Thomas and Alex wanted to name their new group chat something they thought was cool, like The New Work Avengers 2.0, but both Jacob and Daniel gave them a pretty hard no. In the end they named the group chat ‘Work Friends’ and left it at that. Alex thought it was boring. Thomas said it was lame. But all of them agreed that it was good enough. There were seven members. Jacob, Pip, Thomas, Sally, Daniel, Mia, and Alex.

***

‘Well, there you go, you wanted us to get to know Sally a bit more. And now we’re getting to know her,’ Jacob said as he waited in line for coffee next to Thomas on Tuesday morning.

‘You don’t really know her yet,’ Thomas replied.

‘Yes. But we will. That’s the point of the group.’

Jacob leant to the side, peering down the line that snaked outside the coffee shop that was built into one of the many tall, high-rise buildings.

‘What’s taking them so long today? I’m normally in the door and out by now.’

A short man in front of Jacob turned to face them.

‘I think they’re having problems with the coffee machine.’

Jacob looked down at his watch.

‘We’re going to be late if this keeps up.’

‘You’re going to be late. My boss doesn’t care when I get in. Don’t stress too much. They’re not going to fire you.’

***

‘What took you so long to get in this morning. Martha asked about you three times already,’ Pip said as Jacob scurried in with an empty takeaway coffee cup trying not to be seen.

‘Three times? I’m only ten minutes late. What did you tell her?’

‘I told her you were at the photocopier.’

‘You know, you could have pulled that off if the photocopier wasn’t broken,’ Jacob replied as he dumped his bag under his desk.

Pip shrugged.

‘It was the best I had.’

Jacob booted up his computer.

‘There was a bit of a hold up at my favourite café this morning.’

‘You were late because of coffee? Didn’t you know we have a coffee machine in the tearoom. I’ve only been here for a week, and I already know about it.’

‘I can’t start the day without a coffee from Tierra Madre Café. There’s nothing else like it.’

‘You told me yesterday that Red Brick café was your favourite place for coffee.’

‘Well, I take it back.’

‘Hmm, okay then. I’ll have to try one of their coffees sometime then’ Pip said as she pulled out her phone, ‘Hey umm, what’s with the group chat?’

Jacob pointed to desk opposite him.

‘Grab a chair if you like. For some reason Martha gets onto me for being ten minutes late, but she doesn’t care that Jane takes a two-hour cigarette break in the morning, because she got here half an hour early.’

Pip laughed and pulled the chair out from under the desk.

‘Having a group chat is just easier than sending messages around individually,’ Jacob explained, ‘We have one with the boys; but trust me, you don’t want to be added to that one.’

‘No. I get that. I’m talking about the chat itself,’ Pip held up the phone so Jacob could see.

The name of the group chat read ‘The New Office Heroes 2.0.’

The chat head had a picture of Kevin Malone from The Office dropping a bowl of hot soup on the floor.

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Jacob slapped his face in frustration.

‘I told them not to name it something stupid like that.’

‘Oh, so you don’t know what it’s about? I thought it must have been some kind of in-joke between you guys,’ Pip said.

‘Nope, not at all. My friends are just being stupid.’

‘You know, the more I think about it, the more I kind of do thing it’s a bit of a fun name.’

‘You’re not being serious, are you?’

‘Dead serious!’

Pip started laughing, and Jacob couldn’t help but join in.

‘Well, if that’s your kind of humour, then each to their own. But I think it’s corny.’

Suddenly Pip sat up slightly straighter, and her face contorted so that it was a little less casual, and a little more serious.

‘Thanks so much for helping me with that Jacob. I really owe you one.’

Jacob rose an eyebrow, but before he could voice his confusion Pip looked up over his shoulder and continued talking.

‘A good worker you’ve got here Martha. Dug me out of a massive hole.’

Jacob turned around. Martha was standing behind him, straight and tall. Jacob hesitated for a moment but eventually he spoke.

‘Umm, yeah, it was nothing really, no big deal. No harm done.’

Jacob’s eyes kept darting between Martha and Pip as he spoke. Martha gave the feintest of smiles.

‘It’s why we keep him around,’ Martha said and the marched off.

Jacob turned back to Pip.

‘You know you’re putting a target on your back by covering for me, right?’

‘I don’t mind. I can always transfer back to me department if things don’t work out here!’

***

As always, Thomas was the one who initiated events. He had been the one to make the group chat and add everyone’s numbers. Now he went ahead and set a date for burgers after work. Mia couldn’t make it, and neither could Alex. They tried to move the dates around, but it was going to be hard to find a day that worked for everyone – and Thomas was quite eager for Sally to meet his friends. Sally said not to worry about Mia, and Alex told Thomas that there was always next time.

It was a rainy Monday afternoon in Melbourne, about two weeks after Jacob had convinced Pip to kick the photocopier. Thomas and Daniel had a meeting in their department that had gone on until quite late, and so they had decided to walk straight from work to the burger place.

Jacob had gotten out of work early. He got home in time to fit in a quick run through the suburbs, which was relaxing and refreshing, because the rain was heavy enough to cool him down, but not so heavy that it soaked into his t-shirt. After a shower and a shave, he threw on some clothes and still managed to get to Grill’d before everyone else.

Pip and Sally were the next ones to get there. Pip easily spotted Jacob, who was sitting on a table scrolling through Instagram.

‘Jacob!’ Pip beamed waving at him frantically and pulling up a chair next to him. Jacob put his phone down and looked up.

‘So you’re ‘the boy’ in Pip’s new department,’ Sally said with a sly grin as she joined them on the table.

Pip’s eyes widened.

‘Sally,’ she whispered with embarrassment. The last thing Pip wanted was for Jacob to know what that she had paid special attention to him.

‘So you’re the girl that’s been taking up all Thomas’ time,’ Jacob replied with an equally sly grin.

Sally laughed.

‘Not all his time. Just some of it.’

***

Thomas and Daniel arrived twenty minutes later. They walked into the lively burger restaurant, and spotted their friends sitting close to the window.

‘So I see you’ve already met Jacob’ Thomas said to Sally as he approached the table, ‘or do you want me to introduce you just for the sake of it?’

‘Why don’t you introduce us,’ Sally said patting Thomas comfortingly on the back, ‘It sounds like it will make you feel better.’

Thomas sat next to Sally. Daniel sat down on the opposite side of the table next to Jacob and Pip.

‘Jacob, this is Sally. Sally, this is Jacob and Daniel. Daniel, this is Pip. Pip, Daniel. Jacob you know Pip. Now we’ve all met.’

‘Nice to meet you,’ Daniel waved at both Sally and Pip.

‘It’s a shame your friend Alex couldn’t make it,’ Sally commented.

Daniel flicked his wrist, waving it off as nothing.

‘He’s probably almost back home by now, from whatever it was that he was doing, just being lazy.’

‘You can talk,’ Jacob snickered, ‘who is it that sleeps until one o clock on a Saturday?’

‘Hey,’ Daniel said, ‘I’m combining my Saturday sleep-in with my midday siesta. It checks out.’

‘Alex is probably at home stalking your sister online Jacob,’ Thomas laughed.

‘Hey!’ Jacob punched Thomas in the arm lightly from across the table.

Pip observed the three boys bantering from where she sat quietly. When she’d first met Thomas, she’d thought he had been a stiff-necked proper gentlemen. Now she was starting to see that this had been an act, probably more to do with the fact that he had been so nervous around Sally. He was most likely doing his best to make a good impression on both Sally and her friends; as most guys do when they first start dating a girl they like. Pip still thought he was a gentlemen, in the way that he was a really nice guy, but in reality he didn’t fit the stereotype. At least not anymore. And he was anything but stiff-necked. Now, if Pip had to describe him, it would be as a carefree confident guy.

‘Are we going to order,’ Daniel asked interrupting Pip from her thoughts.

‘Yep, I’m starving,’ Thomas replied.

‘I’m so down for the Simply Grill’d’ Jacob said getting up out of his seat.

‘It’s Bird and Brie for me,’ Daniel said.

‘What do you want?’ Thomas asked Sally.

‘I think I’ll go for the Hotbird.’

‘Great.’

The four of them joined the line to order.

‘What are you getting?’ Jacob asked Pip.

‘Mmm, probably the garden goodness.’

‘I didn’t know you were a vegetarian?’ Jacob asked.

‘Well I am.’

‘Explains why you just eat salad for lunch every day.’

‘I eat salad because I like to be healthy!’

They ate and talked and laughed and time flowed gently in its wake. Burgers and chips weren’t bad. Especially for a rainy Monday evening. With good conversations. And new friends. The night passed rather quickly, and they stayed out later than Jacob normally would. He couldn’t complain. All in all, it was a good start to the week.