As we arrived at Chony’s place and my employer introduced himself, “Hello, I’m Grang, and you are who?”. I try to give a good first impression, pulled up my sleeves as he was sleeveless and tucked my pants, “I’m Lue, I enjoy to cut things to liberate, with my chopping skills, I can serve the best slices and dices.”. Grang whispered to Reba, “Ok, I know that you find weird employees for us, off the map people, but why the fuck did you got me a self harming maniac? Look, she cuts herself.”. Reba whispered back, “Don’t worry about it, I think she want to, dice something not herself. Look, she just need a good job, a little work and she will do fine. I got a good feeling.”.

Annoyed, I informed, “I’m right here.”. Grang looked at me with skepticism, “I’ll train you. Will go to my shop, show the place and will work on some protein in the Monday morning.”. I said, “Okay.”. Nodding my head. Reba said, “If you need a place to sleep, meet me at this address, I got a space for you to stay.”. As she handed me a piece of paper with an address on it, “Levin St. 24 Aprt. 5B”.

Grang walked to his truck, “Come, will go to the shop and I’ll show you around.”. I followed him and entered the truck. It was surprising clean for the jobs that I would think this truck demands. We drove not to far, saw beautiful shops and rising housing, it was all so beautiful and I just get lost in the moment.

Grang broke my passive state, “So where you form? Far off prison? Crazy house? Ex-military assassin?”. I wasn’t sure what to answer with. “Government experiment?”. Grang replied sarcastically, “Oh of course, a fucking mutant, explain the nocturnal eyes and muscular build. Yeah Reba, totally normal. Sorry she just find a lot of oddities but what she ultimately does is good, but she still does recruit a lot of weirdos, no offence.”. I try lighting the mood, “Um, yeah but we are all human right?”, Grang rolled his eyes, “Eh, its more of we are all sane, you know, Reba is a furry, she wants to be a cat, like really badly, I once caught her eating cat food and another time taking a shit in a litter box. And you, well I feel you are some sort of superhuman, while I know technical that doesn’t change species, it does however change how people would view you, you know, like with disable people and geniuses.”. I questioned “You and Reba know each other well?”. He answered, “Yeah, we talk. I supply the Technovania and its affiliates with the finest red for their restaurants, none of that steroid shit. Oh the poor kids eating at Toogers.”.

We arrive at his ‘shop’, as it was kinda hidden in a low part of the city, we leave and he open the door, introducing a slick, clean, metal interior of a butcher shop, with complex cutting tools and robotics with well preserved meat of various species in the fridges.

He introduce me to the kitchen procedures, basic science of meat handling and sanitation. When he taught me how to properly dice the ground beef, he was impressed by my super speed chopping and strength. He said “I have stroke gold.”.

After the tutorial and training, we close shop. Gave me all I need to access the shop and say our goodbyes. I arrive at the address Reba gave me, it was between the shop and Technovania and the edge of the low town. I ringed the door and Reba opened the door, she said, “Ah come in Lue.”. As I arrive the housing complex, I noticed a strong fecal smell along with rotten foods and used sheets coming from the garbage bags on the wagons. I said, “Hi, I think I smell your litter box, Grang told me you were a furry.”. She signed in annoyance, “I’m an otherkin, my spirit is a domestic cat. Furries just roll on anthropomorphic animals. I know, I know, its weird, and recent but I am an otherkin.”. Then she continued with a more friendly tone, “Anyway, here are the keys to five B. I gotta throw out the trash. I’ll see you tomorrow, night night.”. I replied, “Goodnight.”.

I arrive at my room, its cozy but minimalist. There is a white bed, a small kitchen, a mini fridge, a door to the bathroom and a desktop computer with a small monitor and large monitor. While looking nicer, admittedly, it was way less advance then my old room with a comfortable bed with robotic adjustable mattress, AI controlled kitchen, top of the line computers and luxury bathroom utilities. But that is nothing compared to actually building friendships, providing the community and being with humanity.