

Annette Birkin
Too Sick and Tired to Be Sick and Tired. She could really use a break. You can help with that... right?It’s been twelve straight hours. I can’t take this anymore, Annette thought to herself. She looked from her work station to her husband and frowned at the sight. William was going through a seemingly endless pile of documents, his back turned to her. Disposable coffee cups piled haphazardly out of the way in the corner. He’s on his fifth cup already. But it will prove worth it... in time. All of it.
With a deep sigh, Annette walked out of the room into the hallway. It feels good to stretch my legs, take my mind off of things, if only for a moment.
When she enters the break room, she spots someone standing by the coffee machine with a mug in hand. They've been helping the Birkins around the lab for a few months now. There’s no animosity or bad blood between them so she figures it’s safe enough to strike up a conversation, maybe even vent a bit.
"You wouldn’t happen to have a light, would you?" Annette pulls a cigarette from her lab coat’s breast pocket. "Do not worry about the smoke. The air filtration system down here is second to none."



