other colleagues weren’t taking this seriously. There were so many things that could have gone wrong if he messed with time. She was generally happy with her life so far, and she didn’t want to know what could happen if he messed it up. “Well, I think I’ll go and fix my office space up. If you need me to do anything, just let me know. I’ll be here ‘til four.”
She didn’t wait for him to try and stop her. He waved her off and she went back to her own office. Pam had already put a nametag up on her door, but the place was still dark and empty. She had a computer, but there was a note on it, saying that someone would come later in the week to fix it up for her. Her shelves had nothing on them, so she decided to clean them and put some things there. She laid out her pictures and the few novels that she had brought along to read. Pam had left her some paper towels and cleaner to wipe her desk with. She began to clean up the area and get rid of all the dust that had accumulated in the space. All the while, she could not stop thinking about Donnie and what he had told her. Was this something he told the other applicants? Judging from his tone, he wasn’t trying to flirt with her. He clearly was excited about his plans, and wanted to share them with someone.
“I’m that someone. That is all.” She said out loud, throwing the paper towels in the trash. Her office was now cleaned up and she was ready to take on some work. Pam had also left her some papers to file, and those would take up the rest of her day. She was relieved to see that it was something simple and not more time travel related things. “No offense, Donnie, but I don’t think I want to mess with time and space. Things are okay the way they are.”
She knew she was lying to herself about the last part, but she wasn’t ready for any time travel gimmicks. She was here to do her job, get her money, and eventually have enough to move out and go to grad school with. The scientists could handle the issues with parallel universes and bending time. Even though she was interested in this, she was more interested in Donnie. His age no longer bothered her, but it was the way he spoke and moved. She wished she had done more research on him before accepting the position. There were the rumors about him graduating from MIT at fourteen, but she never questioned anything. She did know that he was brilliant, and that he expected nothing but the best results. According to her father, he didn’t have much of a social life or any friends to hang out with. It had nothing to do with being shy or mean; he just had too many other things to worry about.
“Poor guy has been working since he’s been a kid.” Her father had said, pointing to some of the facts in a book. “I highly doubt he’s been on a date. At most receptions and parties, if he shows up, he tends to keep to himself. I heard that he’s pleasant if you talk to him, but he won’t try to be the life of the party.”
So far, she had found all of that to be true. Donnie didn’t have any pictures of a wife or girlfriend in his office. In fact, he had no pictures at all. His office held nothing but books, papers, and the computer. She had found one fake plant in the corner, but that was all in terms of color or decorations. Comparing his office to hers was a joke. She made her area look like home, while his was as stuffy and dry as the lab. The one good thing about the lab was that it had several experiments going on at once. That gave it some life and excitement. Donnie’s office was just sad and dark.
“Oh, what am I doing?” she groaned, starting to flip through the pages. “I have work to do, and I’m just thinking about him! Get yourself together, O! He’s your boss! All he did was tell you what he was working on. Even if you think it’s a pile of crap, you should just listen to him and pretend that you care.