The dictaphone

When Angie reached her house, she was still desperate, but at least, no one was there to see her crying. She still locked herself inside her bedroom, cried some more thinking about this horrible day and eventually, noticed the dictaphone still waiting for her on her desk. Right. The dictaphone! The only reason she hadn't jumped from a bridge on her way home. She knew it was stupid to think it could help. To think it could give her a chance to change her miserable life. But she hadn't anything else to lose.

Plus, the arrival of this device the same day Barnes made her biggest strike on her was weird. Was some superior being watching over her?

"Stop it, Angie, she told herself. You don't know if this thing is real. Maybe it's just bullshit. Could be another prank from Barnes but... if not... well, I can't record things under the influence of sadness and anger. It could end the world if this thing is the real deal!"

Angie waited for a while, trying to calm herself down. Being a smart, reasonable girl was helping her there, and slowly, she was rising back to the world of the living, rubbing her eyes as the last tears were falling from her cheeks. She couldn't let herself go. She couldn't lose to a bitch like Barnes. Giving up to her would give her victory. And she didn't want to help her obtain it.

"Okay, let's check this thing", Angie said.picking up the dictaphone. She studied it carefully, making sure she wasn't going to do a mistake trying to use it, and after inspecting each button, she eventually pushed the record one.

For a while, the dictaphone could only record her breath. And then, Angie spoke.

"I'm not sad anymore." she recorded.

Angie felt a strange sensation, like someone had just thrown a bucket of hot water at her face, and she looked around, wondering what just happened. Only to realize she was so busy checking if anything had happened she had barely noticed all her sadness vanishing. Was it just a coincidence? Couldn't be... it was like she was ready to go back to school tomorrow without a doubt. Even if she still hated Barnes. Like she ever did.

"Strange, Angie said.I feel... fine. Like, really fine. So... this device works?"

She grinned. "It means I can do a lot..."