Trench Warfare

So she tries to be a little Molly Badass, but it's hard to keep a straight face. "Come on, that's adorable." I'm sure that's pretty vexing for her, when I don't take that as seriously as she'd like, but again, I come from the mean streets of Western Mass and there isn't a damn rabbit she can pull out of her hat that I haven't seen before. And for my part, while I may not be one of the badass ballbusting female engines of destruction that my home state produces, I've picked up a few things in my 36 years that I can put to good use. See, I may not be as kickass as Guinevere, as much of a hardass as Ohio, or as frightening as Meredith, but I have a good amount of guile in my basic make-up that makes up for those deficiencies. In other words, I know how to play this game. And in this case, she's the visiting team playing on my home turf: that company, my department.

See, I don't hate this girl. I think her attitude is a little misguided. I do think she's passing up a decent chance at a nice relationship just because she's too scared to take a chance on something. She's being chickenshit is what I mean. I can't hate her for that. I've given in to fears like that in the past, so I know how it is. If that's all this was it would be no big deal, and I'd keep chipping away at her armor bit by little bitty bit until she either caved in or we called it quits. But her attitude is a little off-putting, and her going around to everyone in the department and discussing our business is extremely annoying. So I've kept a strict policy of 'no comment' all this week. Of course when Starr asks me something, or June brings something up, then I'll comment. But as far as opening the book of my personal life to everyone at work, well that isn't going to happen. Ever.

Leading up to all of this she was extremely flirty. Think of the stuff Jayme used to regularly do to people, and that's fairly close. She'd call me 'Sparky', and she'd kind of hang on me, and stuff like that, in full view of everyone out in the cafe during lunch, while I would mostly play it straight. Sure, I'd call her 'Cookie', but rarely in earshot of anyone else, and besides, I make up nicknames for everyone. Anyway, the last few weeks I've been fielding questions from all corners of the building. Are we an item? Am I having an affair with that girl? And in answer to everything I make no comment. And these people are seeing everything else, all the flirting and the other things she does.

And then there's this week. I blew off Monday. If ever there was a good day to just up and skip work it was that day. While I was gone she laid enough track around the department to feed the gossip mill for weeks to come, which is about what I expected. It was enough, at least, that when I did come in Tuesday Sue kept us seperated. I worked with Starr and she worked with June. I couldn't have planned that better if I'd planned it. But it was apparent that both Starr and June knew something was afoot. Sometimes you can just tell, and Starr pretty much told me that she never shut up all day long on Monday. Even Sue came by and asked if I was all right, and there was obviously additional knowledge behind her question, and I called her on it, and she couldn't cover it up. I can tell. I know these people.

Most of Tuesday I avoided or ignored her. Not because I dislike her or anything, but I just didn't have much to say. And the whole "Hey June, tell Starr to tell him everything I said to her yesterday so I don't have to" thing doesn't really impress me. If you can't tell me yourself, I don't really care to know. Anyway, the weather around me was chilly and cold all day Tuesday and into Wednesday, and I was so dickish and stand-offish that she was finally forced to come up and ask, "So, are you not talking to me ever again or what?" The first time she asked I was non-committal. I'll let you know. During first break she asked my why I was being such a "fucking snob", and then walked off. I had to laugh at that. Skip thought that was pretty hilarious, although he remembered it as "fucking prick" later that afternoon. Finally, at the end of the day she asked me again if I was ever going to talk to her, and I said, "I'm not not talking to you now." She seemed to settle for that, although it isn't like it used to be, and I'm not going to pretend that it is.

Despite that, I was once again "a fucking snob" today. She kept up the rounds around the department, and I continued to keep my head and say nothing. June finally got fed up with it and talked to Sue, Sue then talked to Starr, and then Sue talked to me privately. She's aware of all the talk. Several people have voiced concerns over it. I kind of shrugged it off as mildly annoying, but not something I was going to bring up to her. She knows I keep my private life as private as possible anyway. She knows where everything is coming from. She even mentioned that someone in her other area had asked, "What is that girl doing to Shaun?" I'm something of a hot topic, apparently. It's very Medical Center. So she was going to have a talk with Jen about all this, and she did right after lunch. I was working elsewhere by the time it was over, so I didn't really hear about the splash up from it, if there was any.

In fact, the only other interaction I almost had with her was when I was over doing dimension checks in the darkroom. Starr, Sue, and Debbie were over there. June and Jen came over to ask some question of Sue. June said something smart-alecky to me, and Debbie interjected with, "Don't pick on my Shaunie!" I knew who all was standing right behind me, so even though I think my eyes dilated, I did not turn around or even move my head. It got a big laugh after they left. Debbie, who was sitting right next to me, told me she got the worst evil eye she'd ever seen.

That's where we pick up tomorrow. As the world turns, these are the days of our lives......