"Are you ready for the beach?" my best friend asks. Nadja has been excited about this trip ever since I brought it up the first time. I nod, her excitement is contagious. I can't wait to finally get away from everything and everyone here. 

Lately, everything just seemed to go downhill. At work, my boss kept giving me more and more to do while my colleagues annoyed me with their gossiping. Like that day two months ago, when my boss ordered me to put the finished project plan on his desk by the end of the day. “And I hope the report I told you to write is already on my desk,” he added slightly angrily.

“It will be finished in less than an hour, boss!” I replied like the good employee I am. My boss left for his lunch break. Once he was gone, my coworkers started leaving as well. As if I didn’t already have enough to do, one coworker reminded me that I also had to prepare a press meeting for that afternoon. Of course, I didn’t have time for a proper lunch break. I just ended up eating a small snack while finishing that report.

It’s been like that for several weeks. My coworkers knew I gladly spent some extra hours at work. After all, I was hoping to get promoted soon! I was hardworking and everyone knew and saw that. Maybe sometimes my coworkers took advantage of that, but I was sure it would pay off soon. 

At least that’s what I thought until, two weeks ago, one mistake ruined everything. I wanted to take a short break and looked up my holiday destination. Everything was already booked, I’ve planned the perfect holiday at the beach with my best friend. She’s been telling me for months that I’m really in need of a holiday and she was right from the beginning. I found this beach by accident, its name just came to my mind on a really stressful day. I guess I must have heard it from one of my coworkers who constantly take time off or call in sick to go on a holiday. When I searched for pictures, I immediately knew that I needed to go there. The beach looks so wonderful, like the perfect destination for a peaceful holiday. Looking at the pictures always gave me a calm feeling and helped to quiet down my thoughts when I was getting too worried about everything.

It had been one of those busy days again, just like the day before and the day before that. My coworkers had just come back from their lunch break. They saw me browsing the internet for beach pictures and started whispering about it. Just a second later, my boss came in. “What do you think you’re doing here?” he asked, already slightly annoyed.

“I’m just taking a short break, boss,” I replied honestly.

“But your lunch break is over already and I don’t think you have finished the new plan for tomorrow’s meeting.” With a bit of annoyance in my voice, I replied that I didn’t go on my lunch break so I could finish everything else, I just wanted to take a short break and I’d continue working in a second. “So, if I hadn’t come in here you’d have continued to be lazy. What am I even paying you for?!” my boss exclaimed angrily. He wasn’t used to me reacting like that. Normally, I wouldn’t have even tried to defend my actions in front of him. My coworkers tried to suppress their laughter but I could see how amusing this was for them.

“No, I’m always working hard during my work hours!” I tried to defend myself but my boss just shook his head.

“Yes, of course, I can see that. That’s why you never get anything finished in time,” he replied sarcastically. “I’m not paying you for looking at pictures of sunsets! And I’ll never pay you for anything else again. You’re fired!”

“What?!” I shouted, unable to hold back any of the frustration of the last days. “You’re firing me? Your most hard-working employee?!” I looked at my coworkers for some kind of support, but they all just looked as if they were about to start laughing. “I do everything around here, I even work extra hours just to get everyone else’s tasks done!”

“Well, I don’t see any of that work on my desk,” my boss replied with his arms crossed in front of him. I heard one of my coworkers laugh which was what really made me angry. Wherever it was that I found the courage to stand up for myself at that moment didn’t matter, I’m just glad I did.

“I gave my everything for this job, you will never find someone like me, someone willing to work as hard as I did.” I grabbed the few things on my table that belonged to me while getting stared at by everyone. On my way out, I had one last thing to say, ”Have fun with all the work that’s going to pile up starting tomorrow.” At least I had a dramatic exit, making Nadja more than just proud of me. It took me exactly two hours to start worrying about my whole existence but my best friend tried to get me through that as quickly as possible. Honestly, thinking about this holiday was one of the things that helped me a lot.

I tried finding a job as a photographer, but since I lacked any professional experience, no one was willing to hire me. On top of that, I caught my boyfriend of four years cheating on me. Not to mention that my parents weren’t really happy about my moving in again but there was no other option since Nadja lives at her parents’ house as well.

So, in all honesty, I am more than ready for this holiday at the beach! I saved up enough money to stay at a decent hotel and with my best friend, it will never get boring. I can worry about everything else later, right?