Longshot

Chapter Three

"-and I told him to fuck off with that dumb excuse." One of my colleagues, whose name I've forgotten, says with a chuckle. I glance at my watch, eying the time as if I'm still a student waiting for class to end. "Oh, he was not happy with that. The guy demanded to see my manager and everything." The older man has an amused gleam in his eye as he retells his "Karen" story.

My supervisor, Rick, rolls his eyes. "This has to be the fifth time I've heard this story Gary."

"Third time!" The other man protests with a grin. "I keep track of it. Usually." He turns his gaze to me. "So, Matthew, how has your first day been?"

I shrug. "Not too bad. Besides having to deal with ransomware and a projector falling from the ceiling, nothing to write home about."

Gary gawks. "My first day was nothing like that!"

Rick snorts. "Well, you were also hired before the school bought laptops for school use. And way before they even added wifi."

Gary waves a hand dismissively. "Details, details. Back then, I had to help teachers fix problems with spreadsheets or something."

I laugh. "When was that? The '90s?"

"Ah, so the newbie does have humor!" Gary claims with a loud shout, jumping up with a grin. "But no, this was like, 2006. They still used overhead projectors to teach."

"You mean the ancient stuff that's in the closet next to A wing?" I cock an eyebrow in curiosity.

Gary nods. "Yep! Printed on the transparencys and everything!"

"I haven't seen one in ages." I laugh.

Rick groans. "Don't even get him started, the damned dinosaur."

"Hey, if I didn't reject my promotions, I'd be where you are right now." He crosses his arms and pouts like a child.

I shake my head in amusement while standing up. "Well, I'm going to go clock out now. Theo's not going to be happy if I forget to go grocery shopping."

"Alright, see you tomorrow!" Gary waves goodbye as his computer pings, drawing his attention.

"Bye Matt." Rick smiles at me, waving as well. "Drive safe."

I roll my eyes as I walk to the clock in/out machine. "I doubt people even go eighty down Main." I tap my ID against the RFID pad, which beeps. I tap the screen next to the scanner and it responds, letting me know that I've clocked out at 12:04. Bidding goodbye again, I leave the room and walk down the empty locker-lined hallway. Exiting the building, the sunlight warms my skin - a contrast to the cold temperatures inside the school building. The walk to my car in the staff parking lot is relatively quick, given the small size of the lot. I get into the vehicle and check my phone quickly before storing it in the cup-holder in the center console. I start up the car and back out of the parking space before driving down the, unsurprisingly, empty main road to the grocery store.

"Matthew!"

I look up at the elderly man calling my name. He's a short man, being 5'5" with white hair and deep wrinkles around his eyes. A cane is hooked on the handle of the shopping trolley that he's pushing, some of his weight settled onto the handle bar of the metal cart.

"Marvin," I reply brightly. "Long time no see."

"Indeed! When did you get back?" Marvin asks with a warm smile. He pulls me into a tight hug for a second before separating.

"It's good to see you again Marvin." I return his smile. "I flew in last night. Red-eye."

"Are you finally out of the military?"