Time ticks by, it was silent in the office. The AC is set to 23°. Everyone is busy. All you can hear are the typing sound produced by hundreds of fingers as they hit the keys on the qwerty.

Al is a typical guy, an IT professional, working in a large company. Everyday, he would focus on all his tasks and try to finish all of them before he leaves his desk. He usually stay in the office for longer hours and would use his time as productive as possible.

Working in an IT company was his dream. But he never thought it was not easy as he used to think.

One afternoon, he was under pressure. There are some requirements he needs to deliver, but for some reasons, his mind was empty. He tried to organize his thoughts but ended up staring blankly at the screen. He went to take a break.

Few minutes passed by. He’s back on his desk, but still unable to get to where he left his work. He opened up his internet browser and then closed it. He did it several times.

Then the phone rang.

“Hello. Good morn… (glance at the system clock and…) Good afternoon.”, as Al answers the phone.

“What, are we good?”, asked Cesar.

Al quickly checks the requirements and found out they are not yet completed. Then gets back to the phone.

“Yeah. We’re good for tonight’s delivery.”, said Al.

“I’m happy to hear that. Thanks. I’ll talk to you again later.”, said Cesar.

Cesar drops the call and Al looked back at his monitor. Still. Blankly. Beeping sound started and he realized the handset he was holding between his shoulder and his head. Then put it down.

As he tries to recover, he thought of reading from one of his favorite technology blogs.

Engadget. check!
Allabouteeepc. check! Holy crap! Still no updates.

Then he read some more blogs and followed each link he sees. After a few more blogs, he decided to focus on his work again. But as he was about to close the browser, he landed on this new blog called Short Stories Blog. Then it ruined everything. Al didn’t want to work anymore.

Al read the latest post on the blog, and suddenly couldn’t stop it. He just can’t get enough. He thought he could help it but he continued reading all the rest of the entries. Until he was inspired. Until the deadline was up.

Al was not able to deliver and Cesar was mad.

Al resigned from his job the next day and started this blog. He thought he had a talent same as Roy, though not as good.

Now, he’s naming his blog, “Chapter Next”. Because of the Short Stories Blog, he realized that a good story should never end. And there are a lot of stories in books and movies that he liked very much, but he’s not satisfied with how they ended. Al thought those stories should continue, and he’s about to start the next chapters.