Roll With It Short Stories

Day Thirteen

Word Count 8: 800

Prompt 3: Something was wrong with the coffee

Sam swirled the dark liquid in her mouth a second time, just to be sure. There was the normal bitterness that came in the absence of cream or sugars, yet there was another layer of unpleasantness underneath. A taste that was not quite bitter or sour, that stuck to the back of her tongue. It was subtle but it was there for certain. She set the mug down carefully and began watching her coworkers. Moving about as the morning shift started, all of them with various mugs in hand. The company allowed them to keep their own mugs in the break room, to allow a personal touch into the workspace in the same way that people might decorate their desk. It was because of this that Sam realized something was wrong.

Linda's cup was blue. Linda was a gossip and notably unkind to a number of people. She had a bad habit of spreading rumors when she was bored, and lately she become more aggressive in her tale-telling. Her latest project was getting Sara fired for sleeping with their boss, Richard. It wasn't true but Richard's wife still asked Sara to be let go.

The pink mug with a sparkling P belongs to Penny. Penny calls in from work quite often but never seems to get into trouble. This is most likely because she's the woman Richard's wife is worried about. Penny doesn't need excuses when she doesn't turn in her work on time, if at all, because it's always someone else's fault.

In contrast Bill's only goal is to get out on time. He does his job and keeps his head down, although he is sloppy in work and dress. He would almost be pitiable with his quiet shuffling and attempts to avoid rocking the boat, if not for his hobby. Bill keeps a number of files hidden on his computer as well as remote access to his home desktop. These files are far from work appropriate and if anyone knew his disgusting little secret he would likely go to prison.

George is the wild factor, he'll come to work with Starbucks or just steal someone else's cup. He also never washes any mug he uses but when does choose to use his cup, it's bright orange one. Another habit George has that grates on the office's collective nerves is being a snitch. George mistakenly holds the belief that in his contract is fine print that requires him to address any infraction large or small. He might confront the individual or leave a passive aggressive note on their computer. In the end he always makes sure Richard is fully aware of what his staff is up to.

Richard himself has a teal mug with a Latin phrase about drive and success embossed in gold. He, of course, was given this job by his father and impresses everyone with his ability to put his pants on every morning. He's short tempered, petty and believes firmly in reminding every employee of their humanity and their ability to fail.

There are fifteen people in Sam's office alone, some are worse or better, but all of them rank somewhere from spiteful to plain cruel. Still Sam was not free from criticism, she too was a human with flaws. The biggest one, which they all shared, was working for this company. Like a number of cooperations it had its share of scandals and stints of corruption brought to light, but Sam had never felt personally complicit in the past. She was after all a lowly peon just trying to make a living in a hard world. It was the latest scandal that had gotten her thinking on morality and if she was truly guilt free. It was a product proven to cause severe illness with prolonged exposure. She had remember seeing the safety reports on her desk and thought that would be the end of it. Instead several months later the product appeared on her desk, ready to be signed off as fit for consumers. It hit the shelves and almost immediately people had begun to get sick. The company all had them sign waivers that they would not say a word or lose their job. All of them had signed.

Sam's cup was red, there was only one other cup like it in the office. In her rush that morning she had grabbed the wrong one. Instead of the plain red surface it had Laura's son smiling on the side facing away from her. As soon as she had tasted the coffee she realized her mistake. She felt the tremors in her legs and watched as her coworkers began to fall. She wondered which would be left standing, holding her mug.