A New Perspective

Will Amanda make the most of her special day to catch up on her work – or will she get sidetracked as usual?

our position as the best recruitment agency in the country. I’d once heard about a girl in Marketing who’d always had trouble voicing her opinion, but was suddenly uncharacteristically unable to stop talking. And then there were rumours of some kind of time manipulation when an impossible tendering deadline was miraculously met… I’d dismissed it as gossip.

I made my way to Jasmine’s office, careful not to bump into anyone. Before I got there, Jasmine stepped out. Without seeing me, she managed to subtly avoid the spot where I was standing.

Strange, powerful creature.

“Staff meeting,” Jasmine called. “Amanda’s not here yet,” Tom said. Though nearly old enough to be my dad, Tom was one of my closest friends here. He was as soft as old slippers.

“Amanda’s working off site today,”

much. He sounded in total despair.

Of course, usually he’d come and ask me for help. I willed him to ask someone else, but either from insecurity or shyness, he wouldn’t. I realised now that I was the only one he’d made any connection with. I’d made the effort to get to know him, and hadn’t noticed that I was the only one he really spoke to.

“You can do this,” I said firmly. “It’s just a matter of confidence.”

He frowned at the copier. Then, hesitantly, he reprogrammed his request.

The copier whirred, and gave him exactly what he wanted.

Tom beamed with pride. Never had I wanted to hug someone so much.

When he’d finished, I grabbed my sticky notes and followed him out. Lindsay was outside, talking to two others. She smiled at Tom as he passed by, but Tom didn’t stop. The back of his neck reddened as he looked down.

Busyness pervaded the office because of an important meeting happening later. A junior crossed the office with a trolley loaded with cups. Clara swiftly kicked someone’s handbag out of the way before he ran over it and all the china cups came tumbling down. The junior carried on obliviously.

At my desk I sank back into my chair, tapping my fingers thoughtfully. Not thinking about work – but about Tom.

To test if I was still invisible the next day, I said good morning to everyone I passed on the street. One person answered me, which I took as proof that life was back to normal.

How long it would last I wasn’t sure, since it was likely Jasmine would be disappointed in yesterday’s lack of productivity. I wondered if there was a sliding scale of measures to deal with staff like me; they started by making you invisible, and ended up giving you a twenty-eight-hour work day.

Still, I walked into the office with purpose, carrying my secret weapon.

I greeted everyone. Their curious gazes followed the box in my hands. I stopped at Tom’s desk.

“Morning, Tom. This is for you.” Carefully he lifted the lid.

“What’s this for?” he said, touched. “Don’t you know what today is? It’s your one-month anniversary.”

He was bemused.

“Does everyone get a cake?”

“No, just you. I wanted to let you know…” I felt self-conscious suddenly and blushed, but it was important, so I