Max’s day was going by very slowly. No new breaking stories had come in, no major announcements, no noteworthy crimes…
Nothing.
To be honest, he didn’t mind.
As soon as he’d gotten to the office, taken off his jacket and placed his things beside his desk, he’d sat down and stared at his computer screen. Usually, waiting for him in the morning on top of his keyboard, assignments for the day and daily quotas were what filled his morning routine. But that morning, there was nothing.
He’d rather be home, reading a book with a cup of herbal tea by his side, sure. But altogether, it wasn’t such a bad thing that he didn’t have any assignments to do. He could live in the moment, enjoy the peace and quiet a day like this provided.
First, he glanced around at the others, seeing that they too looked a little confused. Megan was scrolling through previous stories in an attempt to find something to do, her face set in a concentrated frown. Eric, on the opposite side of the row to Max, was taking the time to reply to emails.
Everyone seemed at a loss for what to do. Then, David strode through his office door, leaning over the balcony above, and addressed the journalists.
“Well, everyone! The strange thing is, there’s no news today! I guess some group decided to boycott all activities apart from bonding exercises or something like that.”
“Well, why don’t we do that story?” Megan asked, but David shook his head.
“We had word of this plan about a week ago. I just didn’t think they’d actually go through with it. Ah well, just find something productive to do I guess!” He tapped the balcony a few times before returning to his office.
The noise went from silent to quiet mutterings as people tried to figure out what to do. Max wasn’t too worried, he already knew what would occupy his time. Opening the internet on his computer, he typed in the URL for his favorite writing website.
Half a second later, the page pulled up and he logged in. He glanced over his shoulder, wary of any unwanted attention. Seeing no watching eyes, he selected the ‘Add New Chapter’ button on his latest story.
Transferring the word document over, he clicked submit and watched as Chapter 32 was updated. He smiled in satisfaction. There was nothing more enlightening than updating one’s story.
He sat and swivelled in his chair a few seconds, just watching the screen in happiness. He’d been unable to add anything to his story because of work, his readers were probably wondering where he was, but now they would be satisfied.
The rest of his morning was spent planning out his next chapter and catching up on his favorite online stories. He was happy to see that several users had updated their own stories and he got curious as to the contents of a few. Only one or two retained his interest, but he still enjoyed browsing the new selections.
At lunch, he took out his prepared-at-home lunch and ate quietly at his desk. An apple, the leftovers of a chicken salad he’d had for dinner the night before, strawberries, and a thermos full of iced tea. The meal was very filling and he went back to spending his time the way he wanted to.
It seemed that after awhile people began running out of things to occupy their time with, and several people began striking up conversations. This partly annoyed Max, but there was nothing he could do about it. Humans were naturally social, he supposed.
The noise slowly raised in volume around him, and he reluctantly pulled a pair of headphones from his bag beside his desk. Plugging it in, he pulled up Pandora on his computer and returned to his typing.
The smooth tones of classical and soft rock filled his ears, and he was happily left alone to his secret hobbies.
Hours passed and he steadily typed away at his chapter, oblivious to the passage of time. It was only when his stomach began to grumble with hunger that he looked up at the clock. It was already 5:48. Only 12 minutes before they could leave.
Packing up his things, he made a few final touches to his chapter before logging off. Several people around him were doing the same, and Megan caught his eye.
“So, how’d your day of doing ‘productive things’ come along?” She joked, and he smiled a little.
“I actually got a lot done.”
“Well, I for one caught up with several vague relatives on Facebook, and I watched funny cat videos. So, I’d say it was a productive day.” He nodded, going along with whatever it was she was saying.
“Well, see you tomorrow.” She said, putting on her jacket and heading towards the exit. Max waved a silent goodbye before punching out for the day.
The drive home was better than usual; traffic wasn’t as packed or crazy as he would have expected for a friday night. He got home in record time, still able to catch the last bit of the show he always missed.
He changed into his usual undershirt and pajama pants, and grabbed the nearest book. Making a cup of steaming herbal tea, he curled up by the window and watched as the first few droplets of rain began to tap against the glass.
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