The clock hand stuck to twelve like peanut butter on the roof of a dog’s mouth. The day dragged on like a reluctant marathoner. The stack of files next to my computer rivaled the tower of Babel, only with a less exciting backstory and more comments on discretionary spending expenses rising whenever the VP of Sales stopped in town. Devin fidgeted at his desk across the room from me. Band camp callused fingers drumming little war tunes onto the cheap plywood desk.

“Can you stop doing that?” I asked before he hit his extended solo. His eyebrows shot up.

“Oh! I didn’t realize I was doing it. Sorry about that, Mark.” The cheer rolled off Devin like morning fog off the bay—thick and vaguely magical.

“Don’t worry about it. Just need to finish up these reports before Angela gets back.” Devin looked both ways before scooting closer and whispering.

“Do you think she’s still upset you told her she shouldn’t wear turtlenecks?”

“Please just stop drumming. Everything’s fine. Don’t worry about Angela.” The coffee swirled around clockwise in my Tortuga Bay mug before I reversed and went counter-clockwise. The see-through mug let me see the dapple of cream shoot through the black coffee and bloom like an eager flower. Couldn’t think what type of flower it would be. What kind of flowers do coffee beans have? Do they have flowers, or is it just the beans?

“I said— do you think you could tell me where you get your hair cut? I can never find a good place to go. Always end up going to Supercuts,” Devin said, pulling at a greasy strand of brown hair. “How do you keep your hair so nice and neat? It would take me forever to do that I think. Do you think forever is a real thing? Or should it just be ‘for a really, really, really long time.’ I feel like that would make more sense. Do you think that?” I started swirling the coffee clockwise again.

“I think you should go back to your desk,” I said to Devin as he lightly bounced on his heels. Any time I looked up he’d wander over to my desk like a wayward Roomba. He looked down and mumbled a goodbye before dragging himself back to his own desk. He sat with a thump and stared at his monitor. My coffee switched directions again.

Most days went on like this. Occasionally Angela would storm into the office with a new directive and three too many shots of espresso in her system. You could tell how much caffeine she’d had by how tight she clutched her files. If her knuckles were chalk white it was a new assignment day. If her knuckles were pale, it meant revisions to current projects. And if her knuckles were the faded grapefruit tone the rest of her body had— it meant Devin and I got to go to lunch early. I missed the grapefruit tone.

“It’s okay if you don’t like me,” Devin said softly. He slowly swung back and forth in his chair. “I get it. My mom told me I can talk too much. I don’t want to annoy people. But I know I do. So… I’m sorry.”

“Just focus on finishing up your reports. We don’t need Angela here more than she already is.” Devin gave a small nod and turned back to his desk. My stomach flushed with heat— I don’t come to work to deal with other people’s issues. I clicked through the folders in the USB Angela had dropped off earlier this morning. A file named "Chronous” was locked. The name sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it. I snuck a glance over at Devin, who discreetly wiped his eyes before looking at me. Don’t need to ask him either. I’m sure Angela will explain the file once she gets back into the office.

I kept chewing on the “Chronous” name as the day dragged on, but couldn’t find anything in my memory. I bounced my leg as I waited for the afternoon to finish up. I knew I’d have a note somewhere at home that explained “Chronous” I had to.

Devin got up and left the room without saying anything. That’s a first for Captain Pep. Wonder if he’ll finally quiet down for good now. The door slammed open and Devin rushed back in and came straight to my desk. His tears were openly falling from his eyes and he balled up his hands like a toddler.

“It’s not my fault that Angela hired me. I know I’m not Andreas, but you don’t have to be so mean to me. I’m just trying to be friendly. Why is that a bad thing?” I stared at Devin in disbelief. This was exactly why I didn’t want Angela to hire another person. I can do the work of two people if one of those people is always bugging the shit out of the other.

“Either go home or sit down at your desk. I have shit to do. I don’t come to work to babysit your middle school emotions.” His face crumpled like bad origami and he ran back outside. Thank god. I didn’t want to listen to the sniffles soundtrack for the last part of the day.

***

“Don’t make me repeat myself, Mark. I’m giving you one last chance or you’re out of here.”

“You can’t be serious, Angela. All I did was tell Devin the truth. It’s not my fault he got so into his feelings about it.” Her knuckles frosted white.

“With the upcoming merger I can’t afford to hold onto people who are going to lash out at others. We need bright minds and big smiles like Devin’s.”

“That’s a fucking joke. I don’t want to hear about hearts and minds. I do my work to the highest standard and this is how you’re treating me?” Angela’s eyes narrowed like a hawk.

“Excuse me?” Her knuckle bones showed through the thin filament of skin. “Say that again.”

I stood up and looked across the desk, “I’m good.” I walked out of the building before she could call me back in. I didn’t have the patience to deal with babies today.