Tammy.

  Three days until expansion.

  Exhausted, sweaty, and stinking through her deodorant, Tammy, along with many of her coworkers, all dragged themselves into the locker rooms, each moving with a mechanical absence of ‘joy’ in their lives.

  No coffee breaks, no lunch break, three extra hours, and none of it with overtime pay due to a ‘crisis loophole’.

  Hell had certainly looked like a better alternative by the time the day was over.

  Tammy uncsped her jumper, practically able to see the vapour of her sealed suit escape in the form of humid sweat, the abrupt influx of cooler air feeling like a godsend for her lidded eyes.

  The atmosphere in the room was quiet, subdued, with a subtle undercurrent of reserved tension.

  The sombre demeanor seemingly shared from person to person as the odd conversation rose, faltered without any traction, then floundered as their collective weariness overcame any desire to speak.

  Once more, Tammy’s eyes fell upon the augment still sitting in her locker. The impulse that had initially driven her to buy it only being tempered by its return policy, and her unwillingness to yet commit to instaltion.

  So long as she didn't open the box, she could take it back.

  So long as she didn't give in to temptation, her moment of selfishness could be, if desired, reversed.

  She almost reached for it. So very close to hitting ‘fuck it’.

  Still, her hand drifted away before she could let herself give in to its sweet allure, passing it by and instead grabbing her apartment key-card, her phone, and her backpack.

  Though drawn to the gasping sounds of relief that came from the other room, Tammy didn't bother with a shower, her gaze catching several of the others who were lining up, Brian included, but ultimately deciding that she just wanted to be home.

  She didn't stop on her way back, she didn't even give a quick trip to her usual bar more than a cursory gnce at its neon exterior. Tammy merely wanting nothing more than the sweet, sweet embrace of her pillow and bnkets.

  Sadly, as with most things in her life, her ‘pn’ didn't go nearly as expected. And why should it? After all, Tammy had no less than seven missed calls, and all from the same person…

  “Seriously?” Ian demanded, the sliding door to her apartment not even fully shifting into its metallic pocket before her ‘loving son' was compining, already standing there, looking like he was pulling at his hair.

  By contrast, her father was still sitting exactly where she'd left him, in his usual seat, the news still pying a rerun on whatever had likely been earlier reported. “Oh, good, Tammy. Now we can figure out dinner!”

  Tammy looked from her son to her father, then back again. Both of the ‘men’ in her life staring at her both expectantly and for likely entirely different reasons…

  “I’m not making dinner." She intoned, "Order something.”

  “You know I can't figure that stupid interface out! I—”

  “Then have Ian do it, I'm exhausted.”

  “Really?” Her son demanded, his messy hair, poor hygiene, and deep-set eyes all culminating in a look that would have nauseated Tammy were she her younger self.

  It was, ugh... simply not an attractive look...

  Despite her love for him, her son was so much, mhrm, less than she’d expected.

  Tammy, at his age, had been social and vibrant, always full of life and good cheer with more friends than she could count.

  His father had been strong and confident! And before their fallout, had always brought with him a certain assurance that, if anything ever were to go wrong, he would fix it.

  Yet, when compared with their son, with what she was currently looking at, Tammy earnestly wasn't even sure what had happened. And, sad as it was to say, part of it was beginning to disgust her.

  How had it ever gotten so bad?

  Gone so wrong?

  Even in his bedraggled state, she could see the man he was meant to be, could see his father in him—it was just…

  Mired in disappointment…

  “Are you actually serious, right now?” Her son, again, demanded his look halfway between furious and hateful.

  Tammy gnced at her father, an eyebrow raised, which her sire matched in a way that had Tammy pausing…

  Why was—

  “My birthday!” Ian hissed, tone dripping with venom, almost looking like he wanted to strike her…

  Hah.. yes, there were many parts of his father that he certainly did exemplify, sadly, they only ever manifested as the culmination of the very worst, rather than the best…

  And, Tammy—as it happened, wasn't infallible either…

  His birthday…

  Why hadn't she remembered?

  Why didn't she really care?

  “Oh,” She eventually managed, blinking away the weariness the best she could. “Sorry, but there was a fatality at work… It's been a long day.”

  “O-okay, but, we’re still doing cake, right? And, you said you were going to make—”

  “I’m tired, Ian. Sorry, maybe if you’d woken up at a normal hour, we could have pnned better, but I’m exhausted and going to bed. Maybe on the weekend—”

  “Fucking typical! You—you were out drinking again, weren't you?”

  “That's—”

  “I should report you! C-child endangerment!”

  “Ian, you're seventeen…” Her father finally interjected. “At your age, I was already—”

  “Oh my god! Why do you keep bringing that same story back up? It's not relevant! This isn't ‘ancient earth,’ we're not barbarians that send their young out to the sughter by the time—”

  “Enough, Ian.” Tammy growled, more of a sigh really, pushing by her son and deciding she was ‘done’ with this.

  “You can't—”

  “If you want better, then earn it.”

  “W-what? I-It's my—”

  “Yes, your birthday. Congratutions sweetie. You're a man now! Legally. In fact, you were an adult, st year. That means I can start charging you rent. We’ll discuss it in the morning, darling. Until then, enjoy your special day, or whatever's left of it, anyway."

  “You can't charge me rent! I—I’m still in school!”

  “No, remember? You were expelled for missing half the semester.” Tammy corrected, reaching into the fridge to get a packet of juice. “I tried paying for remedial courses, but, so far as I’m aware, you haven't touched them. So, as I said, Adult. Time to pick up your socks, and say hello to the real world, Ian. And goodnight, sweetheart.”

  She finished by reaching out to rub at her son's cheek, the boy’s face a canvas of disbelief and shaking rage. Yet, as she passed her father by, giving him a hard look, a slight feeling of liberation overcame her person, especially as her father backed down, bowing his head without wanting to say a single thing.

  That had been a long time coming…

  And as she sucked back the only liquids she’d ingested since the coffee from the morning meeting, Tammy dropped onto her mattress after locking the door, and passed out without another word thought, drifting away with an immediacy that was wonderfully quick.

  With the morning came regret. But also a breath of fresh air.

  Tammy rose, showered, took her follicle treatments below the eyes, and did what she had to do, regardless of hardly eating the prior day.

  Despite how hungry she was, despite how badly her feet ached, a serene aura of satisfaction yered over her like a heated bnket. One that saw her refreshed in a way she hadn't felt in years!

  Her sleep had been amazing!

  Her consciousness shutting off like an unplugged microwave, dreamless, heavy, and restful! Her slumber leaving her, in no uncertain terms, revitalized.

  “Good morning, Dad.”

  “...Morning,” Her father replied, shifting in his seat, bowl of oats and his daily news, both out and visible, just as they were each and every morning that she saw him.

  Tammy wandered over to his side, gncing down at a smaller, more tired, and wrinkled version of a man who had been with her for her entire life.

  There was a hesitation in his gaze, an almost nervous uncertainty that, doubtless, arose from the prior evening's outburst. Still, she waited patiently to see what he’d say, almost daring him to try and maneuver around her judgment.

  Tammy made the rules here. And it was high time that people started listening! She was done trying to be ‘nice’ about everything. She simply didn't have the energy.

  If these two wanted to plot with each other, then all the power to them! They could go and get an apartment and see what the reality had in store for them both.

  After a few moments, her father, again, looked away, head tilting downward as he made to shift his breakfast about with a spoon, not willing to make eye contact.

  For her part, Tammy leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, turning away to make a quick parfait for herself from the ingredients she had on repeat order.

  “Make sure Ian eats something before I get home.” She demanded, tone gentle, but firm. Gncing at her father, and noting how nodded, licked his lips, but still refused to speak whatever thoughts might lie in his head.

  He tried twice more, failed, then let out a long sigh as he turned to her. “About st night…”

  “I meant what I said, and now that it's out of the box, I won't put it back in.”

  “He’s just a boy!”

  “You had me working part-time, and studying at school, and all while I was fourteen. I’m done.” She reiterated, sticking a spoonful of yogurt in her mouth, “He can grow up, or he can live under his mother's skirts, under her rules. And if not—” She breathed, swallowing with wavering resolve, “then he can learn what happens when one refuses to contribute to society.”

  “Tammy…”

  “Best you have a word with him, Dad, because I'm serious about this. Maybe he might get lucky with his father, but I really sort of doubt that.” She announced, putting an now empty container on the counter before checking her colr, just as she did every morning.

  Despite the looming sense that she was on the verge of cracking, or possibly, already in the process, Tammy rode the tram into work feeling as though she were a new woman!

  She swiped herself in at the pnt, chatted with her co-workers on their way to the changing rooms, then pulled on her jumpsuit, possibly looking like the only ‘happy’ person in the room.

  That was when she saw it.

  Autopilot…

  It was still there, still right where she’d left it. Only—was the box—upside down? She blinked, stared at the thing, then shook her head…

  Probably, she’d just picked it up before going home, considered it, then put it back down again.

  Ooof... she'd been beyond weary, and it wasn't the first time she'd palmed the thing, just to feel its weight in her hand.

  Still, this time, while she lost interest in the world around her, staring at the small device, just as she had nearly a dozen times since she’d bought it, this time, Tammy didn't look upon it with a mixture of apprehension and guilt, but rather, determination.

  She was done.

  So, why not do something for herself for a change?

  Where was the harm? After all, it was her money, her time, her life.

  Two more days of free time a week, every week, all the weeks in her life going forward.

  Invaluable.

  “Hey—Tammy, you're spacing out again...”

  “Never better!” She chirped, turning to stare up at Brian, who was looking at her with moderate concern.

  “Ooookay… I ugh... not really the response I was looking for... B-but, are you sure? You’ve just been standing there for like—”

  “You want to get a drink after work?” She blurted, dazzling the younger man with her bright smile, moving slightly closer to his proximity in the process.

  Brian was taken aback, shock and mild stupefaction warring across his face before he locked up, nodding his head with hesitation that was—strangely adorable… Young, handsome, athletic, with a good job and he always showed up for work.

  A real man…

  After some awkward flirting, a clear but not unworkable sign that Brian simply wasn't used to company from the opposite sex, and a promise she’d be right behind him, Tammy found herself to be the st person in the change room.

  Flying on cloud nine, her confidence soaring high, high above, the woman did something even more audacious and impulsive than anything she’d managed in what felt like years.

  Finally having it out with her teenage reprobate?

  Finally asking out that cute guy at work?

  No.

  Tammy, feeling far too good, her inhibitions all but forgotten, finally tore open the box in her locker, briefly gncing over the simple instructions before, with but a moment's hesitation, she pressed the injector onto the nape of her neck and pushed the button.

  There was shock! A spike of momentary pain! Then, a wondrously warm and chilly reverberation pulsed through her spine.

  Every fiber of her existence rexing as one more knot of tension lessened in her shoulders.

  Tammy smiled.

  Then she pced the chrome injector back with her belongings after shuddering with scarcely contained anticipation, shutting the door and heading to her shift with all the others.

  This had been the right decision.

  This had been the only real option avaible.

  Tammy deserved this. And soon, she would take that next step in reciming just a modicum more of her sanity.

  Happy as she was, Tammy never again questioned why the box had been flipped. Never gnced more than a second to note that the protective seal had been carefully sliced through. Nor would she have ever guessed that what she’d just injected—wasn't what it wholly seemed. However, feeling as she was, she also might never have cared regardless.