I have a friend, Jessica, who works a normal office job. It's got its perks--it affords her a normal schedule, vacation time, health benefits. There's a degree of security there, too, not necessarily because her company is financially impenetrable, but because office jobs carry with them an inherent sense of calm and stability. It's just their nature.
I had forgotten what that was like after working in coffee houses and bookstores for the past few years. I've only ever had one "real" job. There was an office component, sure, but the job mostly involved driving into bad neighborhoods to convince parents that it wasn't really a good idea to hit their children. And, oh yeah, maybe they could try to get a job and a diploma in the meantime?
It was the kind of career that sounds wonderful and fulfilling, but quickly turns to shit.
Jessica, on the other hand, seemed completely happy with her data administration something or other, which was why she had been at her current position for three-plus years.
My friend, Colin, and I were meeting her for lunch. It was the middle of the week, which for most people, would have been a working day. But being in retail affords you the odd luxury of freedom on a Wednesday afternoon.
Colin and I waited in the sunny lobby, flanked on either side by floor-to-ceiling windows.
It was one of those big buildings that were portioned into a dozen or so suites. Its decor and architecture were aggressively neutral. The lobby featured a staircase and a view to the second-floor landing, and Colin and I began talking about how cool it would be to jump down from there and, I don't now, kill a marauding vampire.
"Like, here's how it would be," I said. "You think the hero's finally done for, when WHAM. I jump down from the landing and stake the vampire that's about to get 'im. And I wouldn't break my ankle or anything, because we're in a movie."
Colin nodded, but frowned. "I kinda like action movies where people get hurt, though."
"True... It WOULD be cool to see the hero just be like, 'Hold up, guys, I think I twisted my ankle.'"
A woman emerged from one of the hallways, her stride brisk. She was very polite as she attempted NOT to stare at us.
I couldn't blame her for being curious, really. We were two new faces, after all.
Which meant that she should have been less interested in us when she passed by again a few minutes later, but... No.
Perhaps it was because, by that time, we were talking about Laika, the space dog. Not in any kind of scholarly way, unfortunately. We were thinking more about what other kinds of animals we'd blast into space, instead of a cute terrier.
Parrots, definitely, because of their sharp beaks and unpredictable nature.
And probably most types of frog, because honestly, those bulge-in-bulge-out throats are so disconcerting.
Colin wanted to launch a dolphin, which also sounded good. Planet of the Dolphins. Just think about it.
It was at the point when two other people passed us with curious eyes that I realized how obvious it was that we didn't belong there.
Not because we were particularly interesting or exciting, but because we just... didn't.
Office buildings, in general, tend to be very quiet and well-ordered. Hallways are chatter-free and if they do get conversation, it's delivered in hushed, almost funereal tones.
Which I guess is why talking about vampires and space animals might have been a little disruptive.
Of course, Colin and I had a perfectly valid reason to be there. But for some reason, I felt compelled to justify our presence out loud, making sure anyone who passed would know that we weren't just two vagrants who needed shelter from the snow...
Which come to think of it shouldn't have been so terrible, but whatever.
"I sure hope she gets out for lunch soon," I said as another curious office worker passed us.
A minute later, when someone else walked by, I added, "She told us to wait in the lobby, right?"
Colin, of course, seemed utterly oblivious to the scrutiny we were under. I wouldn't say it's a lack of perception so much as a refreshing lack of self-consciousness.
Luckily, I was self conscious enough for both of us.
And so we waited, killing time with odd conversation about strange hypotheticals.
Meanwhile, the people in the offices surrounding us couldn't have been as dull and wary as I'd presumed they were. I may not be particularly wise, but I know enough not to assume that someone is or isn't interesting based on whether they wear slacks to work.
I stared at one of the many closed doors lining the hallway nearby, trying to imagine who was toiling away behind it. Were they talking about space animals in there?
Or maybe vampires were the topic of the day.
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