“Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”

The documentary crew filmed Scrantonicity’s last home gig at the zoo before they hit the road on Monday. All of the band mates’ families and friends were there. It was the second best day of Kevin’s life (the first, of course, being the day Angela made an accounting error. Tee hee.)

All of his co-workers were there. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched Phyllis and Bob Vance sway to the music. Over by the reptile display, Dwight was instructing Angela on how to defend herself against a snake attack. Toby wasn’t listening to the music because he was busy showing his daughter the zoo’s new lion cubs.

During a break, Kevin noticed Pam strolling past the Amazon exhibit when she gasped. Jim was walking hand-in-hand with a very pretty girl with long dark hair. She tried to walk away but he had already seen her.

“Pam!” Jim hastened his steps toward her, still holding the woman’s hand. She faked a smile as the three of them stood in front of a waterfall, surrounded by exotic birds and plants.

“Hey,” she breathed. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I moved back to Scranton yesterday afternoon. Kev called last night to invite me to this concert.” He looked down at his shoes for a moment.

Pam glanced at the waterfall as a small wave crashed down into the pool. “Um, thank you for the asbestos prank. Dwight went on a rampage.” She cracked a wide smile at him. “I was entertained for at least three days.”

Jim briefly looked into her face, “You’re welcome. I was hoping you would like it.” He smiled for a moment before suddenly realizing who was standing next to him. “Oh, by the way, this is my girlfriend, Karen.” Pam hesitated as she limply shook hands with the young woman.

“Karen? You work at the Stamford branch?”

Karen smiled stiffly, noticeably miffed that her boyfriend had forgotten that she was standing there. “Used to. Now, I’m at the Scranton branch with you guys.” She quickly removed her hand from Pam’s as she wrapped her slender arm tightly and possessively through Jim’s. Pam looked miserable.

“Well, um, welcome to town, Karen.” Pam shyly smiled at Jim as she softly whispered, “Welcome back, Jim.”

Wow, that was awkward, Kevin thought as he turned his attention from Jim and Pam back to his drum kit. Still, this gig was so exciting. It was just a foretaste of what they would expect on the road.

Just as Kevin was picking up his drum sticks, Creed walked over. “Keith, I’m so excited to hear about your tour.”

“Um, my name is Kevin, actually.”

Creed didn’t seem to notice as he continued, “This one time, when I was with the Grass Roots, we toured with Janis and Jimi. Man, that was awesome. At least, I think it was. Actually, I don’t remember much of it. But I can imagine it was fun.” Suddenly, he turned away as Kevin threw a questioning look to the camera.

It was time for the band to play again. Ricky, the lead singer, stood in front of the audience filled with their friends and families. “Thank you for coming tonight-”

“That’s what she said,” interjected Michael loudly.

Ricky stared at Michael for a moment. “Um, yeah, anyway, thanks for attending tonight. Scrantonicity really appreciates your support. We’re going to play a few more tunes. Any requests?”

Kelly bounced up and down, “Oh, oh! Can you play the new Justin Timberlake song ‘SexyBack’? Oh my gosh! I totally love Justin’s new haircut. He looks hot. I mean, like, so hot. I love him. Cameron Diaz is, like, the luckiest girl in the world.” Next to her, Ryan looked up at the sky and rolled his eyes.

A bewildered Ricky shook his head, “Sorry, don’t know that one? Anyone else?”

Oscar’s partner Gil raised his hand, “How about some Scissor Sisters?”

“Who?”

“Never mind,” Oscar replied as he stood uncomfortably next to Gil. He was still upset about being publicly outed against his will.

“OK, well, how about some Sting?”

Just as Kevin was about to count out the beat, he overheard his fiancée talking to Meredith. “Wow, look at Roy. He looks really good.”

Meredith nodded her head a little too quickly, as she nursed her third Red Stripe. “Yeah, he does!”

Roy, looking much leaner and with a trimmed beard, was standing off by himself, intensely eying Pam. She, however, was looking elsewhere. In the crowd, Jim stood with his arm around Karen and at that moment, he bent his head down to kiss her cheek.

Kevin leaned forward into his microphone, “I want to dedicate this next song to two women in the audience tonight. The first is my beautiful fiancée. Love you, babe.” Stacy beamed at Kevin from the side of the stage. “And the second is to Pam Beesly. Just because.” She’s had a rough summer, he continued in his head.

The audience roared as the beginning of “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” filled the cool evening air. Kevin could see Pam, arms wrapped around herself as she still stood in front of the Amazon waterfall, smiling sadly.