Chapter 12: New Girl

Pip sat in front of the computer behind her new desk, surrounded by four makeshift cubicle walls, tapping away at her keyboard while listening to calming lo-fi beats through her wireless air pods. She wasn’t really supposed to be listening to music at work – well – there weren’t any strict rules against music, but it was never a good look. However she always found that she was most productive when she had something to calm her, and sometimes something to bop her head to. Her old boss didn’t mind. Pip had a good reputation of being a hard worker – there were a lot of things back then that she could get away with. But she was part of a new team now, and first impressions mattered. So she let her bright red hair down, tying part of it into a ponytail so that it looked neat, and letting the rest flow over her ears, completely covering her airpods.

‘Hello there.’

Pip swivelled around in her chair. Someone was hovering over the side of her cubicle wall, peering down at her. It was him. The boy from the lift. They’d both pretended not to recognise each other when they’d first seen each other in the meeting, but it was obvious that they both did.

‘Easy Obi-wan,’ Pip grinned with a relaxed demeanour, a look that was supposed to hide the nervousness that was now gushing over her.

‘Obi-wan, I thought you were a fan beautiful literature, proper well written stories. Not Star Wars,’ Jacob held up a book. It was blue and golden with an illustration of a large boat on the front, sailing through the wild sea. Narnia. Her copy.

So he did remember her.

‘You were the one who made the reference? And what makes you think that Star Wars is poorly written?’ she asked as she subtly took the airpods out of her ears by pretending to brush her hair back.

‘It was a very off-the-cuff script. Lucas wrote the stories as he went. There was no planning it out, it was very much like why don’t we make Darth Vadar his father, or why don’t we make Leah his sister. And don’t get me started on the spin-offs.’ "I guess it's not like Narnia then?" "Or Lord of the Rings," Jacob continued. "Or Wuthering Heights.""Mmmm, I’m inclined to disagree on that last one. Wuthering Heights is terrible. Imagine writing a book about a guy who spends a third of his life chasing after a girl, another third of his life depressed that he was rejected by the girl, and the rest of his life trying to get revenge on her children. I hate to break it to you, but it’s a little sad,’ Jacob smiled.

Pip couldn’t help but laugh.

‘You’re very opinionated when it comes to novels, aren’t you. I happen to really like Wuthering Heights. I think it’s a remarkable piece of literature.’

‘Each to their own, I guess. Maybe I’ll re-read it one of these days, but I doubt my opinion is going to change.’

‘Each to their own,’ Pip said with a soft, agreeable tone.

‘Well, umm, here’s your book,’ Jacob held it out for Pip to take.

‘Thanks for keeping it safe.’

‘No stress,’ Jacob said as he handed it back to her, ‘oh and no need to hide the music. As long as work gets done – nobody around here really cares. Sometimes even when work doesn’t get done, nobody cares.’

Pip’s eyes widened slightly.

How did he…

***

Jacob slumped back into his desk which wasn’t actually that far away from Pip’s. When he had first seen Pip back in the meeting room, his heart had almost leapt up through his chest and out his mouth; he could tell by the look on her face that she had also been surprised to see him. After he had walked in and seen her, he had nodded to Martha and then tripped over his own shoelaces. It couldn’t have been more awkward. After he’d met her in the life, he honestly didn’t ever think he’d see her again, but now here she was, less than five meters away from him.

Suddenly his phone began to vibrate on his desk interrupting him from his thoughts. Jacob picked up the phone.

‘Hey beautiful,’ he answered, ‘yep, still on for lunch.’

Jacob looked down at his watch.

‘Give me like half an hour…sure…see you soon!’

***

‘She didn’t know what department I worked in? Did she?’

The four boys sat on a table outside The Rusty Bike Tavern, each of them with a schooner of beer, except for Alex, who was drinking lemonade.

‘I’m so tired man! I think I’m still kinda hung over,’ Alex said.

‘You’re not kinda hung over. You didn’t even drink that much,’ Thomas retorted.

Daniel leant in and looked across the table at Jacob.

‘She didn’t know what department you worked in dude. How would she know?’

Jacob threw his hands in the air.

‘I dunno. Maybe Thomas mentioned something to Sally?’

Thomas shook his head.

‘Sally doesn’t know what department you work in. We barely talk about you. Sorry but it’s true. This is all just a coincidence.’

‘I suppose it must be.’

‘Jacob, you’re worrying too much about this,’ Daniel said, ‘you had a fleeting schoolboy crush on her - ’

‘School girl crush,’ Thomas interrupted.

‘School girl crush,’ Daniel continued, ‘but doesn’t mean things have to be awkward. Yeah, you work with her now. You’re not single anymore. You get along with her. So what? You can be her friend. There’s nothing wrong with that,’ Daniel said.

Jacob shrugged his shoulders suddenly beginning to feel bad about the fact that he was making a big deal about it.

‘And maybe you can invite her to come hang out with us. I’ll invite Sally. It’ll be fine. Daniel’s right. Don’t worry. Don’t think about it.’

‘I spose I am causing a bit of a fuss about it. What do you think Alex?’

‘Don’t ask me,’ Alex said, ‘my head hurts.’

Daniel laughed and rubbed Alex’s hair.

‘You are causing a fuss about it,’ Thomas interjected slapping Jacob on the back, ‘she probably doesn’t even remember you.’

‘She did remember me. At least I’m pretty sure.’

‘I’ll ask Sally.’

‘Don’t! No…no, no, no,’ Jacob blushed and began waving his hands about.

‘Chill. I’ll be subtle about it. She’s going to find out you work with Pip sooner or later – things are getting serious. And I want you guys to meet her.’

Jacob huffed, but left it as it was.

‘Thomas getting serious with a girl,’ Alex commented.

‘Yep,’ Daniel agreed, ‘never thought I’d see the day. Also Jacob, don’t try to hide it from Maria, either. Things will go pear shaped if you’re secretive.’

Jacob nodded in agreement and took a large gulp of beer.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

***

The week passed fairly quickly; and with very little commotion – although a lot of interaction between Jacob and Pip. Despite Daniel’s little pep-talk, Jacob still tried to avoid her when he could, but it was hard. Secretly, he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty every time he spoke to her, and what was more, every little interaction that they did have usually turned into a conversation about one thing or another. He just couldn’t help but get along with her. He kept repeating Daniel’s words of wisdom in his head.

You can be her friend. There’s nothing wrong with that.

He told Maria about it while they were having dinner one night at his place. Well, kind of.

‘A new girl joined our team at work this week,’ was how he put it.

‘Aha, what’s she like,’ Maria asked as she chewed vigorously on a mouthful of spaghetti (which was really the only thing Jacob could cook).

‘Quiet…she doesn’t really cause much of a fuss. She just kind of gets on with it. If you know what I mean. She’s actually Thomas’ girlfriend’s friend.’

‘Thomas’ girlfriends’ friend, huh? If she’s young and cute then you’d better stay away from her!’ Maria pointed a hard finger at him.

‘She’s young… and well… I mean cute but…I don’t know how to umm…’

‘I’m joking you loser. I’m not jealous.’

‘Oh,’ Jacob gave her a look of relief, ‘Well she’s not as cute as you!’

‘That’s what I like to hear,’ Maria said as she leant across the table and pecked Jacob on the lips.

***

Coffee with Chloe was still the best part of his week. The weather was beginning to warm up; and so the plants around their usual café were beginning to turn bright and colourful. The flowers were budding, and the trees were showing signs of growing their first new green leaves for the season.

‘Summer is on its way here!’ Chloe said leaning back in her chair and sipping on a cup of coffee, ‘I can feeeel it in the air!’

‘Your favourite season, isn’t it?’

‘Well, what’s not to love? Ice cream, swimming, longer days. It’s just fabulous, don’t you think?’

Jacob shrugged his shoulders.

‘I dunno. Every season is beautiful in its own way. Sure, you can eat ice cream, and go swimming in the summer. But there’s nothing like coming home on a cold day to a warm drink and a hot bath. And you can also go snowboarding in winter.’

‘And what about spring and autumn.’

‘Well,’ Jacob continued to stare out the coffee shop window admiring the beauty of the trees, grass and newborn flowers, ‘they’re the comfortable months. It’s not too hot, not too cold. The temperature is perfect. Plus the golden leaves on the trees are gorgeous in autumn. So picturesque.’

‘You know,’ Chloe joined him looking out the window, she, however, was admiring the people passing by – walking along the sidewalk seemingly without a care in the world, ‘for someone who goes on about having something missing in your life, you seem pretty content.’

‘It’s not like I don’t want to feel content. I try you know.’

‘Well you’re doing a great job cuz!’ Chloe beamed and tugged on Jacob’s hands, drawing his attention away from the window.

‘So this new girl. What’s wrong with her?’

‘There’s nothing wrong with her – I just get along with her a bit too well. If you know what I mean. I don’t think it’s fair to Maria. I already spoke with the boys about it. And they told me not to worry. But I just can’t not worry.’

‘Well, are you planning on cheating on Maria?’ Chloe asked.

‘No!’

‘Then who really cares Jacob. Trust me, Maria’s had a lot worse than a boyfriend who got along pretty well with another girl at work.’

‘Really,’ Jacob rose an eyebrow.

‘Yep. You’re out of the norm for her. She normally dates - ’

‘Immature losers. I know. She really seemed to like those kinds of guys. But how bad did it really get.’

‘Let’s just say that cheating wasn’t out of the question for them. And they had no remorse about it. I don’t want to share too much though, why don’t you ask her yourself.’

‘Yeah, I probably should at some point.’

‘You’ve got nothing to worry about,’ Chloe rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.

‘Thanks, I appreciate it.’

Maria wasn’t at church that week. She was catching up with a few of her girlfriends, though Jacob already knew this. Maria’s grandmother and her parents were there though. They always tried to make small talk with Jacob, but Jacob just felt awkward whenever they did.

Jacob and Maria weren’t really open about things at this stage – he didn’t even know if her parents knew that they were a thing yet. It’s not really something he asked her about; he felt like knowing would just make him more nervous.

The few times they had been at mass together during the months they had been seeing each other – Jacob had tried to avoid her as much as possible. He didn’t know why. It was probably because he felt super weird about it all with his grandmother and her parents around. But Maria never avoided him. In fact she kept flirting with him, and it wasn’t really subtle either. One time Jacob had seen her waving at him from the other side of the pew. Another week Maria had insisted that Chloe move over so she could sit next to Jacob, and then proceeded to rest her head against his shoulder during the service. On the way home that week, Chloe had commented on how embarrassed he had looked; and said that she had wished she’d gotten a photo. Chloe had comforted him by telling him Maria has an upfront personality, and he’d get used to it.

Lunch at his grandmother’s was no different to usual. They ate Maltese torta and chocolate for dessert. They watched Judge Judy, and played cards. The afternoon passed blissfully; exactly as any lazy Sunday afternoon should. And as normal, Chloe and Jacob kissed their grandmother goodbye around five o clock in the afternoon before going home.

Jacob spent the rest of the day reading. When night fell, he ate a small helping of leftovers that his grandmother had given him to take home, showered and set his alarm to wake up early the next day. He thought that his mind was active, he thought he’d have to fight to get his body to calm down, but to his surprise he fell asleep almost before his head hit the pillow.

It had taken Pip a little longer to get to sleep. It really shouldn’t have. She had just finished reading the Shadow and Bone series, and now she couldn’t help but succumb to the urge to re-read Narnia, a series she thought was heartfelt and cosy and always made her feel like she was back at home with her mother and father. But for some reason, after she’d turned out the light, she found herself staring up at the roof of her bedroom, with her eyes open and her mind ticking – listening to the sounds of dogs barking in the distance, along with the sounds of cars and traffic passing by in the street.

Pip hadn’t had any intentions of talking about Jacob with anybody – she’d only mentioned him once to Sally. He was the ‘boy’ at work in her ‘new department’.

‘The boy in your new department, hey. Is he handsome?’ Sally had asked her.

‘No,’ Pip had replied, which technically wasn’t a lie, because what Pip really thought was that he was more than just handsome, he was gorgeous.

But despite her intentions, Jacob did come up during that week. It was becoming more and more normal for Thomas to visit – usually he would just come to hang out with Sally. Sometimes they’d go to Thomas’ place instead, but more often than not, they were in the kitchen, or on the couch in front of the TV watching Netflix.

Thomas hadn’t spoken much about his friends before. Pip had supposed it was because things with him and Sally had been pretty new. But now they’d been together for almost two months. Thomas seemed to be getting more comfortable around Sally, and in turn, he was getting more comfortable with Pip.

Pip had been in her pyjamas, on her way from the kitchen to the bedroom to her bedroom when Thomas had said something. Apparently the boy at work, the boy from the lift, the boy who’d been holding onto her special edition copy of Narnia for a bit over two months, had been one of Thomas’ best friends. Who would have thought.

Of course Pip had felt the need to continue the conversation, asking a bit about Jacob, and how Thomas knew him. It had all seemed nice, until she found out the Jacob was seeing a girl.

When it came up, Pip didn’t know how to take it. She didn’t know how she should be taking it. After all, she’d spent the past week trying to convince herself that she didn’t like Jacob, and that Jacob didn’t like her. So why did she feel so torn apart about the fact that he had a girlfriend. Either way, she made sure not to let it show. She continued making small-talk with Thomas for a little longer, before she smiled and went straight to her room.

Now Pip found that she was still looking up at the ceiling of her bedroom. It took a while for her to calm down, a while for her to drift off. When she did finally manage it, she had lively dreams and a troubled sleep. She didn’t really wake up feeling well rested the next day.

***

‘You just have to kick it,’ Jacob said.

‘What,’ Pip replied, a little shocked.

‘You have to kick it. Pretty hard too. That’s what we all do around here to get that photocopier working,’ Jacob said.

‘Okay…’ Pip looked at the machine in front of her that had just started glitching out. It was the last thing she needed on a Monday morning, while she was high on caffeine. Without thinking she kicked the machine with her small foot.

Jacob gasped.

‘Pip, I was kidding.’

‘About kicking the photocopier? That was just a joke?’ Pip quickly looked around the office. Luckily there was nobody in sight.

‘I didn’t think you’d actually do it?’ Jacob said with a pleading voice.

‘Jacob you…’ Pip punched him in the arm; the softest punch he’d every taken in his life.

Jacob couldn’t help but burst into laughter. They say laughter is contagious. And for Pip it really was, because a few moments later a smile drew up over her face too, and then the two of them were leaning against the photocopier in hysterics.

‘Seriously though Jacob,’ Pip said once they’d both calmed down, ‘how do you get this thing working?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘You really don’t?’

‘I really don’t. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Try turning it off and on again – though that only helps half the time.’

Pip began fiddling with the buttons on the machine.

‘Hey, you know umm…’ Jacob began after a few moments of silence had passed.

‘Umm what?’ Pip replied without looking up.

‘Umm your best friend is dating my best friend.’

‘I know,’ Pip said.

‘You know? Well Thomas was kinda thinking it would be cool if we all hung out together.’

‘Yeah he said the same thing to me.’

‘Oh, and what did you say?’

‘I said I thought it would be cool.’

Jacob nodded his head as he leant against the wall casually.

‘Cool,’ he said.

Pip looked at him from the photocopier.

‘Cool.’

Jacob smiled.

‘Cool,’ he whispered.

Pip suddenly realised something. It didn’t matter if Jacob had a girlfriend. She enjoyed hanging out with him. And they were just friends. There was nothing wrong with that.