Classy Cherry #7
He should have never been there in the first place. William was afraid that something would go wrong even though they’d planned carefully. But he knew like every other member of the union that it was worth trying. They’d been working so much that they hardly even knew their families anymore. A bunch of guys’ wives had left them already and William suspected his was considering it. He’d seen the sadness in her eyes when he told her he wasn’t getting the holidays off. She hadn’t even tried to fight with him about it this year. She’d accepted the defeat and only cried when she thought he couldn’t hear. For just this once he wanted to be home on Christmas to see his children open their presents. All the guys felt the same way too.
So when Richard proposed the resolution at last week’s union meeting, it was unanimous. There was squabbling, however, about who would actually do the plan. Everybody had some excuse about why he shouldn’t be the one to do it. Even though it wasn’t the most democratic way, they decided it was best to draw straws. William drew the shortest one so it was his job to infiltrate the Boss’s office.
The plan was simple. The others would keep the Boss busy. They’d distract him with a drink or two and tell him about new design ideas. The Boss was a fat man who loved to drink, even on the job, so it would be easy to distract him for a while. He’d never notice William missing from the large crowd of workers either. There’d be plenty of time for him to sneak down the hallway and into the office and back again.
William looked at the large storage boxes stacked along the office walls. He couldn’t find the one and he began to get nervous. He whispered the plan aloud to calm himself. Find the list. Erase some of the entries. Maybe 500? Boss will never know and I’ll be done workin’ two days early. He thought for an instant of everyone that’d be disappointed but then remembered his own children who sang carols alone and lit the tree without him every year. He thought of Richard missing his only sister’s funeral last year because Boss wouldn’t give him the day off. He was going to find it. It has to be here.
He took a deep breath and carefully examined the box labels. On Boss’s desk was a box marked “The List.” He grinned and quietly opened the box. Luckily, it was true. The Boss really did write in pencil so that when he checked the list, he could easily make corrections. So William erased. Hundred. Two hundred. Ten minutes passed. Three hundred. Four. He could hear his Boss’s laughter flitting from the other end of the hall. Good he’s still distracted. Probably on his third drink by now. This is easy! He had just finished erasing 500 names when he saw a pair of beady eyes peering at him through the glass office window.
“Ah!” William stifled a shout and dropped a paper. Who let that damned beast out again? He stood perfectly still because he’d heard that they had poor vision and if you didn’t move, they couldn’t see you.
Perhaps that was a myth or maybe William moved. But the animal curled his lips around his teeth in a sneer. Then it made a deafening screeching sound that echoed down the hall and made his stomach crawl. Boss heard it from three rooms down and jumped up so quickly he spilled his milk. William tried to scurry out the door but the reindeer had bowed his head into the doorway. His antlers caged the elf inside the office.
So when Richard proposed the resolution at last week’s union meeting, it was unanimous. There was squabbling, however, about who would actually do the plan. Everybody had some excuse about why he shouldn’t be the one to do it. Even though it wasn’t the most democratic way, they decided it was best to draw straws. William drew the shortest one so it was his job to infiltrate the Boss’s office.
The plan was simple. The others would keep the Boss busy. They’d distract him with a drink or two and tell him about new design ideas. The Boss was a fat man who loved to drink, even on the job, so it would be easy to distract him for a while. He’d never notice William missing from the large crowd of workers either. There’d be plenty of time for him to sneak down the hallway and into the office and back again.
William looked at the large storage boxes stacked along the office walls. He couldn’t find the one and he began to get nervous. He whispered the plan aloud to calm himself. Find the list. Erase some of the entries. Maybe 500? Boss will never know and I’ll be done workin’ two days early. He thought for an instant of everyone that’d be disappointed but then remembered his own children who sang carols alone and lit the tree without him every year. He thought of Richard missing his only sister’s funeral last year because Boss wouldn’t give him the day off. He was going to find it. It has to be here.
He took a deep breath and carefully examined the box labels. On Boss’s desk was a box marked “The List.” He grinned and quietly opened the box. Luckily, it was true. The Boss really did write in pencil so that when he checked the list, he could easily make corrections. So William erased. Hundred. Two hundred. Ten minutes passed. Three hundred. Four. He could hear his Boss’s laughter flitting from the other end of the hall. Good he’s still distracted. Probably on his third drink by now. This is easy! He had just finished erasing 500 names when he saw a pair of beady eyes peering at him through the glass office window.
“Ah!” William stifled a shout and dropped a paper. Who let that damned beast out again? He stood perfectly still because he’d heard that they had poor vision and if you didn’t move, they couldn’t see you.
Perhaps that was a myth or maybe William moved. But the animal curled his lips around his teeth in a sneer. Then it made a deafening screeching sound that echoed down the hall and made his stomach crawl. Boss heard it from three rooms down and jumped up so quickly he spilled his milk. William tried to scurry out the door but the reindeer had bowed his head into the doorway. His antlers caged the elf inside the office.
posted by Anonymous at 12:21 AM
1 Comments:
A milk drunk. Ha!
Post a Comment
<< Home