Josh picked up his phone to see an urgent notification from TaskRaccoon which he clicked on.
Dear Premium Tasker, we processed your task cancelation request. Please fill out this brief survey regarding your last task immediately.
We strive to ensure the safety of our Taskers above all else, on a scale of 1-5 how satisfied are you with your extraction from the task?
Josh had a sinking feeling that the fallout of his cancelation wasn't over yet. Josh entered a 3. He had his life back but his body was different and his identity to others isn't just known like with the other identities he had, his mom proved that. Jamal's shelf of a chest had somehow bled through but at a level appropriate for not having decades of steroid abuse, and he was some mix of at least the last two tasks and his original body.
Was the environment of your previous task safe? 1-5 - 1 being not at all, 5 being completely.
5
The survey hung for a few seconds. Was the description of the task accurate and did the task demands remain professional? 1-5
Josh put 4 for the lack of clarity around "Student to tutor" but even that felt off.
The survey hung again. Task abandonment is taken very seriously and much effort goes into screening, organizing, and finding candidates for, and completing each task. Your responses will be reviewed and disciplinary steps may be taken.
"Fuck!" Josh yelled, "Why didn't they fucking give me a spot to just fucking talk to them?" Josh was angry. "Hey Mom! I need some air." he called a moment later feeling like the world was collapsing in on him.
Josh found the car had reappeared in the driveway, whether that was yesterday when it first went missing or 35 minutes ago with his reappearance, he didn't know, but when he got in the car the seat was a little too far back and the keys were dangling from the ignition. Instinctively he started the car and backed out, he wasn't sure where he was going but needed to do something to feel better.
A few minutes later he had made his way to a gas station. He was out of the room, and the house belonging to a young man who he wasn't, at least not any more. That is a Caucasian household and he's somehow equally Greek-African-Cauc-mutt? Scientists would probably be completely baffled by his three-way genetics...
A few moments later he found himself staring at the beverages equally wanting to grab an energy drink or two, the entire pot of hot black coffee, or a protein shake and some food from the grab'n go section...
He found himself at the register pulling out a credit card, but his eyes locked onto his ID... it was the new version of him, caramel colored skin, black hair with wild curls, hair bursting from his flesh. But his birthday was different, instead of being 22, he was 26 now...
"Hey buddy, you gonna show me?" the clerk asked.
Josh handed over the ID, confused why he cared and he handed it back seeming disinterested... he had a credit card now? Getting outside he leaned against the building and tried to collect his thoughts... He opened the energy drink he chose, contemplating how to move forward.
His phone beeped, an email notification from TaskRaccoon...
Dear Premium Tasker,
As a task completion service, we take task cancelation very seriously. Normally, cancelation outside of a few specific reasons results in a permanent account ban, however, your premium enrollment affords you an opportunity to perform a task for us at your discretion if you would like our relationship to continue.
Opening the app a single task was offered, "Set up membership in one of our other apps and fulfill the applicable requirements successfully. Your premium membership spans our entire line of services. Eligible apps include: LoveRaccoon|24 engagements required, SkilledRaccoon|3 engagements required, or JobRaccoon|12 months at the same job.
LoveRaccoon is for finding relationships catering to hard to find interests, SkilledRaccoon is for finding specialized skills for moving long term projects forward offering 2-8 month contracts, and JobRaccoon is for those seeking permanent employment."
Josh tried to exit the screen and find a way to contact customer service but as before, was now locked into the task list or the task details screens and couldn't get back to the settings screen. He angrily ashed his cigarette, and took a heavy drag, realizing for the first time he's been smoking.
That feeling of the world closing in on him rushed back. This isn't who he should or even wants to be! He can continue his life as a 26 year old who no longer fits in with his family, may be dumber, is probably prone to steroid abuse, and is a smoker, he could try to reach the TaskRaccoon people, or he could try one of the other apps to get back in 'good standing' with the company before reaching out.