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Story Notes:
I don’t own the characters of Jim or Pam, or anything else you may recognise in this story. Neither am I affiliated with NBC, The Office, or any of its writers or actors. No copyright infringement is intended by this story.

Angela let out a deep, frustrated sigh and rolled her head to one side to check the time on her bedside clock. Twelve thirty three exactly. She’d been lying awake for an hour and three minutes.

It wasn’t like her to not be able to sleep, especially now that she had developed what she thought was a foolproof system for enabling her to get eight uninterrupted hours of sleep. She started with a warm glass of milk, followed by a hot lavender bath (she used only natural essential oils in her bath), and half an hour of Bible study, before switching the light off at exactly eleven thirty. It had worked every night so far for a week, but had failed tonight without any obvious reason.

She was tired, yes, but no more or less than any other night. She’d finished all of her chores, and couldn’t think of anything she’d forgotten to do that might be weighing on her mind. The cats were inside and had a bowl of kitty-kibble and a fresh litter tray waiting for them in the kitchen. She’d locked both the front and back doors, and checked that all of the windows were secure. She’d even tested the batteries on her smoke detector; something she always did on the second Thursday of the month. Some people might underestimate the importance of maintaining safety equipment, but she certainly didn’t.

The LCD display on her clock indicated the passing of another minute. Bah. At this rate she’d never get to sleep and she’d look awful in the morning. As a general rule she tried to avoid being vain about her appearance - after all it was one of the seven deadly sins, but she did like to look professional and neat at work, even if she was the only one in the office who made the effort. Most of them looked unwashed and homeless… she caught herself mid flow and bit down hard on her lip. Judge not, lest ye be judged. She definitely needed to work on that.

She took another deep breath and tried to relax the muscles in her face. If she couldn’t sleep it was probably because she felt so tense. She thought for a moment of a way to relax herself, and then began to recite the familiar, comforting words she knew as well as her own name.

‘Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.’

I can’t sleep, Lord. It’s one thirty, and I’ve been lying here awake for what seems like hours. Why can’t I fall asleep?

‘Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’

I’ve done everything I’m supposed to do. It’s Thursday night, so it’s not as if I was supposed to go to my Bible study class. I’m sure I haven’t forgotten to do anything…

‘Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.’

Oh. Well, maybe I need to talk to you about that. I suppose I was a bit … cruel to Pam today. I didn’t mean it, Lord. You know what’s truly in my heart. It’s just sometimes her behaviour with Jim annoys me. She’s engaged after all. It’s wrong for an engaged woman to spend so much time laughing and joking with a man who isn’t her fiancé. Right? I know a man and a woman can be good friends with each other, but there is a line… Anyway, I called her a tart. Not to her face, just sort of under my breath as she walked towards the ladies room. I know it wasn’t right, and I am sorry for disgracing you.

‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’

I mean, she does sometimes act like a tart. But I know it’s not my place to judge. After all, you made us all in your image. Some of us are just a bit... removed.

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory. For ever and ever. Amen.’

Angela felt her mouth contort into a yawn and she once again turned to face her alarm clock. Twelve forty-two. If she went to sleep now, she could still have seven and a bit hours of uninterrupted sleep before she had to get up. She closed her eyes and feeling a weight lift off of her chest, fell into a deep sleep.



Pumples is the author of 3 other stories.



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