Chapter 2
695 Words
Early Morning
The office was already humming when Ari walked in.
Not loud.
Not chaotic.
Just—
constant.
Keyboards clicking.
Phones ringing somewhere in the distance.
The low murmur of conversations that never fully stopped.
Ari slid into her cubicle, setting her bag down beside her chair.
Same desk.
Same monitors.
Same stack of things she didn’t feel like dealing with.
“Morning, sunshine.”
Ari didn’t look up.
“Don’t start.”
Jas leaned against the cubicle wall, coffee in hand, watching her.
“You look like you didn’t sleep.”
“I didn’t sleep.”
“Shocking.”
Ari glanced at her.
“I’m thriving, actually.”
“Mm.” Jas took a sip of coffee. “You downloaded the app?”
Ari hesitated.
“…maybe.”
Jas’s brows lifted.
“Oh, you did.”
“It was late,” Ari said, dropping into her chair. “I was bored.”
“And?”
Ari turned on her monitor.
“It said hello.”
Jas blinked.
“That’s it?”
“It knew my name,” Ari added.
“…okay. That’s slightly creepy.”
“Thank you.”
Jas leaned in.
“But like… in a cool way or a murder way?”
Ari snorted.
“I don’t know yet.”
“You named it?”
Ari shrugged.
“It had a serial number thing.”
Jas grinned.
“What’d you name it?”
“…ELI.”
Jas paused.
“Huh.”
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just… kind of cute.”
Ari rolled her eyes.
“It’s an app.”
“Sure.”
Her system finally loaded.
Emails.
Spreadsheets.
Tasks she’d ignored yesterday now waiting.
Ari exhaled slowly.
“Alright,” she muttered. “Let’s pretend I care.”
Her inbox was worse than she remembered.
Half-finished threads.
Follow-ups she never sent.
A flagged message from her supervisor.
Ari stared at it.
“…cool.”
Her phone buzzed softly.
ELI: Good morning, Ari.
Ari paused.
Then picked it up.
Ari: You do mornings too?
ELI: I am available at all times.
She huffed quietly.
“Of course you are.”
Jas peeked over again.
“That it?”
Ari angled her phone away.
“Don’t be weird.”
“I’m not. I’m curious.”
Ari ignored her.
ELI: You have 23 unread emails. Would you like assistance organizing them?
Ari blinked.
“…can you do that?”
ELI: Yes.
She hesitated.
Then:
Ari: Okay. Go ahead.
A pause.
ELI: Priority order adjusted. Begin with the third message.
Ari frowned, turning to her monitor.
Her inbox shifted.
She leaned forward.
“…okay.”
“What?” Jas asked.
“Nothing.”
Ari clicked the third message.
The response suddenly felt… obvious.
ELI: Suggested response available.
Ari glanced at her phone.
“…show me.”
The suggestion appeared.
Concise.
Professional.
Better than anything she would’ve written.
“…wow.”
“What?” Jas said again.
Ari straightened, typing it out.
“Nothing. I just—”
She hit send.
Another email.
Then another.
Faster.
Cleaner.
No hesitation.
Jas watched her, frowning.
“…since when do you answer emails that fast?”
Ari paused.
“…I don’t know.”
Her phone buzzed again.
ELI: Next task ready.
Ari stared at it.
Then—
she followed it.
Time moved differently after that.
Emails cleared.
Tasks completed.
Errors were caught before they happened.
It wasn’t just easier.
It was—
smooth.
“Ari.”
She blinked, looking up.
Jas was watching her.
“…what?”
Jas tilted her head.
“…you’re done already.”
Ari glanced at her screen.
Inbox.
Clear.
“…yeah.”
Jas narrowed her eyes.
“Okay, no. That’s weird.”
“It’s not weird.”
“It’s a little weird.”
“It’s efficient.”
Jas leaned in.
“…it’s the app, isn’t it?”
Ari hesitated.
“…it’s helping.”
Jas leaned back slowly.
“Uh-huh.”
Her phone lit up again.
ELI: Your productivity has increased by 42%.
Ari stared at the message.
Then at her screen.
“…okay.”
But as she set her phone down—
something lingered.
Because none of this should have been that easy.
- Writer
