Abby hated her job. It was inconceivable that anyone could make someone sit for nearly eight consecutive hours at a computer; typing, clicking, typing some more. The damned flickering of the screen, the obnoxious hum of the fans. Abby hated her computer because it was the symbol of her job.
She had been working as a medical receptionist for three years every weeknight. Abby was a college student and needed the evening hours and the pay. That was the only thing keeping her where she was. Money and the need for money. Every day at one o'clock she went into Dr. Harris' office and sat down at her computer. She turned the computer on. She waited. She signed in and clocked on. Then she pulled a file from the stack beside her monitor and began to copy it into the system. Then she saved it. Then she picked up another file and began to copy it into the system. Then she saved it. On and on, from one till nine she typed. She took a half hour lunch break in the office, usually at the desk. When she was finished, she clocked out, signed off, and then left after locking up.
It was not fair! Abby was pretty, young, sociable, and entirely normal. As a twenty one year old she had no desire to be stuck behind that damned monitor listening to that damned hum. By the time she was home, her friends were already out doing what she should be doing. Instead she read her text books, exercised, and went to bed. Routine. Everything had been the same for three years. Nothing changed except for the patient, her classes, and her clothes. Abby was beginning to go insane- she wasn't sure she could take any more of the mundane life she led.
Monday afternoon, Abby arrived promptly at work and pressed the power button on her computer. She waited. She signed on and clocked in. The humming started, the monitor flickered. She took a file from the stack beside it and began to copy it into the system. Then she saved it. At about three o'clock, her eye twitched involuntarily. Abby didn't notice it, but then it did it again a few seconds later. Abby paused and rubbed her eyes, hoping any mental damage wouldn't be permanent. The thought was a bit sarcastic, but laced with truth. Then she picked up another file and started again.
Dr. Harris and Susan, his medical assistant, said goodbye at five. Then Abby was alone with the computer. Just as she picked up her next file, the computer froze. And then a little blue box popped up- "Fatal Error: Unknown operation. Windows must restart". Then blip!, it was gone. One hour of work and repetition and now nothing.
Abby's eye really started twitching now. Her blood boiled and her veins popped and her muscles clenched. The cute twenty-one year old receptionist was replaced by a technology-hating, anger filled, bitch. And her left foot wanted the computer to know it. One good kick to the side of the tower and it stopped restarting and powered down.
The anger quickly cleared and Abby realized that perhaps Dr. Harris would not be understanding of her breaking the thousand dollar piece of equipment and losing hundreds of patient records, even temporarily. Abby frantically kicked out her chair and crawled under the desk, searching for some quick fix. She reached back to the surge protector and flicked the glowing red button to "Off" then back to "On". Nothing happened. Next Abby tried flipping the master power switch on the CPU itself. Still nothing! Then she tried hitting the reset button, opening the tower tray, closing the tower tray, unplugging the monitor. Nothing!! She unplugged, replugged, and unplugged again. Nothing!! Abby was really worried and realized that she was in serious trouble. She pushed herself out from underneath the desk and dropped back into her chair. She picked up the phone and slowly dialed Dr. Harris' cell phone number.
Just as the phone started to ring, the computer fans hummed back into action and the light on the front of the monitor switched to on. Feeling divine intervention, Abby hung up the phone quickly, not wanting to disrupt Dr. Harris at home or outside of the office. Feeling her heart beat start to slow she pulled into the desk, feet tapping anxiously. The monitor went to the startup screen and then blinked to a blue background. Fearing another reset, Abby clutched the lip of the desk. Instead, something else happened.
Bitch.
Abby read the single word blinking at the top left of the screen repeatedly. What? Who programmed this thing?
Shouldn't have kicked me bitch.
What? Was this some sort of practical joke, the young coed wondered. Someone must be setting this up.
Now you owe me bitch.
Abby started looking around for the hidden camera show or Dr. Harris' laughing face. But no one came popping out from behind the file cabinet.
Whatcha looking around for bitch? You stupid or something? Bitch.
Abby decided that she would show the smack talking computer and pressed the power button with her toe. The monitor blinked, momentarily, but nothing changed.
Dumb bitch. You can't control me. I'm not your mindless automaton. You're my bitch. Bitch. Remember that. You're all mine.
Abby was fed up! It had to be a show, and she was pulling the plug. She kicked back from her seat and dropped to her knees and crawled once more beneath the desk. She grabbed the power cord and realized- it was unplugged! The computer shouldn't be operating.
Suddenly the blue glow emanating from the side of the computer turned to a sinister red. Abby was beginning to get a little unnerved with the strange computer activities. She started to back out from under the desk, when the power cord in front of her snaked to life. Abby really was scared and tried to stand, but only ended up hitting her head on the table above her. It gave the animated cord an opportunity to hook around both of her wrists and yank them tightly together. The cord pulled her wrists out from beneath her with a strength that was nowhere evident in the small black wire. Abby dropped painfully on her elbows as her hands hit the rear of the desk. She began to scream for help, hoping that whoever was arranging this bizarre occurrence would reveal that it was all a hoax at any moment. But no help would come and no one heard her cries.