Indie Ink: Office Queen

Anna Lee strutted into the office, her heels clicking obnoxiously. Heads popped up like gophers throughout the cube farm, silently observing. She scanned the room before settling into her own space. No matter if no one liked her personally, they would come flocking all in good time.

She booted up her system and read through the emails. Another bug found in the database. She shook her head in disgust. Morons. The company paid thousands of dollars for worthless software.

A tap at her entrance grabber her attention and she swiveled around, pasting a huge fake smile on her face. Her crimson caked lips spread to expose just enough of her gleaming white teeth. A young girl stood at the door, her feet shuffling and her hands twisting around her fingers. Lank, nondescript hair fell in a waterfall across her face.

Anna Lee quirked an eyebrow, wondering where the hell the company found these losers. “Can I help you?” She asked, her voice dripping with saccharine. The girl started, her head flying up, her wide brown eyes meeting Anna Lee’s cold, calculating ones.

“Uhm…my system…it’s not working. And David over there,” she pointed in a vague direction off to the right. “He said…he said you could fix it?”

“Why yes, I do believe I have that ability,” Anna Lee purred. She stood and straightened her skirt. The girl looked at her with a faint sense of hero worship. Anna Lee felt her heart melt, just a touch. She once was this girl, unsure and shy with bad hair and worse fashion sense. Leaning in conspiratorially she wrapped an arm around the girl’s shoulder and pulled her in close.

“I’ll show you a trick,” she said kindly. The two walked in silence to the girl’s cubicle. Once there, Anna Lee saw the familiar sight of the blue screen and green writing. She sat down and waved the girl close. With a few deft clicks she had the system unfrozen and operating normally. The girl’s eyes widened.

“How come IT doesn’t know that trick? Why does everyone come to you to fix their systems?” she asked.

Anna Lee smiled. “I can’t fix everything, just this one problem. I’ve tried explaining it,” she lied. “But they just don’t get it. So I try to make myself useful to the rest of the department.”

“Wow,” the girl breathed. “Thanks, Anna Lee.”

“You’re welcome sugar. Tell me, what’s your name?”

“Juliet,” she mumbled, ducking her head. Anna Lee smiled and patted her on the arm. She stepped out of Juliet’s cube and encountered other members of her department. The spoke over each other, trying to get her attention.

“Anna Lee, I need you.”

“No, me first, Anna Lee! I have that deadline.”

“But you pass right by my cube, come fix my system first!”

Anna Lee entered the office, the same as always. She walked with her familiar arrogance, eyeing the occupants of the cubes with superiority. The heads of her colleagues remained down, eyes averted. She plopped down in her chair and went through her morning routines. There was a pile of files stacked up in her inbox but she brought out her nail file instead. Someone would do her work for her, as always.

She leaned back and waited for that first breathless “Anna Lee could you…”

Her perfectly arched brows furrowed in confusion. She opened her email, her eyes flicking over the subject lines looking for an announcement about the database. Nothing.

She stood and walked down the aisle towards the break room. Everyone was studiously working, fingers clicking on the keyboard. She absently poured a cup of coffee, stirring in the cream halfheartedly. As she lifted it for a sip she heard that familiar electronic bong and the accompanying “Shit”. Her lips curved into a smile and she set down her coffee, waiting for the plaintive, “Anna Lee.”

Juliet passed by the door to the break room and hung a left at the entrance to the cube where the expletive had emerged. Anna Lee could hear murmured voices and she edged close enough to hear, “Thanks Juliet. That’s so simple. I won’t need anyone help to fix the system now.”

Juliet exited the cube, almost skipping down the aisle. She caught sight of Anna Lee hovering in the door and smiled broadly, saying nothing. Anna Lee watched her continue towards her own cube only to be stopped by an imploring hand. All along the aisle, Juliet paused periodically to help her colleagues with their systems.