Margaret - Chapter 1

“Hey, could you take these to Lucy upstairs? She’s never come for her papers.”

“Do you think you could?”

“Help me with this quickly?”

“What the—hey, can you help out?”

The boisterous rumblings of the office were in full effect, from papers flying to phones ringing amongst the many desks of the office. The rapid steps of the building workers moved to the symphony of chatter amongst the people. This was commonplace since the news of new management came into play.

With new eyes and new possibilities spurring up, everyone’s mentality about the workplace has changed drastically. It’s become a war within the space of work, even though the world is already in such a place, adopting a “dog-eat-dog” mentality. I’ve come to learn that for myself over these past few years.

Watching the many workers jostle each other often gave me a sense of understanding. That no matter what you do, you’ve got to be self-reliant. We humans aren’t always reliable creatures. We mess up, we fumble our words, we trip and fall. We’re imperfect, that’s all there is to it.

The others would often run around asking one another for favors, even though they’ll typically take the first chance to get over one another if it means a pay upgrade is on the way. Typical.

I sat at my keyboard, clacking away at my busywork. It was easy to get caught up in the sweep of things if I wasn’t focused. These people have forgotten what it means to be self-reliant. From doing a simple task to even getting themselves coffee. What nerve.

I grunt as I continue moving work documents around, before small footsteps begin to approach my lone cubicle. A smaller woman, who couldn’t have been any older than a college kid, approached me. Her hair was slightly wrapped in a bun and smelled as if she had walked through a perfume section at the mall. However, she was one of the better interns here, so I could handle a few seconds of a flower garden if it were her.

“Hey, uh…Miss Margaret? We have a team meeting with the new management. Thought I’d tell you.”

“Huh…oh, right. Be right there.”

She nodded quickly as she rushed away after the once-filled room suddenly became desolate. New management is always tricky, especially if you’re trying to get in good with the folks up top. Being on time to random meetings could net you some brownie points. Though it didn’t seem to matter too much since I’m sure the room looked as if a celebrity had suddenly appeared, and everyone wanted an autograph.

I pushed my chair back, standing up and grabbing my notebook. I knew it’d be bad to stick out by being the last in the room, but rushing wasn’t going to give the best impression. Adjusting my outfit along the way, I looked in the reflective mirror along the main hall.

“I’ve got to stop pulling all nighters for her…” I grumbled while sorting to fix myself up a bit. Talking such a big game is one thing but not looking the part while doing so is a death wish for karma to come and rear its ugly head. I took a moment to run my fingers through my hair, figuring it’d be better to at least attempt to look like I didn’t sleep since yesterday.

“Looking good there…”

“Dude, don’t get her hopes up. She wouldn’t even look your way with how much she obsesses over work.”

“Damn, heartless much.”

“It’s the truth, plain and simple.”

“Hmph.”

The two male workers continued on their way, as I was forced to endure public humiliation from my peers. Although it's not uncommon, working here has taught me something very valuable.

You have to look out for yourself no matter what.