Ruby's fingers hovered over the keyboard, the dull glow of the office screen reflecting in her tired green eyes. The words on the email blurred together, meaningless corporate jargon that made her want to scream. She had spent the last four hours drafting the same report, tweaking numbers that didn't matter for a boss who barely knew her name.
She glanced at the clock. 4:47 p.m. Thirteen more minutes. Thirteen painfully slow, soul-crushing minutes before she could escape this beige prison for the day.
A notification popped up.It was an email from Douglas Marlin. The email said: <
Ruby sighed. Douglas Marlin was her manager or rather, the walking migraine she reported to. He had a habit of sending urgent emails that really meant I messed up and need you to fix it immediately.
She clicked it open.
The email: {Ruby, there's a mistake in the quarterly expense summary. Again. Fix it before you leave. I need it by 5:00. And please double-check your work this time.}
She clenched her jaw. Again? She had checked those numbers five times. If there was a mistake, it wasn't hers. But arguing with Douglas was pointless.
Grinding her teeth, she yanked her chair closer to the desk and started rechecking the file. Sure enough, the mistake wasn't hers, it was his. He had miscalculated travel expenses, but instead of admitting it, he had dumped it on her with his usual condescending tone.
Ruby's fingers tightened around her mouse. She could feel that familiar fire bubbling inside her.
She wasn't sure when it had started, this feeling of suffocation. Maybe it had been there all along, lurking beneath the surface, waiting for a moment like this. She had spent three years in this office, doing everything right, playing it safe. She had gone to college, landed a respectable job, and done what everyone expected.
And for what? To be treated like this? To stare at a screen eight hours a day, listening to the same hum of the AC, filling out spreadsheets no one cared about?
Her entire life felt like a long, dull Monday morning.
She exhaled sharply and fixed the report, sending it back just in time. Then she shut her laptop with a little more force than necessary and grabbed her bag.
Douglas's office door was open, and as she passed by, he called out without looking up from his phone.
~ Douglas: "Got it fixed?"
He didn't even thank her. Something inside her snapped. She took a step back, gripping the strap of her bag.
~ Ruby: "Actually, Douglas, I've been meaning to talk to you."
He glanced up, raising an impatient eyebrow.
~ Douglas: "Make it quick."
Ruby's heart pounded, but she lifted her chin.
~ Ruby: "I quit."
The words left her mouth before she had fully processed them.
~ Douglas: "What?" he blinked
~ Ruby: "I'm done. I'm not coming back."
For the first time in her entire career, Douglas looked genuinely caught off guard.
~ Douglas: "You can't just leave like that"
~ Ruby: "I can. I just did."
She turned on her heel before he could say anything else. Her body felt weightless. She was half-expecting panic to set in, for regret to creep in like it always did. But instead, as she stepped out of the building for the last time, all she felt was freedom.
And then… she laughed. A full, unfiltered laugh, the kind she hadn't let out in months.
It was ridiculous. She had no backup plan, no safety net, no idea what came next. But for the first time in years, she didn't feel trapped.
She walked faster, pushing through the heavy glass doors of the building, feeling like she had just come up for air after drowning for too long. The city stretched out before her: cars honking, people walking with purpose, neon signs flickering to life as the sky darkened. Everything felt more vivid, like she was seeing it for the first time.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She ignored it. Probably her sister, or maybe her best friend, checking in on her after another miserable day. Except today wasn't miserable. It was something else entirely.
She took the long way home, weaving through the crowded sidewalks, past storefronts glowing with warm light. The scent of coffee drifted from a nearby café, and on impulse, she walked in.
The barista greeted her with a tired smile.
~ Barista: "The usual?"
Ruby hesitated. Did she even have a usual anymore? Everything about her life had just changed in the span of a minute.
~ Ruby: "No. Something different."
She scanned the menu, then pointed at something she'd never ordered before.
~ Ruby: "That one."
The barista nodded and got to work. Ruby leaned against the counter, tapping her fingers against the surface, still buzzing from adrenaline.
Her phone vibrated again. This time, she pulled it out.
It was messages from both her sister Natalie and her best friend Leah.
{Text from Natalie: Hey, how was work? You alive? Call me.}
{Text from Leah: Drink after work? You need it.}
Ruby smiled and put her phone in her bag. She wasn't in a mood to talk or go hang out. Not tonight. She wanted to be alone, just with herself.
The barista slid the cup toward her. She paid, grabbed it, and stepped outside into the cool evening air. She took a sip. It was strong, bitter, unfamiliar. Not what she expected. But she liked it.
She kept walking, the city humming around her, headlights casting long shadows against the pavement. The streets were still alive, neon signs blinking, a distant saxophone playing from a busker on the corner. The night air was cool against her skin, a welcome contrast to the stuffy office she had just left behind.
She reached up, running a hand through her thick, wavy red hair, still pinned in the low bun she had forced it into that morning. Strands had escaped, curling wildly around her face, defying every effort she had made to tame them. She yanked out the hair tie, letting it fall past her shoulders, feeling lighter as the breeze tangled through it.
Her green eyes flickered over the passing storefronts, their glow reflecting in the glass as she caught glimpses of herself. She looked the same but somehow, she felt different: freer.
The soft glow of a streetlamp caught the faint freckles dusting her cheekbones, a reminder of summers spent outdoors, back when she still had time to enjoy the sun instead of being trapped under fluorescent lights.
She pulled her jacket tighter around herself, her fingers brushing against the strap of her bag. It was almost funny, she had walked into work this morning just another exhausted, overworked employee. Now she was…
What?
Unemployed? Reckless? Or maybe, for the first time, brave?
A car passed, kicking up the scent of warm asphalt and city rain. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs. She should be panicking. She should be questioning everything.
But she wasn't. She kept walking, her steps steady against the pavement. For the first time in years, she wasn't just getting through the day.
She was living. And whatever came next, she was finally ready for it.