Akiko followed the directions from the bus stop, up a back street to the office building. She checked her watch; she was a bit early, so she stopped outside, looking at the building. It looked fine to her, in good condition, with a proper nameplate and signboard. She could, just about, see a few women working in the front office, and their uniforms looked fairly conventional. The skirts were possibly a bit on the short side, but they weren’t miniskirts by any means. Akiko frowned to herself. She still didn’t feel right about this; if anything, the feeling had got stronger as she got closer.

<em>Maybe you just don’t want to work,</em> she told herself.

At that moment, something shifted, the world seeming to go out of focus for a moment. Akiko shook her head and rubbed her eyes, blinking as she looked around. Everything came back into focus, but with a difference.

The office building’s facade was now riddled with cracks, all of which were leaking foul-looking liquids. There were things crawling on the sides, giant lizards made of something like plastic, no, it looked like camera film. Their eyes shone the red of LEDs, and they peered into the windows, trying to force their way in through tiny cracks. As she watched, one managed the trick, disappearing inside with a hiss.

Just as Akiko was making up her mind to skip the interview, her vision shifted again, and the building looked normal once more. She still considered leaving, but in the end she decided that she couldn’t let the vision drive her that much.

As she entered the building, the woman behind the desk smiled at her.

“Good afternoon!â€

“Good afternoon. I’m Akiko Tanahata…â€

“Ah yes, the interview. Please follow me.â€ The receptionist led her behind the desk, and upstairs to the second floor, indicating a door. “In here, please.â€

Inside the room, another woman, in the same uniform, sat at a desk, working on a computer. She looked up, removed her filter mask, and smiled.

“Ms Tanahata? If you leave your resume here, you can change just through that door. There are several uniforms hanging up; there should be one in your size.â€

“Oh, thank you.â€ Something definitely felt wrong about this, although Akiko wasn’t sure how much of that was due to the vision. And could she trust that? And even if she could, what did it mean?

Inside the room, there were a lot of uniform jackets and skirts hanging up, and even a set of packs of tights. Turning round, Akiko saw the blouses, and she pushed the door to, revealing a mirror on the back. She took one of the jackets off the wall, looking for a size indication, but couldn’t find anything. She stuck her head back out of the door.

“Excuse me, none of these jackets seem to have sizes marked.â€

“Really?â€ The woman sounded slightly surprised. “I’m sorry. Just try them until you find one that fits; it shouldn’t take too long.â€

Akiko nodded, even more unsure, and, closing the door, began to unbutton her jacket. Hanging it up, she turned to the clothes set out. The tights, at least, had sizes marked, so she picked out an appropriate pair, and undid her belt. As she did so, something moved in the mirror. She looked sharply at it, and saw one of the lizard creatures perched in a corner of the ceiling, its eyes seeming to move in and out, focusing on her as it leered down. Spinning round, she looked up.

There was no lizard, but she saw the glint of light reflecting off glass. A camera! Suddenly, Akiko understood. Quickly doing her belt back up, she pulled her jacket on and stormed out of the room, snatching her resume up from the desk. The secretary looked shocked, but her face went bright red as Akiko turned back to her and said,

“I saw the camera!â€

There was a murmuring from the women in the office as Akiko rushed through, but she didn’t stop to analyse their reaction. She didn’t need a job that badly.