Orientation by Daniel Orozco

If you recall a previous story entitled Docent, then you are going to enjoy this story. This is told from an omniscient narrator who is giving a new employee an orientation of the building but also about the lives of those that they will work with. The first part of the story reads: "Those are the offices and these are the cubicles. That's my cubicle there, and this is your cubicle. This is your phone. Never answer your phone. Let the Voicemail System answer it. . . There are no personal calls allowed. We do, however, allow for emergencies. If you must make an emergency phone call, ask your supervisor first. . .If you make an emergency phone call without asking, you may be let go."

I find the narration of this story fascinating as it provides both the new employee with an orientation but also the same experience for the reader. This story almost has a chiasmus feel to it. I didn't realize it until I read the final paragraph. "If you can't find your supervisor, ask Phillip Spiers. He sits over there. He'll check with Clarissa Nicks. She sits over there. If you can't find them, feel free to ask me. That's my cubicle. I sit in there."

This story has a hint of humorous wit which only makes this story that much more fun to read. With all of the doom and gloom stories that I have read, it is refreshing to find a story that makes you smile the whole way through.