Double Assignment

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"Just go, but please don't come back to work on Monday. "My grip on my papers tightened. " I'm not firing you or anything, I just don't want to see your face for the next few days, or weeks even."

"Just go!" He yelled and I flinched.
" Leave! Leave! Leave! You mother fucking liar!"

I shut my eyes immediately and a gasped escaped my chapped lips. Someone rushed at me, and I felt my heart drop to my feet in anticipation of my big fall. But surprisingly, it never came. Instead I peeled open my eyes to see myself within arm's length of some nerdy looking dude.

Bobbed brown cuts clipped around the corners of his face, enhancing his boyish look the more. His beady gray eyes looked dull and calculating, like he was studying and predicting my next move. Black round glasses stood atop his nose as his lips morphed into a concerned frown.

"Hey?" He called unsurely, a faint whiff of softness creeping into his voice. " Are you okay?"
"What?" It was no rocket science to say I looked bleak. I could make out my appearance from the reflection on his spectacles, and believe me when I say whoever I saw , was in no way looking like me. Shaking my head vigorously, I asked. "Did you say something?"

"Yeah." His right hand weaved its way through his thick tresses. "Are you okay? You look..."
"I'm fine. " I cut him off, plastering on the best fake smile I could muster. " Good. Great. Yeah."

"I don't think so." I knew he didn't mean it as an insult, but I just couldn't stop myself from scowling. " I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just, you look- I dunno, zoned out I guess. Are you okay?"
"Oh." My mouth widened into an ' O '. Through out the past few days, no one had noticed the crappy mode I'd been in. Not even Kim, so seeing a random stranger asking the question I'd been itching to be asked caught me totally off guard. " I don't know."

Realizing the blunder I just made, I frowned deeper, crossing my hands across my chest. "It's none of your business. Now what do you want?"
"I mean no harm." He threw his hands up in mock surrender. " It's just you almost fell and I caught you. And you looked out of place too. I know we don't talk a lot..."
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. " Have we met before?"

"You could say that. I'm Dave." Dave's outstretched hand looked pale with cuts and stitches all over. A few rings adorned his fingers and I shuddered at the images engraved on them. I'd rather not.  " We have a few classes together and I've sat across you twice or thrice, I think. I'm not really sure."

"Okay." I nodded, shifting my body weight onto each foot. "So?"
"Yeah, yeah." Dave cleared his throat, awkwardly retrieving his outstretched hand. " I don't mean to bother you, it's just you look really out of it. And I noticed something too; for the past one week you've been coming here. You hang around here for a long time before leaving again. Is everything okay?"

I might as well tell him everything. At least he was human enough to notice since no one else cared.I mean Chief definitely would've asked but there was no way I could tell him.

"Fine." I sighed forlornly, hugging my folders tighter to my chest. " Random question. What would you do if someone who's surprisingly become important to you is mad at you because you told a lie?"
"Damn." He whistled before pointing to a bench in the slightly crowded hallway. He made signs with his eyes and I caught his drift immediately. He wanted us to sit.. "Well, how important?"

"Hmmm." I settled on the slightly hard bench. A slight musky scent filled my nose and I figured it was coming from him.

Someone else you know also has that scent; Maxim.