You are Duncan. It’s the Monday after your date with Jane. You enter the fluffy daycare and clock in . The rest of the staff are unusually quiet today. You think nothing of it and get to work. Breaking up fluffy fights, stopping Rodney from eating a cardboard box AGAIN! And generally just going through the motions.
Everything is going well until you bump into Jane.
“ oh. Sorry about that I didn’t see you there.”
Jane doesn’t even make eye contact.you decide not to push the issue and simply go about your business. This was a mistake, for the rest of the day Jane made it a point to follow you around the daycare trying and failing to make you ask what she was doing. Jane was under the delusion that you not talking to her was you playing hard to get. You kept your mouth shut and tried your best to avoid her. During lunch she sat next to you. You didn’t feel like moving simply out of laziness. You take a bite of your sandwich and nearly choke as Jane starts playing with your hair. “Don’t touch me.”
The rest of your coworkers are understandably weirded out by Jane’s juvenile behavior. You get up and take your food to the check in counter. You are approached by your coworker John. “Hey…. Is everything good?”
You swallow the bite you were currently eating. “Yep” you return to eating your sandwich. “That’s… great man….” John walks away and about a minute later another of your coworkers Femi approaches you. “What the hell is wrong with Jane!?”
“Femi I’v told you before I don’t participate in gossip. Please let me in peace.”
“Duncan she’s been slandering you on social media. You might want to set the record straight.”
“Sticks and stones Femi. Sticks and stones.”
“Duncan you need to take this seriously!”
“Femi lower your voice.”
“Excuse me?!”
“Lower your voice. I will not be yelled at like a child.”
“Duncan! What if you get cancelled?!”
“Femi this conversation is over.”
“ oh! So you’re not going to respond!?”
“….”
“Fine.Ive lowered my voice. Can we talk now?”
“Femi if she wants to slander me on social media I don’t care. How exactly is she going to cancel someone without any active social media accounts?I’m not a celebrity, I’m not an influencer. She doesn’t know my address. What power does she have over me?”
Femi pauses for a moment .
“She could accuse you of sexual assault.”
“Will me setting the record straight changed the outcome should she choose make that accusation?”
“So you are just going to ignore this?”
“Proving one’s innocence online is a Sisyphean task.”
“How are you so calm about all of this ?”
“Femi a very wise man taught me early in life to pick my battles carefully .This battle is not worth the risk therefore I will not participate.”
You finish your lunch and get back to work. Jane continues to follow you around in an effort to goad an outburst. Suddenly she starts recording you with her phone.
“……”
Jane not getting the recognition she wanted now starts talking over the recording.
“I’ve been giving this guy signals for the entire day and he’s yet to make a move.”
“……”
Whispers:”maybe he’s gay?”
“……”
“Oh yeah. Super gay.”
“….”
“Well he did take me on a date. So maybe not.”
“….”
“Maybe he’s autistic?”
“….”
“He’s always been like this.”
“…”
“Probably because he was raised by his great grandparents. Such a shame. A perfectly good man ruined by outdated ideology.”
“……”
Jane is getting flustered by your refusal to acknowledge her presence.
“That probably explains why he took me to a 124 year old bowling alley for our date.”
Jane continued talking not even wanting for a response at this point.
“They had chalk scoreboards and actual people setting up the pins!”
“When I told him that I didn’t want to be there , he begged me to play just one game.”
“I of course refused. Then the owner of the alley brought out this cheap swill he called wine.”
“Is that $20 grape juice supposed to impress me?”
“The only good thing I can say about our date is that he opened doors for me.”
“He’s got this annoying SBS fluffy that he takes with him everywhere. Imagine being such a loser that the only thing that loves you is a retarded fluffy that can’t even feed itself?”
“Anyway this is just a heads up for any girls thinking about dating him.”
Jane stops the recording and walks off.
As you finish up your shift someone taps on your shoulder. You turn around to see your boss standing there.
“ hello miss Bakshi is there something you need me to do before I clock out?”
Miss Bakshi sighs before giving a gentle smile. Her Indian accent flares up on certain words and she begins to speak.
“ Duncan could we speak in private for a moment?”
“Of course Miss Bakshi I can spare a few minutes.”
You follow Miss Bakshi into her office.
“Duncan I make it a point to stay out of my employees business so long as it doesn’t bleed into the work environment.”
You brace yourself mentally for whatever comes next.
“we run a fluffy daycare. And while it’s not necessarily the most professional workplace environments I do expect my employees to behave like adults while on the clock.”
“Yes mam.”
“I know that I’m more hands off than most bosses . But that doesn’t mean I’m unaware of what goes on here.”
“We all appreciate the high level of trust you have with us as employees.”
“As your employer I regardless of the situation have to maintain a neutral stance devoid of personal bias for the sake of fairness when making difficult decisions.”
“I understand and appreciate your willingness to be honest even when it’s not the ideal circumstance.”
Miss Bakshi smiles weakly.
“Duncan i saw the video.”
“I apologize for any inconvenience that I might have caused.”
“Inconvenience? No. No. Duncan you showed a level professionalism and maturity today that I’ve never seen before.”
“Thank you?”
“We are short staffed so I can’t go around firing people unless it’s a major violation. You are a good employe and though it’s not a raise like you were hoping for. I promise you until the day this place closes you will always have a job.”
“Thank you Miss Bakshi.”
Miss Bakshi leans over and whispers in your ear.
“And you didn’t hear it from me but when funds are sufficient ,there are certain prerequisites that determine which employees receive raises first.”
Odis begins to yawn and smack as he wakes from his slumber in the baby carrier around your chest.he opens his eyes and looks up at Miss Bakshi.
“Giggle!”
“It never ceases to amaze me how small he really is. Barely bigger than a foal yet calm as a lily around you.”
“You make it look so simple. How do you do it?”
“A lot of preparation and a lot of prayer.”
“Well I’ve kept you long enough Duncan. Have a wonderful day.”