Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Poor Richard’s wasn’t very busy this Tuesday night, and the Dunder Mifflin Scranton crowd made up most of their patrons. They had all been forced to attend a useless seminar on Customer Service Ethics given by the corporate HR rep this afternoon, and subsequently decided to drown their boredom collectively at Poor Richard’s.
It seemed to be working. Kevin and Andy were absorbed in a conversation about the merits of tall tight ends on their fantasy football teams. Oscar was explaining the concept and trading of “futures” to a very interested Stanley, and Kelly, Phyllis and Michael were discussing women’s high heels. Jim noticed that a quiet, withdrawn Ryan was on round three while everyone else nursed their first drink.
Jim was antsy. It was Tuesday, and Pam was coming home from New York this Saturday. He knew the exact number of hours until he would leave for New York to help her move back home into his apartment, and they couldn’t pass fast enough for him. No - their apartment, he corrected himself with a grin. The whole long distance relationship thing had been much, much tougher than he had imagined, but he’d kept his cool and tried to be supportive in every way he knew how.
Pam had been encouraged by professors and friends alike to stay in New York, but when she decided she wanted to come home, he was undeniably relieved. Of course he hadn’t let on to her, but he thought if they had had to spend much more time apart, he wasn’t sure how he would stand it.
Now that there was an end in sight, time seemed to stretch and stall beyond the limits of his patience. He could have sworn that it took ten minutes to get from 4:55 to 5:00 p. m. this very evening, for example.
Despite being amused by Dwight as he weighed the merits of the automated robot vacuum, Jim’s mind kept wandering to how awesome it would be when he and Pam would really shared the same living space for the first time. Maybe he should celebrate.
Dwight was midsentence, and looked shocked when Jim suddenly stood.
He cleared this throat loudly.” May I have everybody’s attention please? I wanted to point out that Pam is coming back to Scranton this Saturday, which makes me very happy, so the next round is on me.”
Creed asked an unmoved Ryan, “Is that the one he’s engaged to?” Ryan nodded, but didn’t join the others as they gave a cheer and lifted their glasses in honor of the return of Pam.
As the group became more lubricated, the volume went up, and Jim almost missed hearing his phone when the call came. He pulled his phone from his pocket and couldn’t suppress a huge smile when he saw the familiar number.
“Hey!” he said brightly.
“Jim,” came the answer in a hushed, anxious tone, and he immediately knew something wasn’t right.
“What’s wrong Pam?”
“I think somebody is following me.”
“What? Where are you? What’s going on?”
“I’m walking down the street. I’m on my way to a subway stop so I can get back to the dorm and I think somebody’s following me.”
“You’re alone? What. . .”
Just then Kelly noticed Jim on the phone. “Is that Pam?” she screeched excitedly.
“Shut up, Kelly, “ he barked viciously, leaving her open mouthed and hurt, and he walked toward the door rapidly without explanation.
“Wait, I’m going outside, there’s too much noise in here.” His heart raced as he burst out the door and into the parking lot.
“Now I can hear, you still there?” he said as he paced back and forth in the parking lot.
“Yes, I’m alone.” Jim could hear the fear in her voice. ”A group of us went to the museum this afternoon – it was the last time I’ll get to go since I’m coming home. They went out for drinks but I still have some work to do so I headed back by myself. The subway entrance was closed down for some reason, so I figured I’d just walk to another stop.
It felt funny even when I was leaving the museum, but now I’m sure. He’s maybe a block back. I never get a good look, every time I glance back, he disappears into a shadow or a doorway. I’m kind of freaking out, Jim.”
What were you thinking! Why are you alone in the dark on the streets of New York? He wanted to shout, but he knew this would not be productive. She hadn’t meant to get in this situation. Why aren’t you here in Scranton with me?
“Aren’t there any cabs? Stop one and tell them you want to go to a police station.” Everytime he'd been to New York the cabs seemed to be plentiful.
“No, this is a quiet street, there’s hardly any traffic right now. There’s nobody here, that’s the problem.”
“Do you see an open store you can duck into?” Anywhere there were other people, he thought.
“There’s not much open in this area right now. It’s mostly residential and day businesses.”
“Keep in the light, try to find some people, and look for an open business or a lobby you can get into.” Like she couldn't think of that herself.
“Okay.”
“It’ll be okay, just find someplace with people.” He willed his voice to stay calm, but he was shaking.
“Hey, I think I see a little market open up the street a couple of blocks.”
“Good. Keep going. Do you still see him?”
“Yes, when I just looked back he disappeared into a shadowy place. Hee’s still a block back.”
“Just keep walking, quickly, but don’t look like you’re making a break. We don’t want him to think he needs to hurry.” C'mon Pam, get to the store.
“Okay. Oh God.”
“What? What?”
“Nothing, I just can’t believe this is happening. I feel silly but I’m scared at the same time. This is creepy.”
“It’s okay, how far away is the market now?”
“Half a block.”
“Good, get in that market.” He continued to pace the parking lot. He hadn’t worn his coat outside and he could see his own breath as he talked.
“Okay, I’m in the market. There’s one guy at the checkout counter, that’s it.”
“Great. Can you call a cab from there?”
“I don’t have enough money, Jim. I’ve got maybe three dollars. I’m a long way from Pratt.“
“The cab driver could wait for you to go up to your room and get the fare, couldn’t he?”
“I don’t have any money in my room either.” Jesus Pam, how were you going to eat?
He took a few deep frosty breaths to quell his frustration. “Okay, can you stop at an ATM on the way?”
“I didn’t bring my bank card, I didn’t think I’d need it.” Her voice was beginning to crack.
“Pam, Pam, it’s okay. We’ll figure this out.”
“I can’t stay in this market all night. The cashier is already looking at me funny.”
There had to be other options. Think, you idiot! Jim chastised himself. Wait, there was another option, and it would have been a lot harder to say if he hadn’t been so scared for Pam.
“Pam, do you have Ar . . .Alex’s phone number?”
He could hear the surprise in her voice as she answered, “Yes.”
“Call him and ask him to take a cab and come and get you, and tell him you’ll pay him back tomorrow.” Come save my fiance, art boy, because I'm helpless here, he thought bitterly.
“I. . .maybe I’m imagining this whole thing.”
“Pam, please do this.” He paused. “For me. I just want you safe as soon as possible.”
“Okay,” she said reluctantly.
“Got the address?”
“Yes, close enough. Jim, I’m going to need to hang up. I’ll call Alex and then I’ll call you back.”
This was going to be difficult. “Okay. Just don’t leave that market.”
“I won’t.”
“It’ll be okay, Pam. Call Alex." It shouldn't have hurt him that much to say that, he knew. "Bye.”
Jim was shivering as he ducked back inside the door of Poor Richard’s. He shifted from foot to foot, staring at his phone, waiting for her call back. He could feel Ryan’s eyes on him, and he glanced up to meet his stare.
Story Notes:
I started thinking about this because of someone on the message board thinking Pam's friend at art school was creepy (though I personally don't get that vibe from him), and thought there might be other creepy people in New York.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Jim gets a disturbing call from Pam.
Chapter End Notes:
The next chapter should come up at the same time.
