieve success without you and your toxicity. I was also scared before; I sat in one place and was sure I would wither away in my job. But then I took a risk and completely changed my life. And you know what? I became happy. I am happy because I can tell you to your face everything I think about you without fear. I am happy because I know you are far from being the only employer, and there are jobs with decent bosses who do not put their interests above everyone else. And there are companies where polite communication is considered normal, not constant complaints and the boss's tyranny. I will not tolerate such treatment. And I wish everyone to choose themselves at least once in their life, rather than an illusory stability.
-You won’t tolerate such treatment? And what will you do?
-I am quitting. Goodbye. I will leave the computer on my desk. I wish you all the best and hope you learn respect for people.
I almost ran out of the office. I felt so sorry for all the girls who endure Inga’s bullying every day. They are just degrading themselves and sooner or later, they will believe everything she says. And then there can be no talk of self-love.
In tears, I called Tristan and five minutes later I was already sitting in the car.
-Why, why is she like this with me? What should I do now? I just quit from Happy.
-Darling, don’t cry. You have Instagram and your course, you’re working on yourself, you have so many opportunities. And this Inga is just mad at the whole world. Don’t even think about her.
-But, Tristan, how will I survive? – the words spilled out of my mouth along with my sobs.
-Cinderella, you have me. Don’t worry about money.
-What about self-realization? I don’t want to sit at home doing nothing.
-I’ll show you something right now.
And Tristan took his phone out of his pocket and went to my Instagram page. Under my latest post, there were over 100 comments asking where I had disappeared to. Followers were worried about what had happened in my life, why I had gone off the radar. People missed me.
-You see? This is your self-realization. Women need your help and your company. Lilia has already called me, asking how things are going because you disappeared from social media for two days. And she, in turn, was written to by your subscribers – Lilia is in several photos in your blog. And the girls didn’t shy away – they found Lilia’s contacts just to make sure you were okay.
I realized I needed time to rethink the recent events in my life. So I spent today like someone with a cold – in bed. I watched light comedies, drank tea, and reflected.
Oh, and I also added a post on Instagram explaining that I was fine, just dealing with a few small problems.