This block of seven stories (and an introductory worksheet) make up the beginning of the story. They cover Carmen‘s arrival, and her ‘onboarding’ process in the big, anonymous AnonCorp. (There is a lengthy blog post on how I use these stories in class.)

• Introducing Carmen: Introducing the series. More narrative than dialogue, the story of Carmen arriving in New Spork City, with discussion/short-answer questions on page two.

1. The first day: Carmen arrives at work with a hangover. Of course, it’s not a good way to start her job. In this story, she gets as far as joining her onboarding group.
2. Orientation: Carmen’s orientation begins. In this story, we meet Jason, who will lead her onboarding group, and learn a bit about AnonCorp, which is where Carmen works.
3. Rules and guidelines: One of the first things Carmen does in her onboarding is to get her badge and a security briefing.
4. Carmen’s workplace: Carmen finally meets her future boss and one colleague. The future boss does not seem to be likable at first glance, but the colleague seems okay.
5. Ed’s tour: Carmen’s colleague, Ed, shows her around a bit. And we learn an alarming statistic about the people who share a cubicle with Ed.
6. The login: Before Carmen can do real work, she needs a login. And, before she can get the login, she needs a form. It turns out, it isn’t easy being the new girl. Or the new guy.
7. Carmen finally does some work: At long last, Carmen gets to work. It turns out Ed needs her help retyping scanned invoices. It’s not exciting work.

The next block in this series is called Carmen as a tourist.