Narrative #1

As the clock struck 12:30, every person in the sales department got up from their seats and grabbed their lunches. Everybody always brought their own lunch, and nobody ever bought anything from the company hot line lunch. Soon, the cafeteria was filled with men and women carrying brown paper bags, as if they were going to lunch in an elementary school. Everybody moved into their usual seats and took out their sandwiches. They all awkwardly shifted in their seats, waiting for the first person to take a bite of their usual turkey on white sandwich. That person was usually Joe, their boss, and everyone was used to that. It was their routine.
Jim, however, was not used to this routine. As he turned towards his colleagues after filling up his cup of coffee, he noticed that no one else had walked up to buy, well, anything. Embarrassed, Joe quickly and quietly took the closest empty seat he could find, which happened to be right across from his new boss. He quickly drank his cup of black coffee while ducking behind the metallic pillar next to him, since he didn’t want anyone, especially the boss, to notice him. He made a mental note to bring turkey on white to his second day of work.
Meanwhile, Martha was silently scolding herself for being too adventurous. If she hadn’t been tempted to put on that shiny red headband she bought herself last week, she wouldn’t be sticking out so much. No other woman in the office ever wore a headband, especially one as bright and bold as hers, so why should she? Why was she so different? Still, she couldn’t take it off now, because people would notice and she didn’t know what they would think about that. There was no escaping her mistake.
Throughout the half hour the salespeople had for lunch, everybody silently chewed on their sandwiches while looking down at the spot of the table in front of them. Nobody wanted to say anything, for no one knew what the other people would think if they let out a single sound. However, that didn’t stop the people from thinking to themselves. Janet was yelling at herself for not being as brave as the woman across from her who was wearing that beautiful headband. Gertrude, sitting way in the corner, reminded herself to get new glasses that did not have pink frames, or any color that wasn’t black. Nobody was brave enough to put their thoughts into words.
Then, at 1:00, everybody followed as Joe got up from his seat and threw away his trash. They all silently shuffled back into their offices. It was all a part of their routine.