[Juni Savage]

How did Juni of all people get roped into this again? She just didn’t know. (That was a lie, she knew very very well how she got roped into this but still!) She was a post-doc, a fully-fledged research assistant on her way to being a full professor at the university, and here she was being asked to fill in for a couple of people out for the holidays like some hired staffer. Ugh and of course she couldn’t say no because keeping a good impression with her lab and the university was very very important right now— But still.

“Thanks for filling in on such short notice, Dr. Savage.” Juni blinked a couple of times as she was pulled from her thoughts to look up at one of the Deans standing there. “Your ambition precedes you.”

Oh Arceus damn it. Juni smiled. “Hah, thanks; I’m happy to fill in where I can,” she answered quickly. “If you need anything else, just let me know.”

“Oh don’t worry, I will.” the Dean responded with a smile. Juni forced a smile in kind. She waited for the dean to turn and head off to wherever he was going before allowing her face to fall blank. This is so beneath me… Chewing the inside of her mouth, she looked down at the list of things she had been asked to look into. Where did she even want to start with all of this?

---

Words: 240
Filing Manager, research rank job.
mVA4IhJ|p_

[Elayne]

Nothing Happened!

All rolls were passed.

Juni Savage

The files are in quite a mess scattered all over the Dean's desk, boxes stacked everywhere. At least they thought enough to give some basic instructions where all the files were supposed to go.

[Juni Savage]

Groudon give me strength. Juni punched the bridge of her nose and took a couple of slow, deep breaths. It was fine. She was fine. It wasn’t like she was being asked to sweep up some mess or clean up trash. She was just reorganizing the papers and filing them away. That fell under academics didn’t it? She could just think of this like restructuring an academic something or other and—

This wasn’t helping. Gritting her teeth, Juni just focused on the task at hand. Starting with the papers on the desk, she picked them up and started going through them, sorting them by type. Student reports, academic affairs meetings, whatever the hell this is…..oh look an unfinished publication… leave it to a dean to be unfinished… She really should stop being this bitter, but at this point it was worming its way around to being fun, somehow. There…. That was the desk sorted and reasonable now.

….Which meant she had the drawers to go through next too. A slow breath drew into Juni as she pulled open the first one to peer inside.

TxrtZKpKp_

[overlordie]

Nothing Happened!

All rolls were passed.

Juni Savage

The first drawer actually seems rather clean and organised! It seemed to be full of neatly arranged binders with colour coded tabs sticking out of each, telling you what each section is and the topics of said binder.

[Juni Savage]

Oh thank Groudon. A soft sigh escaped from Juni as the drawer actually seemed to be clean and organized already. That was one less thing on her plate, then. Slowly fishing out one binder at a time, Juni assessed them each carefully before shuffling some of the papers from the desk into the correct slots in this filing system. Good, ok, that was not nearly as bad as she thought it wa—

Was that another drawer? Yes it was. She’d nearly forgotten about it from the brief euphoria, but now Juni was switching gears to assess that one and the filing cabinet next to that. Hopefully the dean would be as neat and tidy and— Ah good. The second drawer in the desk was about the same as the first which made shuffling and assessing a reasonable task. She alphabetized them all and resettled them into slightly different drawers, but overall it came ot alright.

That left the filing cabinet which was already partially opened. Oh, here we go, she mentally prepared herself again.

qlymNQ7bp_

[Elayne]

Nothing Happened!

All rolls were passed.

Juni Savage

Though not quite as neat and organized as the drawers, there is some attempt at organization in the filing cabinet as well. There are a lot of broad categories that seem to have odds and ends shoved into them. Oh, apparently one is labeled 'boring things'? Well, isn't that interesting.

[Juni Savage]

The filing cabinet carried much older documentation. Juni could tell from the various worn filers and pages that these weren’t as frequently looked at as other things were. She got that, she really did, but Juni was also a minimalist. I wonder how much of this could be scanned in and recycled… Chewing the inside of her mouth and wondering why she would self-assign a task like that, Juni pulled open the first file and started going through it.

Ah, this was in regards to some organizational agreements around campus. Many of these were historic in nature and rotting in quality of paper. Ugh… I suppose I can just scan in the oldest looking files… Juni decided mumbling a soft curse to herself as she walked out of the office to try and locate the nearest scanner. She’d find it in the office lobby, not too far away but not entirely convenient. Shaking her head, Juni walked back to the office, grabbed a few divider’s worth of papers, and walked back out to the scanner. Punching in a few codes and locations, she started up the first scan and waited.

pJ7QjDBlp_

[Ebblow]

Nothing happened!

All rolls were passed.

Juni Savage

Scanning the papers in goes smoothly and you're able to not waste too much time on this extra stuff. Plus, there's a conveniently placed recycling bin next to the scanners! Easy peasy!

[Juni Savage]

One scan, two scans, three scans, four…. Five scans, six, scans, how many more? Juni chewed the inside of her mouth as she went through scanning each and every document before tossing it in the recycling basket. It took a little bit longer than she would have liked, but it meant more space in the long run. After everything was processed, she went back to the dean’s office and logged in to the computer with her own credentials.

Quickly sorting the documents into the correct spots, she stood and then went to grab a few more hand fulls. Hm… no I should leave that one in paper form… Sorting again, Juni started back over to the scanner and went to work once more. She spent several hours working through what could and what couldn’t be scanned, but by the end, she had removed hundreds if not a thousand pieces of paper. With one whole filing cabinet free, she felt rather pleased with herself. Ok, what next?

Looking back at her list, Juni squinted. Ok, next was reading— Oh…. Great… Grant applications. She probably should have started with grant applications, but you know what? She’d gotten her exercise in first. Maybe she could focus and really buckle down on what she needed to be doing. Yeah! Pulling up a computer, she opened the first document.

U|_SkENqp_

[Elayne]

Nothing happened!

All rolls were passed.

Juni Savage

Seems that the grant applications are actually quite fun to read! Some of the people even put in a few amusing anecdotes (or did that just get missed in the editing process). Oh well, whatever the case it makes the time pass more quickly. Most of the documents are well thought out and nary a spelling error in sight.

[Juni Savage]

The first grant application was… surprisingly refreshing to review. Dr. Wilder always was rather good at writing things in a clear and focused manner, and Juni found herself legitimately interested in their work regarding dimensional wormhole energy. She had studied a little of that when reviewing effects of planetary force fields, but even without an in-depth knowledge, she had a pretty good idea of what they were up to.

Hm, but was that oxford comma supposed to be there or not? Humming a little to herself, she highlighted it and posted a comment on it before continuing on. If she was wrong, fine, but at least no one could say she didn’t notice it or question it.

A few more comments were given here and here before Juni went on to the next grant, one smaller and written by Dr. Kyle. Ah, he was rather young wasn’t he? That would explain why his writing was so shaky and why it seemed like he was more likely trying to convince himself of his qualifications rather than writing about what he wanted to do. She…. supposed she was feeling generous coming off the heels of Dr. Wilder and could offer some pointers here and there, heh.

3yqLAUD_p_

[Elayne]

Nothing happened!

All rolls were passed.

Juni Savage

The next set of grant requests are along the same vein as the ones that came before. Some of them are very well thought out, others are short, sweet, and to the point. Either way, this part of the job seems to be wrapping up.

[Juni Savage]

The more she read, the more Juni found a clear difference between experienced and inexperienced grant writers. Some of them were so good and clear and thought out while others were confusing and muddled at best. It was a somber reminder that she would need to be careful when submitting her own grants someday as an independent primary investigator.

Those days wouldn’t be for a while, however. Post-doctoral positions took time, and a whole set of other skills needed to be developed first. A small shake of head was given as Juni worked through the rest with clear purpose, giving helpful questions and suggestions where she could.

After that, she was left checking her sticky notes to find what was next. Ah… So she had finished most of the work for the dean now. Good good. The next was more personal— With winter break here, it was time to clean out her own research lab while she had the chance. The pre-docs and the graduate students were on break and taking their sweet time which meant it was an excellent chance to spruce things up undisturbed. Locking up the dean’s office and then walking down the hallway, Juni hummed as she made her way to the lab.

The lab in question was actually more of an office space than a traditional research lab. Computational thermodynamics required more white boards and super computers than beakers and flasks— though on occasion she still used those, heh. Looking at the sole bench top that was afforded in the lab, Juni smiled and started to fiddle with what was there. This needed to be organized next.

ntIpIo7Wp_

[Elayne]

A random event has occurred!

What will you do?

Juni Savage

Woops, who had a party in here? It looks like there's a bunch of goo and some sort of sticky residue covering the papers. Whoever used the desk last didn't do a good job of cleaning it... oh, looks like there's a couple of beakers with questionable liquid inside. Hopefully the goo isn't from whatever is inside the beaker.

[Juni Savage]

Ok, I should get up and actually start to— Juni squeaked when, as she moved, something moved with her. Her arm that had been resting on the bench top briefly was now pulling at some slime as it came off the top. Juni immediately made a face. Oh no…. This better not stick to her clothes when she wasn’t wearing a lab coat right then. Grumbling a little, she pulled off the sweater quickly and walked to the sink to wash the gunk off of it. Thankfully at least on clothing, it seemed to come off pretty quickly. Setting her sweater off on the back of a rolling chair, she then walked over and grabbed a lab coat and gloves. At least then she’d have the proper coverage.

The surface of the bench top was…. gross, actually. What the hell was this residue anyways? She knew it smelled familiar but— Ah rubber… melted rubber, actually. It made for good modeling projects but not good for anything else. How did she want to go about cleaning this? Ugh maybe I can heat it up with some soap and water and it just be fine…. She could hope and try for now at least. Prepping some towels, Juni then started wiping the bench top down slowly, carefully.

t791E5Y3p_

[Elayne]

Nothing happened!

All rolls were passed.

Juni Savage

The rubber seems to want to stick to the towels, but with enough time and patience, it seems the slime is starting to come off. Heated water and soap was a good idea after all.

[Juni Savage]

A slow breath escaped from Juni as the resin started coming off. It wasn’t quite as easy to get off as she would have liked, but it was something by comparison to nothing. Humming softly as she wiped it down and (in some places) scratched it up, Juni slowly but surely removed all the resin. After that, some quick ethanol spray and wipe sealed the deal making sure that it was not only clean but sterile for use later.

I’m lucky we only have one bench top…. Back in the day, she remembered when other labs had longer bench tops for many more people. She was even sure that most of the laboratories in this building were like that. Thankfully that was not hers, though. Or my responsibility, rather… Immediately as she thought of that, Juni deadpanned. Unless the dean says so…. She didn’t want to think about that. What other wet labs were doing was not her problem, not at all.

Walking over and checking the computers next, she ran her glove slowly over the keyboard.

qytLycq|p_

[Elayne]

Nothing happened!

All rolls were passed.

Juni Savage

Thankfully the computers seem fine! A little dusty perhaps and a few of the keyboards are a sticky in spots but nothing in comparison to the sticky goo on the desk.

[Juni Savage]

Thank Arceus— Groundon. She said Groudon. Actually, you know what, she didn’t say anything at all. Juni huffed a little at herself forcing back to the present as she rechecked the keyboards again. Nothing sticky, nothing broken. Ok, well, actually one of those was sticky, but it was an easy fix with some water and a paper towel. Good, that was good. Going down the line, she made sure everything else was fine before turning back around. Well now—

SMASH!

What… what was that crashing sound just now? And where did it come from? The sounds of running followed after that, and Juni hesitated before starting towards the lab door. Sticking her head out into the hallway, she came immediate face to face with an anxious looking graduate student. Huh, what were they still doing here on winter break? “You ok there, Xu?” they asked causing the kid to stop and turn to her.

“I…uh… Dr. Savage… uh… could you… would you come take a look at this?” the student implored with an uneasy look on their face. Juni chewed the inside of her mouth and nodded. Sure, why not. Couldn’t be the worst thing to have happened to date, right? Following after the student to the lab they belonged in, Juni looked around waiting to see just what was wrong.

0Rd|Si5_p_

[Elayne]

A random event has occurred!

What will you do?

Juni Savage

Unfortunately, the beaker in question held a very volatile acid and is now all over the floor. If you don't act quickly! It might reach some very expensive, very fragile machinery!