Title: User Friendly
Notes: Well, I wanted to do a more serious story, but after a very long week, I just had to write something light. It's just a small insight into some programmer's life. The first chapter is just a small light introduction.
Main characters: Lucas and Ben, small roles from my characters.
Description – Ben finds out more about the life of Programmers when he and Lucas are sent to a programming company for two weeks!
This story is dedicated to all who are battling at the frontlines, may the force be with you.
User Friendly
Chapter One
"Tell me again why we have to spend two weeks there?" Ben mumbled as he grabbed his luggage from the boot of the taxi.
Lucas sighed, ever since Bridger had given them the order Ben had been grumbling about spending time with "geeks" and "nerds".
"Because they needed me to help, and they need you to get some parts for them. Plus, Bridger thinks it is punishment from your last idea!" Lucas said as he grinned evilly.
Ben snorted as he paid the cab driver, before turning his attention to his friend.
"So what's your punishment?" Ben asked as glared at Lucas.
"Being stuck with you," Lucas mumbled under his breath.
"What did you say?" Ben asked, as he missed what Lucas had said.
"I'm going to be dealing with customers!" Lucas answered honestly.
"Clients? That's not that bad!" Ben said as he followed Lucas towards the double story house.
"Ben, I need to tell you a few rules before entering. Number one, when opening the door, you get in and close the door quickly!" Lucas said dead serious.
Ben snorted as he looked at Lucas in amusement.
"Why?" Ben asked in confusion.
"Because it's considered bad manners and it's evil. You don't want an angry programmer after you on your first day," Lucas explained as they reached the gates.
Ben looked at the building; it looked like a normal double-story house, which was surrounded by a green fence.
"This is a programmer's place?" Ben asked as he looked at the place again. It was nothing like he expected. He thought it would be surrounded by technology, not plants and a beautiful garden.
"Yes, they hire someone to look after the gardens to make it more user friendly and less scary," Lucas said as he eyed the nature.
Before Ben could reach out and press the intercom, the gates opened.
"How did they..."
"Camera's, plus, they are expecting us," Lucas said with a smile when he saw the look on Ben's face.
Suddenly the few days were looking a bit brighter.
As they walked, Ben looked up at all the windows and noticed that they were all blocked.
"What's wrong with the windows?"
Lucas didn't need to look up to know that there were closed.
"They have air con, plus, there are curtains covering them," Lucas said with a smile.
"But why? I mean, it's a perfect bright day?" Ben asked.
"You'll see, now remember, when the door opens, get in and close the door!" Lucas reminded Ben as they approached the old wooden door.
Lucas went first as he opened the door and quickly entered. As Lucas walked in he heard someone cry out. Concerned, Ben opened the door wider, as he entered the room, looking for the reason of alarm.
"BEN! Close the door!" Lucas ordered.
Ben looked around to see Lucas trying to block the sun's light from a young teen's face.
"Evil…bright….yellow…thing!" The teen moaned as she closed turned her head.
Ben frowned and wondered what the captain would say if he ran away.
"Ben, close the DOOR!" Lucas yelled.
Ben moved into the room, closing the door behind him.
"Sorry," Ben said sheepishly as he looked at the teen.
"What is that evil thing?" She asked as she looked at Lucas.
"It's the day star, you know, the thing normal people call the sun?" Lucas joked.
"Its evil I tell you, it's so evil," She said as she shivered.
"Sorry, I told Ben to be careful, but he's a day person," Lucas explained.
Ben looked at Lucas and the teen. She was the same height as Lucas. She was very slim but her baggy black pants and baggy blue t-shirt made her look bigger. Her long brown hair was tied up in a messy bun, making a few strands fall loosely against her pale skin. Her light green eyes shone in amazement as she looked at him.
"What?" Ben asked, feeling nervous at how the teen was looking at him.
"Sorry, I just don't speak to many people who like the day," She said as she looked back at Lucas.
"I'm Tammy, but everyone calls me Ghost," Tammy introduced herself.
"I'm Lucas, some call me Frankenstein, but you can call me Lucas," Lucas offered.
Ben frowned, wondering what other name he could give out.
"This is Ben, he's not really a gamer," Lucas introduced Ben.
"What's that's supposed to mean?" Ben asked, not really knowing what was happening.
"You are a normal, it's understandable. Don't worry, by the time you go back you'll be speaking our language," Tammy said with a smile.
Ben couldn't help but feel a cold shiver go down his spine. Sure he wanted to know more about Lucas and his life, but the way she said it made his hair raise. Suddenly, Ben was afraid.
"Well, let's go we got a lot to see," Tammy said as she pointed towards the entrance hall.
Before they even managed to take a step, a scream echoed the empty halls, making everyone stop in their tracks.
"Who's in trouble?" Ben asked, he had heard many cries in his life to know that someone was suffering something terrible.
A loud bang was heard within seconds of Ben's question, followed by another one.
"What the hell?" Ben asked, looking at Tammy who was shaking her head.
"Code?" Lucas asked.
"A,"
"Ouch, how many?"
"A week," Tammy answered.
Ben looked at the two teens in confusion as he listened to their conversation, he couldn't understand why they were standing their so calmly when someone was in trouble.
"Shouldn't we help? What the hell is happening?" Ben asked.
"I wouldn't go now, Matt just needs some time, when it's quiet, that's when you should get worried," Tammy said in between the loud bangs.
"What?" Ben asked, very confused at the moment.
"The joys of a programmer's job, Ben, don't worry, it's a normal reaction. You see, we have different codes for each problem. Code A is very horrible and very cruel, but it happens a lot," Lucas explained.
"That's why we have the room where we can take our frustrations out. See there's a football in there, and right now, that noise," Tammy said as she waited for the loud bang before continuing, "is Matt kicking it against the wall,"
"Why? What's this code A thing?" Ben asked as he winced when he heard the noise.
"Code A, is when you work on your task. In this case, Matt has been working on it for a week. He finally finished it," Tammy explained.
Ben nodded his head, but he still didn't understand.
"Then, when you give it to the client, they….oh, I just can't say it. It's just so mean," Tammy said as she lowered her head in dismay.
Ben looked at Lucas to continue.
"They change their minds," Lucas said with such horror that Ben thought that someone had killed a puppy.
"I don't understand," Ben said, still not really getting the problem.
"It means, Matt has just spend seven days, seven very long days, with only a few hours of sleep, working on the code, that no one wants anymore," Tammy said sadly.
"Ouch," Ben said as he winced in sympathy.
"This is the tenth time they did it to him, I don't know how much more he can take," Tammy said as she looked at the ceiling.
Lucas paled when he realised that this was going to be his punishment for the next two weeks.
Ben saw Lucas getting paler and now understood why Lucas didn't want to come to a company. Sure Lucas was a programmer, but he didn't have to deal with customers, he only had himself to answer for. How they were going to survive the next two weeks, he did not know. He was just thankful that his job was easier than Lucas's.
To be continued…