Dr. Belliveau's Dream Job - Chapter 6 [Fiction-Humour]
Stacey comes up with an idea that will change the course of her life forever.
Stacey sipped her morning coffee while doom-scrolling before work. It was part of her morning ritual. She set her alarm for 6 a.m., hit the snooze button at least 15 times, and then crawled out of bed full of regret.
She hated her basement apartment and would happily take a different job, a higher-paying job, if she could. For now, she was stuck with the damp basement smell and the slightly peeling yellow paint.
On this morning, like every other, she turned the faucet on and let it run until the first gush of rust washed away. She washed her face, pulled her long blonde hair up into a messy bun, made her coffee, and sank into the worn dip of the couch.
Although the ritual was the same as every other morning, something felt “off”. Stacey hadn’t slept much the night before, her thoughts returning to the dark screen that still flashed red and orange in the darkness of her office.
What would she do? A part of her wanted to keep it just to see what kind of information she could find. She was curious, of course, but she also needed her computer back so that she could do her job.
Abruptly, Stacey stopped scrolling through TikTok and put her phone down. She was irritated now. She’d actually have to think of a solution to the problem.
She sipped her coffee and looked around the apartment, her eyes settling on the small aquarium she’d bought to try to spruce up the place. The old guy at the yard sale had carefully explained everything to her.
This is a good deal, he’d said. She’d got a glass tank, filter works just fine, you’ll need to buy a test kit and a thermometer to make sure the water temperature stays stable. What kind of fish you gonna put in her?
Stacey shrugged. She didn’t know much about fish. All she wanted was something to cheer up her dreary apartment.
When she first laid eyes on the aquarium, all she could imagine was the fun stuff she’d fill it with, not the fish themselves. Fake, colorful coral reefs, multi-colored rocks, floating plants, and mood lighting were what she had in mind.
She hadn’t even considered putting fish in it. The old man waited patiently while she asked ChatGPT which fish would be easiest to care for in a freshwater aquarium.
Guppies! she said, turning her phone towards the man. See? They’re very adaptable.
So that’s what she did. She bought the aquarium, filled it with fun things from Dollarama, and bought guppies.
Now, six months later, she wished she’d bought a lava lamp instead. Sadly, it turned out that guppies were only adaptable to a point. And then they died.
Stacey’s coffee was getting cold, and she still hadn’t come up with a solution to her dark web dilemma.
Time to get dressed, she thought. It was early fall, and the air was crisp in the mornings now. She pulled a pair of thick black tights over her legs, slipped into a mini-skirt (red-white-and-green plaid), and wriggled into a cream-colored, short-sleeved, turtle neck.
She’d have to switch to boots once winter came, but for now, she continued wearing her white sneakers. The walk to work picked up just enough moisture on the soles to make them extra squelchy. The noise aggravated Richard from accounting. It probably irked anyone who could hear her walking the hallway.
Stacey didn’t care. She hated the hospital she worked in, her boss, and pretty much everyone from accounting (but especially Richard for no particular reason).
The street was quiet at this hour in the morning, but the signs on every flat surface shouted with aggressively poor grammar and sadly optimistic tones.
YARD SALE THIS SATERDAY. CASH ONLY.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS CAT? WHAT ABOUT THIS ONE?
LOOKING FOR HOUSEKLEEPER? NICE GIRLS AVAILABLE. PRETTY GUD WORK.
BECOME A LIFE COACH AND CHANGE SOMEONE’S LIFE. SIX-WEEK EMAIL COURSE FOR $2000 AVAILABLE IN INSTALLMENTS. INVEST IN YOURSELF.
Stacey rolled her eyes and chuckled to herself. She pulled the collar of her jacket a little closer to her neck to block the cool breeze. What does a life coach even do? She wondered.
She was about 15 squelchy steps down the hallway when the idea came to her. She could become a LIFE COACH! Not for $2000, though. Fuck it, she thought. ChatGPT will tell me how to become a life coach for free.
BING BONG BING BONG
She entered the office, sat down at her desk, and stared into the void that was the dark web. Ideas brewed in her mind. She looked up at the Blink camera, but never bothered checking the footage. She knew damned well it was Dr. Belliveau who’d messed with her computer.
At this point, it didn’t matter which computer she tried to log in to. Everything, including patient files, was likely corrupted and stolen by now. She had to report it.
Tech support. The guy answered on the first ring.
Can someone fix my computer? It’s stuck in the dark web.
Have you tried turning it on and off? The disinterested tech specialist asked.
I unplugged it and put the computer in the garbage can. Does that help?
I’ll be right there.
Like my hastily written book so far?
I’m writing this book off the top of my head. No editing (as you can probably tell). You get what you get, although I think it’s a decent book.
But I digress…
If you’re enjoying the book, why not subscribe for free? I’m not going to slam a paywall in your face or anything. Like, I won’t get to a pivotal part of the book and say WHOA, looks like you’re going to have to cough up some hard-earned cash for the rest.
Also, please share!
I always forget to ask people to share. Maybe because I’m facing a diagnosis of early-onset dementia and I tend to forget a lot of things. Interestingly, I can write fiction pretty easily but I can’t remember where I put my keys.
Maybe my fiction is really bad, and I’ve deluded myself. Oh well. Please share.