Alana goes back to the office
Thanks to COVID-19 Alana had been working from home. Today she finally went back to her office. For the most part, she did like working there. The office was having its employees rotate-some days home-some days in-house.
Alana was happy to see Jill and Murray. They were her buds. She saw Bill in the corridor. He was a nice guy. An older fellow waiting for retirement. He no longer cared about work or anything. He had been demoted two levels. But kept his salary and other benefits. He was not shy about letting everyone know he was just biding time till he could walk out with the retirement plan he wanted.
Some people let it go. They knew he was harmless. He was never an aggressive leader. He was somewhat competent. Somewhat lazy. But a likable fellow.
Of course, Alana who was mild-mannered in the office hated him. She found him immature. She felt he held back other people with his laissez-faire, I don’t care attitude. They got along. But he was so lazy. That irked her. They smiled at each other in the hallway and went to their desks. No one had offices. It was the Bloomberg-style open seating. No one cared. Most wore their headphones and listened to the tunes of their choice. Alana was listening the “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” by Bauhaus. Her mixed moved along to include the Sisters of Mercy, Siouxsie and the Banshees and for kicks Led Zep.
She plugged away. She went to the break room to get tea. Bill was there wining. She just shrugged her shoulders and got her tea. She went back to her desk. About an hour later she was in the elevator with Bill. They were going to buy lunch. They made simple chit-chat in the elevator.
Alana was pissed. She was not happy with the discussion with Bill. He was just getting under her skin. She knew how many people needed work and this piece of trash was just skating along. She always thought they should have let him go and brought in someone who would do the job and bring something to the plate. The only thing Bill brought to the plate was ham and cheese. The funny thing is he claimed it was kosher.
The two exited the elevator in the Rockefeller Center Concourse. Alana walked to the salad store. Bill walked to a sandwich shop. The concourse was empty. Alana stopped and watched him. These days she was not too aggressive. She knows what she can do. But Bill just made her angry. She launched an apple that nailed him in the back of the head. She did it for all the people who should get a break and have his job. Those who would work. Not drink coffee all day and bitch. He fell forward. She decided to drown him in wine. He wound up on the floor. Alana was about 10 feet away from Bill. He knew he was being attacked. But had no idea by who. While on the floor she pelted him with figs. She left him on the ground and bought a salad.
Meanwhile, Jay was in the prison yard. He was plotting his next escape. Anat was still debating with Ann and others about calling her mom.
Originally published at http://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com on August 2, 2021.
