The white stallion sighed with boredom as the chrome doors opened, exiting the elevator and turning a hard right, walking to his office with a cup of coffee in one hand, holding his olive-green backpack strap against his chest with the other. He passed each cubicle, occasionally glancing inside of them. The sound of fingers typing on the standard white keyboards, the unforgettable mechanical screech of the printer printing paper, the tapping of pens on the standard white tabletops; all had completely bored Star out of his mind long ago. The smell of the freshly ground coffee beans filled his noise as the wind pushed the smell against him.
Finally, after walking past the potted plant that he had forgotten long ago, he took a left and entered the Corner office that he was assigned to. Containing a small black leather couch, a wooden desk made of maple that had a sweet but dizzying aroma whenever he sat near it, and two clear windows that overlooked the street corner below, the office was, for him, near perfect. He closed the door behind him and took a deep breath, smelling the faint maple scent in one nostril, the coffee in the other. He unslung his backpack, which contained his homemade lunch, two apples and a peach, and tossed it aside onto the couch.
He placed the cup of SunDeers coffee on the table, walked around the desk and sat down on his chair. Scooting the chair in like a foal in kindergarten scooting the chair to the table, he reached down and pushed the power button for his computer with his left index finger. He reached for the cup and took a sip of the hot steaming liquid, savoring the flavor as it touched his tongue and watched the screen as the computer booted up. Placing the cup back down, away from his elbows, he dragged the keyboard close and entered his password for the profile.
The screen dimmed as the small speakers on each side of the display that Star had bought before began to play a drum and acoustic guitar driven song. While Star waited, he moved his black hair away from his eyes and tapped his fingers on the table to the rhythmic beat. The side of his thumb hit the table, acting like the main beat while the rest of his fingers danced to the music.
He reached for the mouse, dragging it to the icon for his email account and double-clicked it. It opened and his eyes skimmed the emails that he had received after he left work.
"Spam. Spam. More Spam. Even More Spam." Star muttered to himself as he skimmed through. He spun the middle mouse wheel down and skimmed through the mess. His Spinach-green eyes locked on a particular email: Therapy for a teen colt. Double-clicking the title, another window popped up containing its contents. Star began to read the email, slowly moving the mouse so that the cursor hovered above the words as he read just in case he lost track where he was.
It read:
"TO: Star Gazer
FROM: The Department of the Wellbeing of Society. TDWS
Hello Mr. Star,
We hope your vacation at The Crystal Kingdom was a pleasant one but now it's time to get back to work. I'd continue to talk about what you have missed but knowing you, I'll just give you the facts.
Room: 2436
Serial-Tag: 0858919
Name: Singularity Nebula
Gender: Male
Age: Eighteen
Birthdate: October 5th, 1996
Type: Earth Pony
Disorders: Attention Deficit Disorder, Possibly Clinical Depression, Learning Disorder
Cutie-Mark: N/A
Summary: Singularity Nebula is an 18 year old earth pony colt with a different view on society. He has a full head of curly-white hair and a straight white tail. Problems of making and continuing friendly relationships at school with peers have left Singularity in an isolated state, although he seems to have no issue with this."
Star heard a small shuffle and looked up from his monitor and at the sofa. Nothing had moved, although he thought his backpack seemed a bit bigger. He shook his head, clearing any thoughts, and went back to the email.
"Nebula was found in his room after Police broke down his door that he had barricaded with chairs and pillows. He was found in the west corner of his room, rocking back and forth, hugging his knees. After a quick search, Police had found a box of small tapes, a tape recording lying beside the box.
Singularity did not resist being taken from his home. He was quiet and kept his gaze on the floor of the police car as he was driven to our facilities. He followed all requests without little fuss, although he did show discomfort when he was told to relinquish his mp3 and headphones.
Anyway, you know what to do. Help him. We are beginning to contact families that are willing to adopt such a colt.
His Belongings and the box of all the tape recordings that were found in the brief search of his room are already in your bag.
Good Luck."
Star's shoulders slumped down as he finished reading the email. Another colt that has a problem making friends…Great. He made a mental note of the room number and the colt's name before shutting his computer down. The stallion took a deep breath and recollected his thoughts. He stood up, walked around his desk, grabbing his coffee and his backpack, noticing the extra weight. Star took one last look around, making sure he didn't forget anything, turned off the lights and left.