Chapter 3: 9:40am (Office Tour, Part 2)

The lift made its way to Floor 2. Even though it was just one floor apart, it still felt like an eternity, as Silver replayed the conversation back in his head. He regretted using his psychokinesis, not foreseeing that it would raise suspicions, and even more for his unprofessional outburst. No doubt Shadow would be speaking to management about hiring (or not hiring) him after the day. What would he say to them about his crabby behaviour? Perhaps he should apologise immediately, now that the time is still ripe; or he should wait a few hours – Shadow will be with him outside of his interviews, after all – and raise it only then.

"You weren't born with psychokinesis."

No, he wasn't. The ability of HedgeHog Fund Quant Traders to see through the slightest of falsities sent shudders down his spine; is this the type of people the firm gives job offers to? He wondered.

A curious smell flew into the elevator, distracting the hedgehog from his troubles. "What's that smell?"

"See for yourself," replied Shadow monotonously, as the lift opened to yet another floor of mouth-watering glory. "Welcome to Sweet Mountain Canteen."

"Oh, my, Chaos! It smells amazing…" Silver looked around, eyes beaming nearly as much as his salivary glands were dancing.

"They're just wrapping up breakfast. And, yes, it is free."

"Do they serve other meals too?"

"They also serve lunch between twelve and two, but not dinner, although they will save any leftovers for those who stay a little later in the office, which is nice. I often grab my share when I leave at six; I'll either microwave and eat it here, or take it home."

"What kind of stuff do they make for breakfast and lunch?" asked Silver, already anticipating the lunch after his first interview.

"Breakfast is quite standard; it's everything you would expect in a Full Mobian Breakfast: eggs, sausages, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, hash browns, baked beans. The eggs are cooked differently every day. Take as much or as little as you want. Lunch varies; looks like it's spaghetti with a few selection of sauces and pasta today."

Silver swallowed saliva at least four times as Shadow was speaking. Now he really couldn't wait until lunch came.

"What do you usually have for breakfast?" asked Silver. He did not get a reply. "Shadow?"

"…I only eat baked beans." The ebony hedgehog turned away slightly.

"Really? You can't eat like that! It's unhealthy. I feel terrible – you're missing out on all the goodness of food!" gasped Silver, reeling at the thought of not ever eating hash browns or scrambled eggs with salmon.

"I eat whatever I like. It's not preventing me from functioning normally, is it?" spat Shadow.

"I guess you have a point. Perhaps you'd like to try something else from time to time?"

"Don't tell me what to do. I know what I like and what I don't like, and I optimise my intake to function most efficiently," said Shadow menacingly.

"…Sorry I asked. When's the busiest lunch period?" Silver looked around. The rectangular tables stretched quite far into both the left and right sides of the floor, surrounded by food stations. Only a few employees were left, sitting idly and scrolling through their phones.

"Normally one to two. We might just avoid the peak by eating at half-past-twelve. Also," remarked Shadow. "Don't be like them. They're just wasting time and precious company resources. Now, we're off."

Just as they approached the lift, Shadow's stomach grumbled. He cursed under his breath.

"Did you have your baked beans, or did you not have your baked beans?" said Silver, dryly.

"Yes," spat Shadow, a little flustered. "Pretend you heard nothing."

"Typical mathematician…" mumbled Silver.

"You are one as well!" snapped Shadow. This hedgehog really gets on my nerves sometimes… "We're on Floor 4. Floors 3 and 4 are pretty much the same, differing only in their design. These two floors are our workspaces."

They got out of the lift. "I'd like to see Floor 3 at some point, if that's possible—" said Silver.

Shadow gave the white hedgehog a good, hard stare. "Alright, here's an interview question for your unfiltered brain. Why do you think we skipped Floor 3?"

"…because they're nearly identical?"

Shadow laughed. "How foolish. It's for efficiency. My workspace is on Floor 3. That's where we end the tour and commence our shadowing, so that nothing on the tour is unnecessarily duplicated."

"…I should've known. Sorry."

"We're going into the workspace. Keep your voice down."

Says you… thought Silver. "Okay."

"The lifts go through the centre of Chaos Tower. On Floors 3 and 4, you can go into the North, South, East or West Wings," stated Shadow, gesturing in the four precise directions. "Let's start North, since that's the bearing we face when we come out of the lift."

The two hedgehogs walked into the North Wing.

"Spooky vibes," said Silver, feeling a little shuddery.

"Indeed. Welcome to the Pumpkin Hill Workspace. This is one of my preferred workspaces. I like it because few people can stand the atmosphere. That excludes you, it seems."

"Yeah, not for me." The white hedgehog grimaced.

"Weak-minded. Look at those pumpkins! Look at the red-orange wallpaper, as if time is frozen in a perpetual sunset! It's like Halloween every single day, yet not too dark to still allow work and reduce eyestrain." Shadow grinned, as if in a daze.

"Why didn't you come to work here today?" asked Silver.

The black hedgehog's grin vanished in a flash. "I had a lot of work to do, so going to Floor 3 would save me around twenty seconds of time. Or so I thought, until I was told that I—" He cursed in his mind. "Until I was told nothing. Never mind. Let's head to the East Wing."

He marched off, feeling a little shaken that he almost let slip of some forbidden words. "Make the candidate comfortable and keep him in good spirits…" he muttered, over and over again, until he realised that Silver didn't follow him. He begrudgingly trudged back. "What's the matter? We don't have all the time in the world."

"Shadow, if you don't mind me asking, how do you and your colleagues get along at work?" asked Silver monotonously.

"We get along just fine. Stop sulking and follow me."

Silver pressed his lips. Suddenly, he felt less excited about the job and the firm than when he arrived about fifty minutes ago. He hesitantly followed on, keeping a bit of distance to his host.

Shadow continued to walk Silver through the exotic yet mysterious Pyramid Cave Workspace in the East Wing, the lush thickets of the Green Forest Workspace in the South Wing, and finally the City Escape Workspace in the West Wing. He pretended to be cool, yet he knew all too well that his attitude had cracked, and the candidate wasn't having any of that. That shook him a little.

"Alright, that's Floor 4 for you. Favourite workspace so far?"

"I really liked Green Forest. There's not a lot of greenery where I'm from – the plants and trees and conifers and whatnot looked so realistic! It felt as if I was really in a jungle."

"They are real, Silver."

The hoary hedgehog's ears flicked upwards, his eyes wide with surprise. "Wow!" he exclaimed.

Shadow frowned a little. Just who is this child? One second he's upset, and the next he's beaming with ecstasy… he wondered. How could someone be so emotional?

"How about your least favourite? Other than Pumpkin Hill, of course."

"I wasn't a huge fan of City Escape either. I think I would pick a quieter workspace so that I concentrate better. City Escape seemed to be bustling with life, but that's not always for me."

Shadow continued to ponder. Doesn't like busy and lively spaces? He must be an introvert. Shadow frowned harder. Just like me, an introvert… nah, forget it, we're definitely not similar in any respect.

"What's your least favourite workspace, Shadow?"

The black hedgehog pretended to not hear his question. "Let's go to Floor 5."

"Uh, alright!"

"Curses!" spat Shadow, looking at his watch, just before they stepped into the lift. "We're behind schedule. It's ten, and you should be shadowing me right this second. Ugh… fine. I'll let you choose. Do you want to continue touring or see what we actually do in our day-to-day lives?"

Silver paused for a second. "I'd like to see more of the building, if that's alright."

I sincerely hoped you wouldn't have said that… "Fine," hissed Shadow through gritted teeth.

"You know, Shadow," said Silver, his gaze apologetic. "You don't have to if you don't want to. Just tell me. You're my host, after all."

Shadow closed his eyes, feeling a pang of guilt. One day, certainly one day, his angry attitude will bite him in the tail. "No," he said decisively. "We're continuing the tour, as per your wishes. Oh, great, we've missed the lift."

"Sorry."

"Stop apologising," said Shadow, tapped his left foot impatiently. Quiet and sharp taps resonated from the marble.

Be professional, Silver. Contain your emotions. Be professional. You need this job! Make sure they like you, even your moody host! He took a deep breath, trying to inhale some air to scatter his thoughts and discomfort away.

The next lift arrived shortly enough, and the two hedgehogs shuffled into the container.

"Off we go to the Library, then."

"Wh-where? Did you say the LIBRARY?"

"Y-yes, why?" Shadow felt a bit taken aback, looking confused.

"You have a LIBRARY? I… I LOVE libraries!" beamed Silver. "H-how many books are there?! What books do they have? Can I stay after-hours to read? Heck, can I even live there?"

Here we go again, thought Shadow, dreading the impending Ding! of the lift. Chaos, help me…