Wednesday 8 September 2010

Coworker blues

Don't you just hate it when your travel companion is somebody you don't really want to talk to in the office and now you're stuck with for days because of some bloody meeting?

There are two coworkers travelling together this morning. She is reading Shakespeare. He is a bit of a used car salesman. Why can't he see that she just wants hime to leave her to read her book in peace? She's really working the the non-committal "I'm not really interested but won't tell you to shut up" gesture. If you're not familiar, this involves pressing the lips together while raising the eyebrows. The eyes say, "oh really?" but the mouth says, "I'm going to punch you in a second". The expression is accompanied by the slightest nod and affirmative uh-huh, all with only briefly looking up from the book. Eventually, as the pointed looks at her book become longer and her eyebrow raises become shorter, the man decides to stop bothering her.

The silence is evidently too much, and he gradually builds up from shuffling papers to agitatedly bouncing his knee; he just can't keep it in any longer. It's like watching a child play the quiet game. He spews out all the conversation that he's been storing up for the past three minutes and she resignedly closes her book.

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