Red Light (IV)

You could taste it in the air, the very sporadic basis of actual joy in the midst of colleagues who never gave. It was probably the best sketched picture to set eyes on given the peeving place I had to be of presence every five days a week. I'd walked over to the front of the ballroom as the proposal of having an open competition was made. The ceiling was high, lights were dim. A long streaming line of people waiting for punch at the far end of the right wing, trailing faint conversations carrying no substance. Inside I couldn't wait to go home, no one really knew me. Gusher was the only one I had relations with, mutual would be the last word to describe it. He was the boss from hell.

Standing on stage was that irking ball of blubber. He'd open the floor for a "show down". Different elements from different branches of the advertising company I had been working for were intrigued by this idea. Not that they were hard to entertain. The whole thing was so conventional, like something from Whose Line. Being the person he was, duty called. Inescapably my name was a part of his suggestions, I'd put my daily reads to use. I knew what I was getting into.

Closing on the individual with egoism brimming at the seems, I'd tried to ignore the on going roars of insult and ridicule. Pairs of Sapphires and forest, staring and tracking me. Exactly like heaven I'd say, the spot light was no less than blinding. Face to face with him, wearing a smirk so full of "natural" glimmer and gloss, cheeks reeking with acne and a lined forehead from notepads. I was so ready, in my mind with every ounce of sarcasm I could muster into the next move.

He called out the first line starting with the letter A. Subsequent replies had to start with letters from the alphabet consecutively. I'd finished the last sentence and somehow I felt rather enlightened and exited the stage with a simper. Silence then indicated his defeat and no one had a clue of how to react. I turned and had my candle put out in an instant. If only he hadn't thrown himself into his very own sheer anguish.