The Call Center

6.

Something wasn't right at Belko Inc., Jay thought. Or was he just hurt that he was losing his friend? Jay thought about all the things he could have done that may have isolated Kyle from him, but in his gut, he knew it had to do with this new group of friends.

At least Jay had Janet. And Tony seemed like he was turning out to be a potential good friend. If things didn't work out in Montana, he could always call his Aunt Ana and see if he could stay with her and Uncle Doug, but they had Billy, and he was only four years old. He didn't want to be a burden.

Jay walked out back to have a cigarette and spotted the top of one of Kyle's bongs, poking out of the backyard trash can. Jay walked over, and not only found all of Kyles pipes and bongs, but his weed too; about half an ounce.

Jay grabbed one of Kyle's smaller pieces and loaded a bowl. He laid down in the grass and proceeded to smoke. The higher he got the more strange Belko Inc began to seem to him. The strange shakes that felt like mini earth quakes. The top sellers hanging out in the building after hours.

He still had no real idea what they would be doing in that building after hours anyway. He assumed that click probably didn't party, otherwise why would Kyle have completely gotten rid of his entire stash?

That unsettling feeling inside him began to grow. It was right then that Jay decided that he was going to do some minor investigating. He would drive past Belko Inc. to see if Kyle was there with the other cultish top sellers.

When Jay drove by Belko, he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. So when he Parked his car a couple blocks away and walked up to the building it wasn't exactly warranted.

Jay peered into the dark windows of the old building and didn't see any sign of anyone inside. Jay was about to walk away when he heard the loud sounds, the "bad piping", that he had heard before. He could hear loud banging from somewhere inside the building.

Jay ran around the back of the building and began looking for a way inside. All the doors and windows seemed to be locked. The loud noises and the shaking came again in a smaller wave. Jay climbed up onto a tree, on the side of the building where he was able to pull himself right above the parking garage. There were two windows accessible to him, but they were locked as well.

Jay briefly considered breaking a window before he came to his senses. He realized it probably wasn't in his best interest to vandalize the building where he was employed. Jay climbed back down the tree, walked to his car and drove home.

               /---------------\

   A couple hour later, Kyle came back to the house. He seemed to be in a really good mood. He smiled when he saw Jay playing Zelda on the couch, and even sat down on the couch next to him.

    "Hope it's okay I'm playing your Nintendo." Jay said.

   "I don't care." Kyle laughed.

    "I just never see you playing it anymore."

    "I just don't have time."

     "But you were obsessed with this game. You pre-ordered it and counted down the day til it was in your mail box. You used to scream at the TV and stay up all night, right up until after you started working at Belko."

    "Look... I know you probably think I've changed a lot. And honestly, maybe I have a little. Now look man, I know you don't have a lot of family here- and I get that because you know I don't have any reliable family ether. So maybe I've been sort of distancing myself because I didn't know how to tell you that I was planning on moving out."

   "Dude, don't worry about me. You don't need to distance yourself because you feel bad. That's stupid, man. I want us to be friends, and if you're moving out or you need me to move out-"

"No. No. You don't have to move out if you don't want to. I'm going to be moving out. You're welcome to stay and find a roommate."

"Yeah, I'll probably do that."

"Cool. Well I'll let you know when and if that goes through. I'll definitely give you notice, okay? But it wouldn't hurt to start looking for a replacement anyway."

"Yeah, okay."

"You want some tea?" Kyle said as he stood up from the couch.

"Sure. Oh wait, is that Belko tea?"

"Yeah what's wrong? You don't like it?"

"Never had it."

"Oh man, you need to try it. This is probably why you're not making sells, because you don't use their products. How else can you understand the awesomeness of what you're selling?"

"That good?" Jay laughed.

Jay and Kyle stayed up talking another hour. Jay thought the Belko tea was good but thought it was weird how dedicated and committed Kyle was to their products. Kyle just seemed different, period. Even his mannerism were off.

That night, Jay fell into a deep sleep. It was the best sleep that Jay had experienced in a long time. Good sleep and good dreams. He woke up feeling refreshed and positive, and maybe that's why he took the news of Kyle moving out so well.

"Turns out I'll be moving out much sooner than I thought. I'm going to go ahead and continue to pay rent until you find a roommate" Kyle had told him. "And keep the Nintendo. I want you to have it, buddy!"

Kyle promised Jay that he wanted to have him over to his new place just as soon as he was settled in and later that night he packed up his entire room into a U-haul and he was gone.