The bitter-sweet aroma of coffee filled James's nostrils as it drew closer to his lips, slightly burning the roof of his mouth. A thud emanated from the cup as it rammed into his cubicle desk.

wiping down his mouth with one hand, he steered the other down below his desk, imagining it a flying dragon going down to eat its measly prey. The startup sound of his computer was slightly distorted; the speakers were damaged by a leak in the ceiling that the higher-ups were simply ignoring.

as James peered at the ceiling, a phone screeched. Generally speaking, this would have immensely annoyed James, but this time, it nearly brought tears to his eyes.

the opening soundtrack of one of Smith's favorite childhood cartoons played. it spoke of a pig that lived a great life! The pig had food always ready, shelter to protect itself from the elements, and a custodian that deeply loved it.

the pig boasted of its great life to all the other pigs, making most of them jealous. However, a young pig once said "sure, you have food whenever you want, a home, and live more comfortably than any of us, but I never see you leave your house. Why is that?"

The swine, proudly stated, "I don't leave my house because the outside is dangerous."

The piglet was not convinced, rebutting "is that true? It is safe enough for a piglet like me, so how can a big and strong pig like you be in danger?"

The fat one stumbled upon its words "but the master said so..."

the piglet laughed, laughing like the world is ending! but he managed to sneak in some words through the wicked glee "you are no noble! you are a slave! a slave to that master of yours. soon enough, hell cut you up and have you for dinner!"

the fat pig...

you get where this is going. eventually, the fat pig was slaughtered for its meat after being raised a king. thus was the price of comfort.

although James was far too young to remember anything of the show's message now, it still left an imprint on him.

James drew a cold frown along his face, as he remembered the days when he still had a dream, a vision of his future.

You see, this James smith was a big dreamer in his youth, envisioning a reality where the mere mention of his name was enough to bring men to their knees, where he would have the power and the authority to choose what he would do in his days, where he was the boss that everyone loved, the one that threw pizza parties at the office, revered by his inferiors, applaud by his peers, envied by his rivals, and feared by his enemies.

But there he was, daydreaming in his office of an alternate reality where he was a real man, maybe, just maybe would his life be different if only he had some balls.

He overheard two of his coworkers having a conversation nearby

"Are you coming to the party on Saturday?"

"Not sure, though I'll try if elaine is coming"

"You sure wish she would just spea...."

As the conversation drifted into obscurity, James's mind drew an image of elaine Williams and a very detailed one at that. Her lips were a vibrant scarlet, her cedar eyes slightly slanted, complementing her hickory hair.

James had been deprived of affection as he grew into his late teens and 20s, and so he longed for it, love.

James's heart fluttered as he envisioned himself holding his beloved in his arms, in a million-dollar yacht overlooking the orange sun.

He felt something deep in his chest, something quite nostalgic. He wanted to jump out of his chair and beat up his boss, start an empire of his own, and steal the heart of Elaine Williams!

Although realistically speaking, that would be impossible to do. So, he took a breath, calmed down, and went back to work.

As the clock came near 5, James had already forgotten what he had envisioned, letting his inner child down.