Pam takes a deep breath and tightens her grip on the suitcase handle as a white van with the words “Vance Refrigeration” splayed across the side in blue paint putters up to the curb. She hadn’t really known what to pack, considering that Michael had given them a whole day’s notice.

“Let me get that for you,” Bob Vance smiles and picks up her bag before she can protest.

The inside of the van smells like mildew and old gym socks and her shoulders are pressed uncomfortably between Stanley (who has already pulled out his crossword puzzle) and Ryan (who is listening to his iPod a little too loudly for her tastes).

As if she doesn’t already feel like she’s trapped in the fifth circle of hell, Jim and Karen are occupying the bench in front of her along with an overly-caffeinated Michael, who keeps asking her if she wants one of the Red Bulls in his backpack. It was only a handful of days ago that she was pulling Roy off of Jim in front of the entire office, and now here she is, crammed in a muggy van with the last people she wants to spend additional time with in the world.

There isn’t even a real reason for her to be there in the first place, considering that she isn’t exactly part of the sales “dream team.” A few days after the whole debacle with Roy, Jan had called the entire sales staff (and herself) into the conference room. Jim hadn’t even looked at her once with his one good eye. Although the bruise was finally beginning to fade, it still hurt for her to look at.

“I am pleased to announce that since the merger, this branch has become the highest-selling branch of those that I oversee,” Jan said to them. Michael was literally sitting on his hands to contain his excitement. “And Michael would like to… talk to you about… something.”

Pam glanced up again at Jim’s fading bruise and attempted to settle the knot in her stomach. Somehow the dark skin surrounding it made his eyes seem that much greener. It was a hard thing not to notice.

“Thank you, Mizz Levinson,” Michael winked at her. “Well, because of the great job my dream team has been doing these past couple of months, I have decided to treat you all to…”

Jan shot him a hard look.

“I—I mean, corporate has decided to send you all on a cruise for a three-day weekend… on us!” Michael held his hands out like he was presenting an award.

“Yes!” Dwight clapped his hands.

“A cruise? From where?” Karen asked.

“Well, as you may have realized by now, Karen… I know you’re new to the area, but Pennsylvania is a land-locked state,” Michael said to her as though he was speaking to a grade school kid. “So we’ll be leaving from Bayonne.”

“Bayonne as in, New Jersey?” Ryan asked.

“Yes, Ryan, Jersey,” Michael said sharply, still having not gotten over their falling out.

“So, just the sales staff is going?” Phyllis asked.

“Bingo!” Michael pointed at her. “To reward your efforts. Corporate wanted to give you guys money, but this is just so much more personal don’t you think?”

“Wait, we were going to get bonuses?” Stanley spoke up.

“Yes, but this is so much better, Stanley. This way we’ll get to spend some good quality time together in the lap of luxury!”

“This is so much better,” Dwight nodded in agreement.

“Is there any way that I can trade my ticket for a bonus instead?” Stanley asked immediately.

“No, no, no,” Michael shook his head. “You’re all going, and your spouses are invited. Any more questions?”

Jim raised his hand and Michael pointed to him.

“Why is Pam here?”

Her mouth fell open a little at the coldness in his tone. He still refused to look in her direction.

“Ah, our little receptionist will be accompanying us on this venture because I think, well, I need her as my assistant,” Michael said quickly. He was a terrible liar and she knew that he was actually concerned about leaving her behind after Roy’s outburst. He and Dwight had been calling her every night since, offering to “protect her,” which was sweet in a sense, but humiliating all the same.

She could feel her face getting hot and she chose to stare at the table instead.

“Also,” Jan added, watching her closely. “The camera crew will not be coming with us. In light of some recent incidents they’ve agreed to sit this one out.”

“But, you forgot the best part, Jan,” Michael giggled. “They are letting me bring my own camcorder to get footage for them. I’m totally going to be the next Marty Scorsese!”

“Fantastic,” Stanley groaned.

“So everybody pack your finest because we are leaving bright and early tomorrow morning, and I expect all of you here at 5 am.”

It is still dark outside and Pam is thankful for it because it allows her to at least pretend that Karen isn’t sleeping on Jim’s shoulder. The hours before the trip were spent preparing herself for a weekend of sheer torture and watching how close they had become over the past few months. She wishes she had the window seat so that she would have something to rest her head against, even if it is cold and uncomfortable.

“Have you ever been anywhere all-inclusive? It’s the best, I bet the ship is totally all-inclusive, I mean, it’d have to be, am I right? Where else are you going to go? The ocean??” Michael laughs at his own continuous stream of chatter.

Phyllis is able to deflect his excitement a little by describing where she and Bob Vance had honeymooned. She tries to involve Stanley and Terry in the conversation, but he isn’t paying attention and she has already drifted to sleep on the other side of him.

“Want a break?” Ryan’s voice startles her a little.

“Huh?”

He extends one of his earbuds to her. “From Michael, I mean. You want a break?”

“Oh, yeah, thanks,” she says, slipping the speaker into her ear, letting the music wash over Michael’s babbling voice.

It isn’t that she doesn’t like Ryan (okay, well, she sort of doesn’t), it’s just that they haven’t really interacted much. At least, not without a Kelly buffer.

“What are we listening to?” she asks, realizing that she has never heard this before. It has been a long time since Jim has introduced her to a new band and she now feels rather out of style.

“Oh, this right now is Arcade Fire, but this is just a kind of mellow playlist. I thought it’d be a nice contrast to…” he lowers his voice and points to Michael. “..that.”

Pam holds a hand over her mouth to cover her laugh. She can see that Jim’s head is turned ever-so-slightly to the side, like he is trying to listen to their conversation.

“Thanks Ryan,” she says a little louder and Jim’s head turns to look out the window instead.

The van feels a lot warmer than she remembers, but it is mostly likely due to the sun that is now streaming in from the window and dancing across her face. She blinks her eyes open, wondering what time it is and what time exactly she had drifted to sleep.

As her eyes adjust to being open again she meets Jim’s for a few fleeting moments before he turns to face forward. It is probably the first time he has looked directly at her since a few days ago, but it hurts because she knows that it is only because he had thought she was asleep.

It takes her a moment to realize that her ear hurts because she still has the earbud in and her head is pressed against Ryan’s shoulder. She sits up quickly, her cheeks flush with embarrassment and that side of her face suddenly chilly without the heat of another person against it. Ryan stirs a little, his head still resting against the window.

The back of Jim’s neck tells her that he is angry, and he doesn’t turn around again for the rest of the trip.