This unit started in English class, where I first created my graphic novel. The short story followed and was based off of our graphic novel. I updated my short story in order to make more sense with the story of my animation by replacing the main character's company "MYGZ" with the more realistic "SoftwareSolutions". I also replaced the product they made, changing it from "CoolCaps" to the "Furious Fliers" app.With these changes, the story began to make more sense than my original idea in the graphic novel.

The Office Incident

Merc looked at his mother, protected underneath a piece of glass. He glanced back at his monitor, staring at the red numbers. Outside his office window he could see Rahul working in his cubicle, alone. Rahul was the only employee left in Merc’s once popular company, SoftwareSolutions, which which had created the hugely successful “Furious Fliers” app in 2009. Rahul had the idea to start the company after taking a programming class, and with Merc, became co-founder of the company. The phone rang in Merc’s office, and several minutes later, he started to frantically clean up the office.
“Rahul, quick! Hide the boxes! My mom’s coming!” Said Merc.
Rahul could see the panic in Merc’s eyes, but didn’t know why a visit from his mother could cause such fear.
“What’s the big deal with your mother?” Asked Rahul.
“I haven’t told her about all of these.” Said Merc, holding up one of the Furious Fliers. She still thinks we're making money off of these toys. If she finds out we're going bankrupt, she’ll think I’m a failure! Said Merc, almost crying by now.
“Does your mom drive a dark grey sedan?” Asked Rahul.
“Yeah, she does. How did you know that?”
“Because there is one pulling into the driveway right now.” Said Rahul, who was looking out the window. “Maybe you should let her know before she finds out herself.”
“Are you kidding me?! There’s no way I’m letting my mom see this.” Said Merc, who continued to shove the boxes into a closet.
Just outside the office, Merc’s mother Faith parked the car in the empty parking lot. As she walked towards the entrance, she heard the faint sound of an argument inside and recognized the voices. As she opened the door, she saw Merc and Rahul arguing, but they quickly stopped.
“Hi darling! What’s wrong?” She said with a concerned face.
“I think your son has something to say.” Said Rahul.
“Yes, well, um...” Said Merc, struggling to struggling to find the words. “I have to tell you that we’re working on a new app! It’s called um...Loot Ninja.”
“It’s called BANKRUPTCY!” Yelled Rahul. “SoftwareSolutions is doomed, and Merc tried to hide all the unsold merchandise so you wouldn’t know about it!”
As Faith pulled out of the driveway, Merc began to cry and sat down on a bench. To Merc’s surprise, Rahul suddenly burst out into tears.
“I am so sorry! I just wanted to let her know the truth” Said Rahul, whimpering.
Rahul continued to cry and blame himself, but Merc was trying to think and blocked it all out.
“Rahul, just stop. Nobody is blaming you for this! It’s not your fault that I ordered all these toys that never sold.” Said Merc. “My mom is absolutely nuts! And I tried to impress her!”
“What..? ...” Said Rahul.
“You don’t know my mom. she used to be a florist, but she was fired and now she just stays at home and watches T.V. She has no idea how much work we’ve put into this company. The only work she did was water some flowers...” Said Merc, smirking at the end.
As Merc went back to his office, he picked up a Furious Flier out of a box and threw it at his mother’s picture. The Furious Flier struck the picture frame which fell into the trash can with a loud clunk. Merc sat at his desk smiling, thinking about the next big app he could come up with.

The narrative unit has helped me to improve my writing skills, especially with character development and condensing my essays into concise stories. The graphic novel has also helped my storytelling skills by teaching me to use varied frame setups and actions throughout.