In the Balance – Sandra 16

[For back story go here: Story so far at 12 June 2020 and more recent Sandra episodes]

Sandra didn't notice the campervan. This was really quite an achievement as it was almost opposite the exit to her block, but there again she was busy with several thousand other things. Not only was work rocketing, the app was attracting all kinds of attention – some positive, some negative and some just attention – all of which needed care. There were interviews to conduct and enquires to answer – the chatbot had a tendency to refer the slightest tricky question to the nearest human it could find, almost as if it couldn't be bothered with such trivia. Sometimes Sandra had to deal with her own in person user who'd somehow traced their way to her email or phone number and wanted a word.

"This is the most demoralising app I've ever had the misfortune to download," a young man from Barnsley informed her. "It's like how many stages can I fail at? Will I fail at actually seeming to be attractive to anyone out there, will I fail to see their message if anyone ever sends me a message and if the system actually sends that message to me, and then," he paused for breath, "and then you go and tell me all the things I definitely can't do with my probable other half. You tell me this person is great for me and then tell me everywhere I can't meet them and how dangerous they are."

It was true, the risk side of the equation was important to highlight, but was also a fly in the ointment. The introduction of quarantine rules to Spain had caused a fall in their users and a rise in complaints. 

"We don't actually make the rules," Sandra told one very irate Spain bound traveller, "but we'd be failing if we didn't tell you the situation and make recommendations."

"I recommend you just stop trying to be clever," she was told.

Sandra wondered if Together... Apart might actually double as a barometer for the pandemic. She was beginning to feel concern for Italy and France again and even wondered if their UK database was signing trouble. Some people just didn't want to be together. The advertisers didn't seem to mind, however, and the stickiness of the app and number of views continued impress.

Despite this Sandra still felt a little uncertain about her future and that of the app. Everything still felt as if it were on a knife edge with the potential for anything to happen and everything to be taken away at the drop of a statistic or government edict. As the days went by she and Trinny worked out exactly how and why they should split the work required by the app with Trinny increasingly the leader of the show, Sandra more an off-shoot, looking after their image, marketing and positioning in the flow of the world's media.

As the new calls and contacts mounted up, Sandra realised the time had come to take stock and concentrate on what was really important and useful. And so she started wading through her current jobs to see where she stood and what a new balance might be.

When she phoned Daniel it wasn't the call she was expecting – and not just because his first response was that he no longer worked for Crown Apps.

"You'll need to speak with Wendy direct," he said. "Not my department any more."

"Oh," she said. “Which is your department?”

“A department far far away from the business,” he said. “I’ve been comprehensively outsourced.”

“Wow! I mean, I’m surprised…”

“Yeah, me too. Though probably more surprised than you to be honest.”

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“Right now, I’m going to stake out my ex-wife’s house, wait for her to get back and take my daughter home with me,” said Daniel, giving Sandra increasingly surprising answers as the conversation developed.

“Well, erm, if there’s anything I can ever do to help,” said Sandra, “do let me know.”

“Certainly will,” said Daniel. “Might have a meaty legal family type story for you soon.”

Sandra hung up. Looking at this positively the call had taken a client off her hands without her having to do anything. Looking negatively she almost felt she was some kind of accessory to something. But if Crown were laying off people she doubted they’d want to pay her retainer. Wendy would probably do everything in house. She might give her a call to check though.

She looked up at the outside world and then saw the campervan. She didn’t realise but it had been there about five days already. As was usually the case in these things she just noticed it and carried on. And she probably would have carried on some more except that early one morning she saw someone emerge from the vehicle, stretch his limbs and head off for a run. It was Rob.