After a quick confirming check of a clipboard, the receptionist picked up the 'phone and called somebody named "Shirley". Shirley presently entered through the door that separated the reception area from the rest of the office, smiled at Sacha, said "You must be Sacha", and ushered her through the door into the office.

Once in the office Shirley said: "I'll just go get Leonard. He's who you'll be working with most closely."

"Okay" said Sacha, a little perplexed as to who this Shirley was in that case, and why the receptionist had called her. She didn't linger on this thought, however, as shortly a tall middle-aged man with grey hair walked over to her, and said:

"You must be Sacha."

Sacha confirmed once more that she was, to which the man (presumably "Leonard", though he didn't introduce himself) said:

"Is that with an 'S', or with a 'C'?"

"With a 'C'" Sacha replied. "S-A-C-H-A."

"How strange" Leonard smiled. "I was of the understanding that that was ordinarily the spelling of the male form of the name."

The day didn't improve a whole lot from there. Leonard proved an affable but not particularly helpful colleague: he eventually managed to find a computer and desk for Sacha to use, although it took a lot of chair-shuffling which seemed to indicate to Sacha that, somehow, the company hadn't been quite prepared for her arrival. A lightning-brief flash of doubt had Sacha wondering whether she'd arrived on the wrong Wednesday

Once a spare computer was found, Leonard assured Sacha that he'd find a document on the network that would explain to her all about the work she'd be doing - but unfortunately he couldn't recall whereabouts on the network it was. He started the search confidently, but that confidence was bruised severely when he double-clicked on a folder and it was completely empty. "Oh, that's right" he said in an embarrassed voice, and double-clicked another folder which while not empty nonetheless didn't contain the document for which he was searching. With increasingly ineffective efforts to hide his embarrassment he tried several different locations on the network before, after ten minutes of fruitless searching, he asked Sacha to wait please for just one moment and went off to find somebody who might be able to help. "I've been on holiday" he explained sheepishly "They've changed things a little while I was away."

He was gone for fifteen minutes, during which time Sacha was left to swivel in her chair, her stomach gurgling hungrily while several of her new colleagues passed back and forth, all smiling slightly cautiously at her and none of them introducing themselves. Leonard eventually returned with somebody who immediately found the document - with the accompaniment of a wide-eyed sigh of wonder from Leonard. "Here, read this. It'll explain everything" he said to Sacha, and left again in the company of the other person.

The document explained little; or rather, it explained much, but in such obfuscating and jargon-laden language that Sacha read it three times before coming to the conclusion that it hadn't been written to be understood. At one point the 'phone on the desk next to her rang, and rang persistently. Sacha was unsure what to do about it, but assumed that the receptionist would pick the call up - wasn't that what receptionists were for? However, a passing woman, noticing Sacha's inaction in the face of the strenuously ringing 'phone, asked firmly, "Could you please answer that?" The tone indicated that it wasn't really a question - as did the look of irritation in the woman's eyes. Sacha barely even knew the name of the company to announce when she picked the call up.

Somehow, lunchtime eventually came. Sacha rose from her chair with immense relief when she saw everybody else slip past her out the door: she intended to follow them to find out where the favourite spot for eating was locally. This plan was interrupted, however, by her 'phone bleeping loudly in receipt of a message. She checked it.

It was from Rona. It said: "Heard you're starting a job this week. Hope it goes well."