ЦАРЬ KAISER - A Race to Conquer (Countryhumans)

Spy

Monday. Borning day. The day I had to get out of my bed at the crack of dawn, to rouse my children and make them sit and eat a normal breakfast. It could take under twenty minutes, or more than two hours, so I had to plan my time carefully. 

"Come on Russia," I yelled from the car. "Stop dawdling." My other children were patiently waiting for their elder brother, who was taking his time. 

"Izvini," Russia huffed, slamming the door behind him. "Sorry."

"I can't be late today," I told him, pushing on the accelerator. 

"Are you going to do what grandpa asked to do?" Ukraine asked me. 

"Yes,"

"Is that why we're hurrying?" Russia yawned. "Boring."

My hands tightened at the wheel. "Russia, keep your thoughts to yourself," I snapped. The rest of the ride was spent in terse silence, all up until I dropped all three of them off at their school. 

"Have a good day, papa!" Belarus waved goodbye. 

I saw them off at the gate. "See you soon." 

My workplace was near the school, so it was very convenient to be able to park my car on the free lot on school grounds. I worked in a pretty conglomerate building, accented with large glass windows. Although I could technically work at home, it was less time consuming to come here and be able to do three things at once: take the kids to school, go to work, and...yes, the daily weekday therapy sessions. Right across the street, very thoughtful. 

I swung the doors to the building open, wishing that the Air conditioning didn't work so effectively in these rooms. As it was still summery, I kept to a simple style of a black t-shirt and a thin navy blue jacket that was more fashionable than useful. It was a New Year's gift, which is the type you can't decline. Even if they're useless. 

"Good morning, USSR," a calm woman greeted me at the steps. "How are you?"

"Good, of course," I smiled in return. "Nice to see you, India."

"Am very pleased to see you too," she replied good-naturedly. "I feel that today will be a less arduous day. I believe that we will be called to a meeting." 

We ascended the steps in unison, talking about the tasks on hand for today, organising work for our colleagues, and lightly touching upon weekend happenings. We had offices on different sides of the floor, so our conversation was short. My office was spacious, but also cold. I liked the views and the room to breathe, but there was nothing I could do about the general temperature that circulated from the main A/C unit. 

Unlike those who find it difficult to say what their profession is, I find that I can easily say what I do for a living: Synchronised translating. I was the manager of a group that did these services for a variety of people (those who paid for it). I would say my job was 25% skill, 75% practise. Generally, those who were naturally multilingual grasped the job easier, as well as flexibility with work hours. 

As soon as I plugged in my monitor, an email about a whole staff meeting was sent out. I sighed, knowing that yet another day would be wasted. The image of India's knowing face swam in my head as I called for a meeting on the main intercom. How did she know? 

---------------------------

The day was spent basically doing nothing. I was able to finish one of my own projects, but that was because I had done the bulk work the night before. 

"Aren't I supposed to decide whether or not we need a meeting?" I asked India as we headed out.

She shrugged. "I just let them do it. If you are so inclined, you can pull out your laptop and do your work as they discuss. Our job is to just listen." I frequently asked her for advice, as she was a manager for longer. "Enjoy the rest of your day."