At first he just said hi and Pam thought it was awkward, him being there. But she noticed his his eyes, his smile, how different his body was from most of the men she knew.
Pam wondered alot what people were like in high school. Her life had changed so slowly, melted so slowly from high school with Roy to living and working with Roy, that sometimes high school didn’t seem so far away. She wondered what her life would have been like if she had never let Roy cheat off of her in tenth grade algebra. If he hadn’t come over for a study date and made out with her and decided the next day she was his girlfriend. He never really asked, just put his arm around her and let the world assume. She thought about that sometimes.
Pam could kind of picture everyone in the cafeteria. Kevin was sitting with the bigger kids, ogling girls and hero worshipping Roy. Roy was with the jocks, of course. Creed would be stoned and walking around, picking food off of people's trays. Meredith would be hanging with her biker boyfriend. Kelly was with the semi popular girls, the ones who weren’t pretty enough to be completely popular. Angela would be sitting with the Christian crowd. Michael would be flitting from table to table, trying to be everything for everybody. Toby and Oscar she couldn’t really see. Phyllis would be sitting with her. The plain, quiet girls. And Dwight. She shuddered to think of Dwight going through puberty. Jim was dorky, she knew from the yearbook picture she kept in her day planner. But he was so funny he would be accepted anywhere. And Josh. She quickly placed the Stamford branch. Andy with the jocks. Karen would be class president, dating a boy in college. She suspected Josh would have run against her and maybe won. He would win prom king and best looking but generally be nice to everyone. She had a bit of a crush, really.
But she wouldn’t have had a crush if he wasn’t so nice. He surprised her. Always asking about her day, if she thought of ever moving up in the company, smiling at Michael’s never ending supply of pet names for her.
In some ways he was slowly replacing Jim. She had just started flashing him the eye rolls when Michael, Dwight, or Andy (who fit in just so well) did something terrible. He started sending horrified looks back. At first she felt bad about having that kind of connection with him. But, well, she needed someone to laugh with.
She had looked to Ryan when something ridiculous happened, but he was steadfast in his refusal to not be any more a part of this job than he had to. He had enough to deal with when it came to Kelly. Phyllis was always good for a smile, but Pam never persued that friendship. She could be Phyllis one day. So she became friends with someone she could never be, Kelly.
“Oh my God Pam he is so hot! I mean if I wasn’t already totally in it with Ryan I would really go for it. Not like, in a slutty way or anything, but really like, subtle. And classy. I read about it in Cosmo last month. It was an article called “Classy Sassy”. I can totally bring it for you.”
Of course, of course, of course Jim heard that. He had his old desk back, Ryan had his old desk, and Karen was in the back with Kelly. K-Town, Michael called it.
Jim looked up and over, pretending to search for his coat on the rack.
"Seriously Pam, Josh is dreamy."
Pam almost didn’t mind when she saw Jim check to see if the camera had caught that. It had.
At first Jim had been friendly, being nonchalant for the cameras. But then, he just stopped. The office was so busy now, so full, he didn’t have to come in contact with her. There were always so many other people around to distract him. Andy was always picking fights with Dwight. Michael constantly trying to steer attention away from Josh.
Karen was so frustrated by Kelly that she bought a blue tooth phone and placed sales calls by pacing back and forth from the elevator to Pam’s desk. Well, Jim’s desk most of the time. And when she needed something on the computer she used Jim’s. She didn’t try too hard to not be obvious, and for the matter, neither did Jim. They had only been there for a few days before Toby had a meeting with them and Michael started slapping Jim on the back, hard.
And that’s when she stopped feeling bad about laughing with Josh. No matter how many times Jim looked at the camera when it happened.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Considering continuing...whatcha think, yo?
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.
