Page 101 of Demo
“Nope.”
Monty and I make eye contact, and I shrug. “Interesting,” he says, then turns back to his computer.
“What’s this, a coffee klatch?” Cherice’s voice comes from behind me and we all jump and straighten our posture.
“What’s a coffee klatch?” Zack asks as he rights himself in his chair and swivels closer to his desk.
“Ask George!” Cherice shouts loud enough to wake George with a fright, causing his head to drop off his fist and bounce off his desk with a little thud.
“Ask George what?” he responds, rubbing his forehead and blinking the sleep from eyes, while also smacking his dry lips together.
“Never mind,” Cherice answers. “Anyway, are we in a slump?”
“No,” EJ and I answer at the same time.
“Nope,” Zack responds with a pop of the “p.”
Dee just scurries back to the front of the office.
“Nah, it’s not a slump,” Monty says casually as he leans back in his chair and crosses an ankle over a knee, folding his hands in his lap. “Just waiting for the day to start. It’s early, yet.”
George finally comes back to life and attempts to throw us all a bone. “Cherice, this would be a great time for me to debut a piece I’ve been working on about obesity rates in the city. Did you know the prevalence of obesity is 21 percent higher within the city limits than it is in the suburbs?”
“Who cares?” Cherice says at the same time I respond, “You don’t say!” and Zack offers, “Must be all those garbage plates!”
With a raised eyebrow, Cherice glares first at Zack, then at me.
“I think it’s pretty fascinating,” Zack says in a quivering voice.
“Oh, really?” she replies, still looking at me. “What about you?”
I point at myself and mouth “Me?” to which she nods. I clear my throat. “As someone with a little, you know”—I raise my hands and make air quotes—“junk in the trunk,I, personally, would totally read about how fat this city is. I mean, I think it would actually make me feel better.” Then I look around Cherice and point at Monty. “Him, too.”
“Gee, thanks,” he mutters as this shitshow continues to play out.
We are all quiet for a moment as Cherice seemingly ponders George’s pitch, all the while rapping her nails on the top of my cubicle.
“Nah,” she says. “Let’s do a weather story. Who wants to go with Monty as he gets some photos of the plows at the highway department, and talk to the drivers?”
Monty groans. I swivel away from her and start typing nonsense into an open Word document. George simply stands up and heads toward the bathroom. Smart.
Zack didn’t act fast enough, so he’s sitting there staring at Cherice, and I hear a low “Ummmm,” coming from him.
EJ chuckles and puts his hands in the air. “Don’t look at me. I don’t know how to spell.” He stands up, pats my shoulder and whispers, “Good luck” as he heads back to his office.
“Zack,” Cherice points at him. “Go with Monty. I want 500 words on how the city is prepping for the first snowfall later this week.” Then she turns on her bare heel and trudges out of the bull pen.
I let out the breath I had been holding as Monty stands with a sigh, puts on his coat and slings his camera over his shoulder. “Let’s go, kid,” he says to Zack as they both zip up their coats and head toward the door.
I hear Zack say, “Only 500 words? Piece of cake.”
Then Monty laughs, at the same time I do.
***
The rest of my workday has been eerily quiet. I just finished typing up a small police brief about a theft from a little cinema downtown and decide to head out. Monty and Zack aren’t back yet, and Dee left a while ago. Cherice is holed up in her office doing God knows what, and I have no idea where EJ is.
“Well, George, I’ve had about as much fun as I can stand for today, so I’m gonna call it a night,” I say as I button up my coat. “You going to be much longer?”
