Everyone is so quick to assign meaning to everything you do, everything you create.

  Standing on the roof, the wind was strong — almost strong enough to knock the cigarette out of my hands.

  Sometimes I create things deprived of meaning because I enjoy them. If someone finds meaning in something where it wasn't intended, that's on them.

  I lit the cigarette and brought it to my mouth.

  But meaning can be found in any action. In any circumstance. Like yeah, if you saw me throwing up in an Arby's parking lot, you could take meaning away from it.

  It's also contrived.

  I took a deep inhale and almost coughed my lungs out.

  "Oh yeah, I don't smoke," I said, flicking the lit cigarette off the roof before stepping inside.

  This is what I get for taking Rodney's advice to "romanticize" my life. Whatever that means.

  The lobby was as mundane as ever. The purple theme, unfortunately, had not become any less grating on the eyes.

  The desk arrangements had changed a dozen times in the days and weeks after the teams formed, and somehow, by the end of it, we landed right back where we started — a four-by-four grid, cubicle walls stripped out like they never mattered.

  I’d love to say my team was growing on me.

  They’re like anyone else. They have their pitfalls. Sarah, for example, is a hothead with so much confidence it could fill a boardroo—

  Who am I kidding.

  I’m no psych major.

  I drop into a crouch on the floor, knees pressed to my chest, my back against the cold side of a desk.

  Hell, I’m not any kind of major. I dropped out during my general education courses.

  “Loser,” Sarah said as she walked by, a chuckle trailing behind her.

  Danny wasn’t far behind. He reached out a hand, offering it like this was normal.

  “She’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”

  “Not really,” I said, grabbing his hand and hauling myself to my feet. “I’m surprised she didn’t spit on me.”

  Danny snorted. “We both know she can’t go around giving that out for free.”

  That got a chuckle out of me.

  From there, we walked silently to our desks. To be honest, I got the feeling he was embarrassed by his own joke.

  "Admiring my greatness?" Sara said as we approached our desks.

  "Oh, shut up. No one's looking at you," I said, sliding into my faded purple chair.

  "Ooh, you begging me to slip a spit in your coffee," she said with a grin that told me she didn't know the implications of that.

  I shot a look at Danny. He shrugged. "I guess I was wrong."

  “well anyways, we should get to work before Ashley gets in.” I shudder, “It can’t happen again.”

  Danny and Sara Nodd Sulumley

  When I think of the phrase "speak of the devil and he shall appear," I typically don't picture a 5-foot-nothing 20-something b-lining it toward my desk like a drug dog. I started frantically spreading papers on my desk to make it look like I'd been working. I couldn't tell what Danny was doing, but I assumed it was the same. By the time she reached us, me, Danny, and Sara were all standing, giving her big smiles — the kind that 7-year-olds at church give you when you know damn well they'd rather be anywhere else.

  She stared at me.

  She opened her mouth and took a deep breath. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice you messing up your desk before I got here?" She grabbed the bridge of her nose. "I can see your desk from the door."

  "Well, I'm already late, so I don't have time to yell at you." She took a step toward me, almost getting in my face. "Get to work."

  In any other context, this would look ridiculous.

  She turned to leave before stopping. "Oh, I almost forgot — our branch got assigned a big project. And since your team has the lowest seniority, that means you'll be working overtime." She threw her hands up in the air. She looked around at each one of us, the smile dropping from her face. "None of you guys are excited. Yeah, me neither. I have to stay here and watch you guys."

  "This is kinda unfair, don't you think? All the groups of five get to go home while the group of four has to work overtime," David said, almost giving me a heart attack.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Jesus Christ, David, where did you come from?"

  "Just got here."

  I glanced over my shoulder. "Oh, hi David," Sara said, giving him a small wave, not bothering to fully lift her hand.

  The rest of the day went by like usual. David did the most.

  A true godsend.

  Danny did all right. To be honest, I have no idea what I'm basing this on — I don't really know what we're supposed to get done in a day.

  Sara, well... I guess you could say she didn't have the best day. She didn't seem to be in the best of moods. We ended up having to move her desk to the corner.

  By the time we left, it was already half past nine. All of this for an extra 100 bucks.

  ____________________________________________________________________________________

  Stepping into the apartment building, the first thing I noticed was that the elevator was broken — which was no surprise to me. It had been broken as long as I'd lived here.

  I wish I could've told Rodney I wouldn't make it home for dinner. Maybe I'll invest that $100 into buying a phone.

  Stepping to the door, I slid in my key. I do feel bad — Rodney's probably been worried sick.

  I opened the door.

  "Oh, you're back. I thought you'd finally gone off and died," Rodney said, lying on the couch, craning his neck to see the TV.

  "Ha ha, very funny. If I died, who would be around to buy you shit?" I said, stepping to the couch. "Now get off my bed. I'm going to sleep."

  "Sleep? It's not even 10 PM," Rodney said, still not moving from the couch.

  "Yes, sleep," I said mockingly. "Some of us have five hours of barely paid and legally questionable overtime tomorrow."

  "Fine," he said, rolling off the couch and onto the floor before standing up and dusting himself off.

  "You wouldn't have that problem if you swept once in a while."

  "I don't want to hear it from you. Unlike some people, I actually pay rent to live here," he said, turning his back to me and waving his hand.

  I couldn't bother with a comeback. Staggering to the couch, I plopped down face-first, not even bothering to use a blanket.

  ____________________________________________________________________________________

  Un like yesterday we got we got right to work. I would love to say it’s because we are model empolese but the real reason is non of us wanted to work over time again. In hindsight it was a fritless effort.

  ____________________________________________________________________________________

  I was in a field, at least I think I was. There were no trees, none, for miles on end. But in the distance I saw my childhood home. It was far off, 5 or 6 miles at least, and I didn’t care enough to make that trip. I was super tired. There must have been something in the air. I took a seat so I could rest my eyes; it would only take a minute. But when I opened them again, the house was right in front of me, and it was night — like dead-of-night, almost pitch black. The house, from what I could see, was in terrible condition. Pieces of wood were missing from the walls, and chunks of dirt looked to have been ripped out. The smell of cigars lingered on the porch, I hope it does’t soke into my clothes.

  “Well, if the house came to me, then I’ve gotta go inside,” I said. Thinking back on it, I don’t know why I was so calm.

  The inside wasn’t any better. Chunks of the floor were missing, and loose pipes jutted out of the walls. There was a strong chill in the air, which felt out of place given how hot it was outside. The living room was barren. The TV and most of the chairs were gone; all that remained was Dad’s recliner and the table with a bottle of whiskey alongside it. Two neat glasses were laid neatly on the table, covered in dust like everything else, of course. I remember the first time he offered me some, I was 17. That being said, the recliner was not safe from the wear and tear of time. It was covered in dust and had chunks of fabric missing, not to mention the stains covering every inch. I left the living room. I didn’t want to look at that chair longer than I had to.

  The stairs were in no better shape than the rest of the house. Many of the stairs were missing. Looking into the hole where the stairs were supposed to be, there was nothing — and I mean nothing — just black, a void. A small humming sound was coming from the darkness. I reached down and stuck my hand in. I couldn’t feel the bottom, but the air around my head was vibrating in tune with the humming. I decided to move on before I accidentally fell into the void. After hopping my way to the top of the stairs, I saw it — my room. For some reason, the door was gone. Oh wait, never mind, it was propped up against the wall. I fully stepped inside.

  “Hey.” a female voice said. I turned around, was it mom. It would be nice to see her before I go.

  “Hey.” I started to feel like the floor was moving out from under me. The ground started to split, and I fell through.

  “Hey, wake up.”

  Pulling my head up, I met eyes with Sara, who was shaking me awake.

  “Do you need something?” I said, averting my eyes.

  “Yeah, I need your bum ass to get to work,” she said, dropping a stack of papers in front of me.

  “Wow, there’s no way I’m finishing that,” I said, pushing myself away from my desk.

  “Well, you better, and make it quick,” she said, turning away. I don’t know who fell asleep and made her team lead.

  I slumped down on my desk, resting my face on my closed laptop.

  When I opened my eyes, I came face to face with another pair. David’s, to be exact.

  “What are we looking at?” David said, not lifting his face. I just flipped my head the other way.

  ____________________________________________________________________________________

  It had been 3 nights of working late, and I was done. Well, really I was done the moment I walked in on the first day of work, but now I was really done. I felt like just taking off. Who cares if I get a write-up? But leaving while everyone was still working felt wrong.

  "Well," I said, pushing back from my desk, "time for my break."

  "We might be more productive if you don't come back," Sara said, not even looking up from her screen.

  I didn't respond. Just waved her off and turned away.

  I headed for the parking lot like I always did. The air outside was surprisingly nice. I pushed open the double doors and stepped out. Ashley was sitting on the curb, a lit cigarette hanging from her fingers. She looked at me. Didn't say anything.

  "I don't know what you're taking a break for," I said, dropping down beside her.

  She side-glanced at me. "Watch it. I could still fire you."

  "Oh word?"

  "Word… dog."

  We both went silent, but even in the dim streetlight I could see her staggering a laugh. When she finally let it go, I couldn't hold back.

  "You smoke?" I asked, turning to face her.

  "I'm surprised you don't," she said.

  "I dabble," I said, pulling something from my pocket.

  I stuck the candy cigarette in my mouth and blew. White sugar dust puffed out, trying its best to pass for smoke. Ashley stared at me for a second. Then she smiled.

  "You really were a good hire," she said, standing up. "Just make sure you get back to work when you're done with your smoke break."

  She smacked the back of my head and headed inside. I stayed there a moment longer, unwrapping the paper and chewing the gum.

  "Ew," I muttered. "Grape."

  There is no winning.