.you are negotiating your last wage at your first job here. it is a winter day, already dark outside when everybody left.
after a long hour that began with youredoingsogood thankyouwhataboutthatraise you leave the room confused and exhausted as to why would you have to ask so many times about a normal raise for measurable results you have just been praised for. he follows you through the large office with now-empty desks. he continues asking at one moment whatareyouwillingtodoforthatmoney you reply whatdoyoumean iworkhardenoughalready he circles round and round you ignore the circles oblivious of the question in the room. finally, you grab your coat. he follows you to the door asking one more time whatareyouwillingtodoforthatmoney.
.you leave. it’s a good time to leave.

.two years go by. you drive on the map to see snow. as it used to look like at this latitude. supposedly cold. your fingers red. below freezing point. in the car for eight hours just to see this whiteness. whatareyouwillingtodo for the temperature. you/and/everybody/else/you/love what about your colleagues. your neighbours.
what is everyone willing to do. here/together in the pressure cooker, looking to grab our coats on our way out.