She scanned her mind for an answer to the question, a way out of the hole she had dug herself into. She had laughed at the other responses, overcome with laughter and disgust at the same time as the game progressed through the circle. Somehow, through the awkward and entertaining conversation, the fact that she would have to give her own answer had slipped her mind.
She had been thinking about it, but was not prepared to verbally state it to a group of people that had a varying range of opinions about her at this time, and it did not make it any easier that her recently ex-boyfriend was across from her, standing beside the reason they would never work out.
Truthfully, her answer would not be “Jim” anymore. Maybe a few weeks ago, but she had closed the door on that relationship. It was as amicable as they could make it, but she wasn’t going to deny that it hurt.
She could come up with a joke answer, as they had both done, but she had learned in the past months that when it came to their office world of jokes and pranks, she couldn’t keep up. They had both given their answers, gotten laughs from around the circle, and everyone looked at them to do so. Now, they were looking at her with intrigue, and she needed to answer, because she was pretty sure she had been quiet for way too long.
“Um, Ryan.” She said, with a slight smile to suggest sincerity, but not completely so. Kevin shook his head.
“Bitch.” Came from under Kelly’s breath, as Ryan tried to shrug his shoulders.
Jim and Pam looked straight ahead, at some imaginable point above the trees. The game so far had gone as any office adventure did, with just the right balance of humor, disbelief, and painful awkwardness, and to her relief, she and Jim had slid back into the familiar comfort they had both enjoyed before the transfer, before Karen. There were things they needed to talk about, but for now they had conquered the first step, actually talking again, and enjoying the laughter as well. They had found the safe border between friendship and the hint of something stronger once again, the area they had both been comfortable in for so long.
“Mr. Scott? Mr. Vance?” A man in a police uniform interrupted the next turn, “I know we’ve asked a lot of questions but we’d like to ask a few more.” The man apologized for interrupting the game, and walked with the two men up by the other officials and police cars.
“Okay, well, I think we all deserve a break,” Pam said, noticing the conversation may take a while. “I think someone said earlier there’s a vending machine in the lobby of this building here and some restrooms to use. So um, stretch your legs, and be back here promptly in ten minutes, we’ve got to count some unofficial points and start our other games.” Pam pointed at her watch as the circle disbanded.
Gradually, Jim and Pam were left on their own as their co-workers went their separate ways for the short intermission. Some headed towards vending machines and restrooms, while others talked amongst themselves outside.
Jim’s hands immediately went to his pockets, while Pam looked down at hers in front of her.
“Are you finding this to be as awkwardly revealing as I am?” Jim said with the hint of a smile on his face.
“Oh, totally.” Pam responded, and he joined her in laughter.
“You’re still getting some points in this game from Creed.” Jim said, doing his best to keep a straight face as he offered her mock condolences.
“Thanks, that makes me feel so much better.” She said with an eye roll, and he couldn’t suppress a grin.
“This was a good idea.” Jim spoke sincerely, hoping that his comment would pass without altering the tone of the conversation.
“Thanks.” Pam said, looking around at everyone still laughing together, “I couldn’t stand to see everyone staring at the ground all afternoon. You know I heard we can’t leave until all of this is sorted out?”
“I think if the police finally relent to Dwight’s suggestions we could be out of here before 1.” Jim said, shaking his head as he looked up to the police cars, where Dwight was lingering once again.
“I have a theory.” Pam said excitedly, and Jim smiled, missing those words. “This bomb was either provided by Dwight himself, because he was denied becoming a volunteer bomb squad member; or Andy’s anger management recovery is just an illusion while he plots this revenge on us.”
Jim laughed at her genius, “You know, I bet they’re working together.” He shook his head and she threw her arms in the air with an “I knew it!”
“You hungry?” Jim asked her lightly, and she nodded her head. “I think we need to see if this vending machine has french onion chips.”
“I’ll only go with you if you get a grape soda.” Pam said defiantly, a slight mocking tone in her voice, but she knew the message she was trying to send.
Jim smiled slightly and nodded his head, “I’ll even buy you a coke.”
Pam agreed, and walked past him towards the office building as he followed behind, overjoyed to speak to her about past memories of their friendship and not have the lingering cloud of awkwardness and regret above him.
“Why didn’t I apply for a job here?” Pam asked incredulously as she reached the other office building’s break room. “They have much better stuff than we do.”
She scanned the content of the snack machine while Jim bought two drinks. She bought her bag of chips and a few other candy bars, handing them to Jim while he traded her for the drink.
“Well, Pam, while this office building is both cleaner, newer, and has a better snack selection, it does not, in fact, have a Dwight Schrute, and that is a key component in any job search.” Jim replied as he popped back the tab of the grape soda, and enjoyed the carbonation stinging his throat and tickling at his nose; satisfaction his bottle of water could never provide.
The chairs inside the building were all occupied by others, but Pam and Jim were more than happy to go outside to enjoy their break. They found a concrete ledge to sit on, and opened their unhealthy lunch. For lunch-time entertainment they had the option of Dwight’s ploys at the police men, or Creed trying to avoid the police dogs. They eventually agreed to watch both, and alert the other when necessary.
“We have three minutes.” Pam stated as she finished the last of her chips and struggled to swallow the rest of her coke.
“Are we going to conquer desert island or truth or dare next?” Jim asked as he crumpled up the wrappers of his candy bars.
“Ah, I think we need to start slow after eating, ease in with some Desert Island.” Pam said as she hopped off the ledge and Jim joined her.
“Good idea.” He agreed, and they both walked across the parking lot to the nearest trash can. “I hope Phyllis has her rules straight for truth or dare.”
“I may have to seek therapy after that one.”
“Take me with you.”
They laughed together again, and stood silently at the corner of the parking lot as everyone gradually returned from their break. Conversation wasn’t necessary, and they both took the time to appreciate the afternoon they were able to spend together. The Spring breeze was blowing nicely, billowing out Pam’s conservative skirt and rushing through both of their hair. The temperature was perfect, and the sky couldn’t have been clearer.
“One minute, everybody!” Pam warned, pointing at her watch once again. The circle formed again, in much the same order, and Michael and Bob squeezed their way into their spots shortly afterwards.
“Okay, first things first, neighbor check. Make sure we’re not leaving anyone in the restroom.” Everyone looked to both sides of them and nodded their heads in satisfaction.
“Perfect. Now, the unofficial winners of “Who would you do”, based on my unofficial calculations, are Karen for the ladies, and Ryan, by a small margin, for the men.”
Everyone clapped for the winners, whose faces conveyed several emotions at once.
“Michael wins bonus points for being the only person to answer for both sexes, Oscar wins for stating ‘no one’ and sincerely meaning it, and Angela deserves something for being the only person to refuse to answer at all.”
Again, a round of applause, and another scowl searing into Pam from Angela’s direction.
“Out of our remaining options, we’ve decided on Desert Island as our next game, and I will be the one to lay this one out.”
