The Office

There was, in perspective, a warm sparkling glow to the sun that hot afternoon. Despite the humidity, the invisible warmth seemed to permeate everything around. The noise of traffic, the mute colour scheme of the restaurant, the misty glass through which Teni could see a variety of people walk past and the sound of life all around her. And though despite the oppressive heat, she felt warm and cozy inside. Like she had air conditioners atop her internal organs. As if her coworkers weren't arguing heatedly around her. Jane and Abigail sat on either sides of her, Efe sat opposite and she sat on their forgotten reason.

Photo from Unsplash Thomas Delacretaz

What do they say? Don't mix your personal life with your coworkers. But for Teni, this wasn't personal. Or wasn't supposed to. At least not for her. Earlier that day, the boss had given everyone time-off, at 2:00pm in the afternoon. A rare occurrence. Her close coworkers, out of excitement, planned a post-work hangout. Another rare occurrence. She had no way of declining without looking like a snob. It's not like she had other plans to take on by 2:00pm, a work hour. In fact, before the snotty boss showed up, she was already announcing to Jane and the others the first thing she'd do when she gets home. Sleep!

Jane sipped her "Mr. Put" special cocktail. A long, echoey sip. "This is not something that's up for debate. You destroy someone's life or you don't." She paused for dramatic effect. "You are either good or bad."

Efe gritted his teeth, maddened with annoyance. "Jane dear, nuance exists. This isn't fairytale."

She arched an eyebrow. "Exactly." A sip. "This isn't fairytale where people seemingly get redemption and there's gray areas. It is either good or bad." She added matter-of-fact, "Yin or Yang."

"Look Jane..."

Panicked, Teni piped in sweetly. "There are different perspectives to things, we can't be too certain on everything." What was this, she wondered, a post-work hangout or a philosophy class?

Efe looked at her with something akin disappointment, Jane rolled her eyes and Abigail stirred the pot even further. "I understand what Jane is getting at." She nodded emphatically at Jane.

Efe reclined on his armless seat and drawled in a low, condescending tone. "Of course. Girls support girls."

Jane rose to the bait, her eyebrows matching hairline. "What does that mean?"

As they bickered, Teni once again withdrew from them and instead watched the imperceptible pattern on the brown-painted wall and occasionally, the foam on her strawberry cocktail. She gave the occasional, obligatory, neutral comment here and there to avoid looking rude.

The post-work hangout was a bad idea. The worst. Her coworkers were idiots. This was supposed to be a pleasant, rainbow lunch. Unassuming and carefree. Teni smiled pleasantly while they jumped from one unnecessary topic to the next. Life is hard enough, she thought, no need to make it harder at work. Though she had her scruples about 'friendship' at work, she hoped that this incident would pass without consequence.

She observed as Jane and Efe shared amiable smiles to tone down their arguments, even going as far as initiating a playfully modest hug. Something she's sure they had never done before. And as they hugged each other, she noticed the wrinkle in between his eyebrows and her barely visible, down-turned lips. She saw Efe's untouched, forgotten cup of tea, cold and unattractive. She noted a small crack in the wall by her side she hadn't seen before. Next in her line of vision, Abigail struck her unrelenting ice-cream with a vengeance.