Flightless Bird

Sense and Cents

It was nearly noon now, and I rubbed my tired eyes as I glanced over at the pile on my desk, realizing that I was hardly even a quarter of the way done with today's work.

After my meeting with Mr. Knightly I had gotten to work right away, picking up the stack of files (hardly) and carrying it to my office next door. When I finally dropped the heavy load onto my desk, I heaved a great sign before closing the door behind me and moving to check out my office.

I started by recategorizing the filing cabinets, organizing them by much more manageable sections instead of the hundreds of useless other ones from the last PA. The files inside were then reorganized into it, hence the delay in conquering this pile of work.

I also took the time to examine the desk and it's contents, finding pens, pencils, paper, notepads, and more of anything I would need to do my work. I appreciated immensely the resources to be successfully, as admittedly, that was one of my greater worries in taking this position, that I would be unable to do my job for lack of materials and knowledge.

Since looking through my desk, I also set up the computer with my new company e-mail and log-in, and got my phone up and running too. The laptop, on the other hand, I will have to set up outside of work, for it would take much longer to complete. In the box I noticed a sleek case to protect the laptop and it's charger, which I knew would be of great use. For now, I will leave it in my desk drawer until I either need it too badly to leave it or I have the capacity to safely bring it home without robbery of some sort.

So here I've been, plugging away for about three hours total now, and only a quarter of the way through my work load, as the two hours before were dedicated solely to getting situated into the office life. I was typing away, logging and electronically recording the files first before they could be put away as hard copies, when a soft rap at the door caught my attention.

As professionally and confidently as I could, I stood up and invited them in, saving and turning off just the computer screen to be safe that the information was hidden.

Thalia's head popped in, her auburn hair falling over her shoulder.

"Are you still working? You know you get a lunch break, right?"

"Oh, uh, yes of course. It's just that...I'm not usually very hungry for lunch, so I'd uh...rather keep working," I tried to excuse myself. She entered the rest of the way, crossing her arms and staring at me.

"Don't be silly, you've got to be starving! You're so tiny, you probably hardly eat!" She laughed, joking and oblivious to the fact that she was right on the money. "Come on, I'll buy you lunch if you sit with me," she flashed her best puppy dog eyed look at me.

I deliberated for a moment, glancing nervously at the stack of papers still waiting to be worked on, and her gaze followed mine.

"Holy crap woman...he's got you working like a dog!" She exclaimed, to which I chuckled. "Listen, 30 minutes won't kill anybody, will it? I'm sure you'll be better off with a good lunch in you." She asked again.

"Okay, okay! I'll go to lunch with you!" I sighed, exasperated at her eagerness. I could tell that she's been waiting a long time for someone to come along and be her friend. Maybe the other PAs just weren't that nice?

"Yay! Okay, now follow me!" She squealed, leading me out of my office, but not before I could grab my purse and place my new phone inside, just in case. Mr. Knightly and Thalia were my only two contacts in it, but at least I'd be able to communicate if something happened.

We waited for the elevator, and as soon as we got in, the nights of sleeplessness revealed themselves in a large yawn that I just barely concealed with my hands.