text: [Themes: modern, socially important]
  
  While you don't like to be late, you need to be alert on the road, and arriving five minutes late won't kill you - you can always start the subsequent sessions five minutes later, even if it will disgruntle a few people.
  
  You splash your face with cold water several times, which jogs your brain, and munch an apple en route to the car.
  
  Your drive is fairly smooth and a good run down even gets you to work on time. As you walk the flight of stairs with your fellow tutors, one asks the query on everyone's mind: 'Where were you, don't you always work mornings?'
  
  You mull her question and:
  
  > be Concise
  It's a tough question. You need to hide the full truth without alienating your employees, therefore you omit parts of the truth.
  
  'Didn't you know I have this schedule today?'
  
  This catches the employees somewhat off guard and one of them deflects their collective awkwardness with 'Well...I do now. It makes sense to me as I work later on Mondays and Thursdays - I need that additional money to service my credit card debt'.
  
  You disperse into your assigned tutoring areas to coach your students, and an afternoon nap between students helps you navigate through your remaining tutoring. It's only when your mental work is over that the fatigue comes to you, and all you seek is to sleep in your abode. You're packing stationery when your friend and firm CEO James, resplendent in a three-piece suit, surprise visits '2014 Tuition Centre' (i.e. your workplace), announcing tonight's company party in the city.
  
  You question how much longer you can stay awake, and the party isn't obligatory, but James's speech about 'being a team player for the firm' plants a seed in your mind that you could miss something consequential if you skip the party. Before committing to a decision, you talk to Daniel, who indicates it's unlikely he'll attend, but then again he's hardly a party-goer.
  
  > attend the Party
  What's the worst that could happen at a party? You're a grown man now, as long as you don't drink or stone yourself to oblivion you should be fine. At least that's your belief, after all it's been ages since your last party.
  
  Before you depart though, you call Kim to notify that you'll be back a bit later than usual. She appreciates your thoughtfulness and you head off to your car.
  
  However, you don't know how to get to the party, heck you don't even recognise the suburb name James mentioned! Pondering your plight, you spot two co-workers in need of a lift.
  
  First there is Dean - a young man who like you doesn't know the city especially well, but has a working GPS on his phone and already looked up the final destination.
  
  The other option is Dawn - a woman in her late twenties who forgot her phone, but has been to the party venue before and is confident they know the way from the office.
  
  Ray is directly behind you, about to offer them a lift, so you must hasten - who will you drive to the party?
  
  > Dean
  Although you don't have a GPS in your car, you figure modern technology should be reliable; you depend on it for work, don't you?
  
  Dean thanks you profusely, declaring 'I lacked the funds for a cab there!' You're too tired to nit-pick and query how he'll get back - right now you need his directions to the party.
  
  You buckle up and start the engine, eventually noticing you are leaving the main city. Doubts creep in that you're heading in the wrong direction, but Dean insists his phone GPS never failed him. Has he even used it before, you sardonically wonder.
  
  You drive across a bridge to an eerie trailer park, at which point Dean exclaims 'Here we are!'. You don't need a GPS to know you aren't, and you call on all your mental fortitude not to shout a tirade.
  
  'We're alone here, so I'm pretty sure we are at the wrong place.'
  
  Dean checks his phone, and soon blushes 'Oh - I typed the place name incorrectly! Sorry about that...we had to go half an hour in the opposite direction.' You can't believe the guy's incompetence, you missed a very important work meeting and it's not even your fault!
  
  You can't contain your fury, and you try to grab Dean's phone in a sleep-deprived rage, leading you both to wrestle each other in the park.
  
  The sound of your car's ignition ceases your fight as you witness your car being stolen!
  
  Leaving you two stuck in a trailer park with no way back.
  
  You catch a taxi back home, and hope nothing important happened at the party. Kim wonders about your delay and you start ranting about your contretemps that evening. You're sick of being awake and quickly head off to sleep.
  
  The next day at work, you notice the set-up is quite different, with significantly less tutors working in the tutoring rooms at any one time. After your last lesson, you ask one of the staff about the party, figuring the changes were announced there.
  
  'Oh it was great, James announced that he has branched out to allowing us to coach internet students from home as long as our call is monitored by the company, and we also have some rural school classes we can teach over the internet. In my case it's been a nice boost to my income for the week!'
  
  Following this brief conversation, you check the computer to check everyone's schedules for the rest of the week. You notice a substantial change - your internet students have been replaced with face-to-face students.
  
  That's when it dawns on you - by missing the party you effectively missed a big career opportunity. When you attempt to remedy this by talking to Ray, he pithily denies any business taking place at the party, other than buying drinks.
  
  After this event you lose all your gumption and quit your job a couple of weeks later. You employ your former company's idea and start working at your local high school, however you aren't very good at controlling a large class and the job wears you out to the point where you never again flourish beyond your basic necessities.