New Hire

The new guy came up to our floor after receiving his onboarding information from HR. He spoke with our team assistant, detailing his drive from Chicago to Los Angeles. Three days across the country, no stops. I’ve known people who took joy in the trip, elongated it, went camping, stopped at the kitschy roadside tourist traps. The new hire speedran it, sleeping in his car. He didn’t sign the papers for his new apartment until the day before; the process had taken over a month. He was sleeping at a hotel downtown in the meantime. At the very end, he mentioned his mother and father, still back in Chicago, who lamented his leaving home for the first time.

No. 103