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Story Notes:

This is just a quick one-shot I wrote instead of doing the five hundred other things on my to do list for today! Hope you like it!

Of course, I own nothing.


The thing about her job is that she never knows what will happen next. One day she'll spend three hours tracking down the phone number for a restaurant in New Hampshire to see if they still sell the same red velvet cake that they did twelve years ago--the last time Michael was there. And then the next day it'll be something totally different, like cleaning out the refrigerator, or coming up with a new filing system for the personnel files. She's always been a very organized person, good at figuring out how to get something done. Even if it means doing things she really hates, like talking to strangers on the phone.

That's probably the thing she hates most about her job. It's not that bad when someone calls the office because then all she has to do is transfer them to whomever they really wanted to talk to, but having to call people herself is just...

She knows she should be over it by now. It's a bad habit she picked up when she was little and shy. But for some reason every time she has to dial a new number and talk to some faceless voice it still freaks her out a little bit. Roy used to laugh at her when she'd make him call the pizza place instead of doing it herself, but now he's just gotten used to it.

The thing is, she never really meant for this job to be permanent. Roy had heard about the opening and talked her into applying because it paid a dollar more per hour than her last job at a bookstore. She hadn't really thought she would stay for more than a few months. The plan was for Roy to move in with her and save the money he would've spent on rent to help her finish her degree. She'd loaned him some money to take classes at the community college a few years earlier--before he'd decided that college just wasn't his thing--so he had said that he needed to make it up to her by doing this. At the time, taking this new job as a receptionist had just seemed like a good way to earn a little more money before heading back to school in the fall.

But then fall had come and gone and they'd decided to buy the truck instead of paying for tuition. She could always go back next semester, Roy reminded her. And then the next semester was coming up and they'd just gotten engaged, and she had decided it would be a lot better to wait and plan the wedding first. She didn't want something too over-the-top, but this was a special day and she wanted it to be elegant. So the tuition money was put back in savings for a few more months while she spent her days listening to Michael drone on in endless meetings and her nights thinking about guest lists and color schemes.

Besides, it wasn't really a bad job. Sure, there were things she didn't like about it. But on the other hand, she didn't know anyone else who could get paid to sit at a desk and play solitaire for hours on end. And she'd made some friends there, too. Well, mostly just one friend, but still.

But lately, Michael's been spending hours on the phone with people she's never heard of before, and he keeps making these weird comments about becoming famous like that guy on Survivor, except according to Michael no one will have to take off their clothes unless they want to.

She knows Jan is scheduled to meet with the whole office on Friday, and she figures everything will be explained then. It's probably just another one of Michael's crazy ideas to increase sales with a little "friendly inter-office competition." Although, she's wondering what kind of competition would involve a camera crew.

Three weeks later Pam is seriously considering quitting her job. The documentary producer stopped by to drop off a stack of paperwork earlier that day--waivers, disclosures, that sort of thing.

She's not sure what it'll be like having a camera following their every move, and frankly it sort of scares her to think about it. That's why it might be time to move on. She's sort of given up on that college degree, but there's gotta be something better out there than answering the phone and alphabetizing invoices for Angela.

"You're awfully quiet today. Thinking about what you'll do when you become a famous documentary star?"

"Yeah," she smiles into the soft green eyes looking down from the other side of her desk. "I'll probably move into one of those huge Hollywood-style mansions we have so many of here in Scranton."

"Will it have a terrace?"

She giggles, but she's a little surprised he remembered that. She'd only mentioned it once before about a year ago, when he'd asked her what kind of books she'd read as a kid. Then again, Jim is notorious for remembering every little detail of their break room conversations.

"Well, Beesly, just as long as you don't forget about us when you become famous."

"What are you talking about? We all know Stanley's going to be the break-out star of this documentary."

He laughs, and she knows right away that she won't really quit. After all, it's not such a horrible place to work. Having the camera crew there won't change the fact that she has a good job that's let her save up enough money to pay for the more expensive invitations she picked out a few months ago. And it's nice to have Roy there so they get to see each other during the day sometimes.

Besides, if she quit what would she do with all the useless knowledge floating around in her head. Where to find the best yams when Michael is feeling sick, how often to sneak into the men's bathroom with a new scented candle so that the smell won't leak out into the kitchen, Jim's favorite flavor of soda...

She looks up again and realizes Jim is still standing there with his hands hanging over the ledge, munching on the jellybeans she set out this morning. It'll probably be different when the cameras arrive, but that's the thing about her job, she never knows what will happen next.

Chapter End Notes:
Reviews are nice! And I didn't use a beta so please let me know if you see anything that needs to be fixed. Thanks for reading!


Azlin is the author of 27 other stories.



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