A brief history of boxing memorized? Check. Familiar with the specific words and terminology his coach would likely be using? Check. Interpersonal skills refreshed? Check. Jed felt an overwhelming surge of readiness to bid the long anticipated farewell to his mundane job and dive headfirst into this boxing thing! Moreover, the rendezvous with Vanessa that Saturday had given Jed the final bit of confidence he needed to feel welcomed into the world of athletic competition.

But, even though he was dressed in his finest (and only) suit, complemented by a fancy tie borrowed (using that word liberally) from his gray-collar roommate, his confidence wavered as he stood in front of the office doors that held his technical home away from home; the dingy cubicle that had absorbed half of his life—especially considering the denied vacation days he had accrued. Argh. Nothing destroyed your pride like working night shifts at a call center that barely paid minimum wage. But, whatever. That didn’t matter anymore.

Today was the day that Jed would liberate himself from the clutches of his miserable “job” and seek far greener pastures—as a celebrity under Vanessa’s guidance, nonetheless.

“Excuse me?”

A voice from behind him jolted Jed out of his imagination, and he spun around to find one of his coworkers making a beeline for the door.

“Hey… er— Josh! You look good today. Nice suit,” his coworker said to him. Jed looked to the right, then to the left. Josh? Who was Josh? Was there someone else here? “Are you going in or what?”

With the addition of that comment, Jed unfortunately realized that this guy, despite being his desk neighbor for four years, never even bothered to learn his name. If this had happened to him one week earlier, Jed might have turned his five-year-plan into a tomorrow plan, but, luckily, he was in an optimistic state of mind today, so the only thing that happened was his job got a bit easier to quit.

“Oh—yeah. I am. Sorry, I’m just…” As Jed reached out to pull the door open, he exposed the very prominent sweat stains that had formed during his anxious inner contemplation. His coworker crinkled his nose in disgust to a very visible degree. Desperate to escape the excruciating awkwardness and salvage some semblance of dignity, Jed fumbled to finish the sentence. “…feeling a bit under the weather. Um. Is it… hot out? Are you hot right now?” Jed attempted to laugh it off, but it couldn’t quite escape the clutches of embarrassment. Instead, the noise morphed into a weird, strained chuckle, leaving him frozen in an uncomfortable grimace, looking like a deer in headlights.

“Not really? It’s an autumn night. It’s like fifty degrees, Josh. I’m wearing a jacket. You’re wearing a suit.” The coworker said, practically sprinting inside to escape his conversation with Jed, who was definitely taken hurt by the dramatic response. He waited a beat before reluctantly heading in as well, not wanting to follow too close behind his deskmate and cause any further chaos.

The trek to his boss’s office felt long. Purposeful. Each step carried a weight never present before in this office—the weight of change, of freedom. Jed gulped. Of course his boss was a notoriously easily angered, stocky man.

As he moved, Jed glared at the door, attempting to assert dominance over it—no, over the situation—but neither faltered. They stayed strong, looming over him and his determination. As he neared his boss’s domain, Jed saw the familiar sight of his cubicle. But, he deliberately averted his gaze, distancing himself from the comfort it once offered, and let it blur in the periphery. No. No distractions. No temptations.

And then… he was there. Jed had come face to face with the egress of both his liberation and potential social suicide.

At least the boss’s office was mostly soundproof. It would be a shame if all of his coworkers were privy to the screaming he was about to endure.

But just as he raised his balled fist to knock on it, the door began rattling. Then, shaking. What… what was going on? Finally, with a burst of tremendous energy, it swung open, fast, narrowly missing Jed’s face. Instinctively, he lunged to the side in a desperate attempt to evade—or, as his wrestling techniques PDF eloquently put it, “dodge.” However, in his haste to thwart the attack of the door, Jed miscalculated the proximity of a nearby lamp and sent it crashing down, hitting the floor with a very audible THUNK! Awkwardly, he crouched down to retrieve it, quickly putting it back into place. All the while, his boss stood there, watching. Jed couldn’t read him—was he mad? Did he—

“Jed! Just the person I wanted to see.” A heavy hand descended on Jed’s shoulder, and he flinched, immediately correcting his posture. Not wanting to be in anyone’s grasp—especially not in the clutches of an easily angered man whose company he was about to quit—Jed attempted to worm himself away. However, the boss man tightened his hold, and Jed could feel a bruise forming. Not good.

“What, are you trying to run away from me, boy? Just calm down. I’m making an announcement.” The boss’s voice boomed, and Jed nervously nodded, his gaze fixed on a spot on the wall. His mind raced, but, luckily, he had a pretty high pain tolerance to counter the bone breakage, if there was any. With a quick crack of his knuckles, Jed steeled himself. He never wanted to be the center of attention, especially not now, not for this.

“So, everyone, as you know, our company is expanding—we just opened a new call center on the other side of town.” The boss's announcement fell on mostly indifferent ears—they weren’t the ones who would be making more money, so who cared? “It’s a nicer location, with a spacious, complimentary parking lot. And…” he squeezed Jed a little too enthusiastically. “I’m promoting Jed here to lead it! He'll fill in my role there but still work under me. So, you know, no pay raise. And you’d be expected to fill in when people call out without argument.” At that, some people mustered half-hearted claps, some gave a few indifferent glances, but most didn’t react at all, the room throbbed with an overall lack of enthusiasm.

Jed, his voice barely audible, spoke up. He needed to get out of here, and fast.

“I… um. I quit.”

To those who had heard it, Jed's mumble of quiet resignation sent shockwaves. No one quit this place, ever. Especially not during an announcement like this.

His boss, unfortunately one of the oblivious ones, turned to Jed, “What was that?!?”

Jed looked at him, opened his mouth to answer, but he froze up. The boss, however, thought this was the perfect opportunity to make a dig at him: “How’re you gonna be my new manager if you can’t even raise your voice?” His boisterous laughter filled the room and he lifted his hand to slap Jed on the back in celebration of their one sided business arrangement. While aware this gesture wasn’t being done out of malice or any ill intent, Jed really couldn't risk any damage to his back or shoulder, especially not nine hours before he was supposed to meet up with Vanessa.

So, for the second time in the office that day, Jed executed a swift evasive maneuver. Thankfully, there was no lamp to knock over this time, just a table conveniently positioned to break his fall. He grabbed onto the side of it to stabilize, but somehow misjudged where the empty space to cling to was, and slammed his hand down on a keyboard with a resounding thud. The keyboard slipped, he tumbled backward, initiating a domino effect that wiped the entire row of computers clean. Talk about a poorly wired system.

Jed shot back up, surveying the damage done. Electronics that had once occupied orderly desks were now strewn across the floor, some bearing visible signs of damage. He stole glances at his colleagues, who seemed a mix of amused, but also incredibly frustrated that their work computer may have just possibly been corrupted, and finally at his boss. He was just short of furious.

This is stupid! It’s not my fault, I… he didn’t even let me speak! And… and I’m not paying for those!

“I … quit!”

And, with that, he ran out. There was no turning back now. When he reached the end of the parking lot, Jed hastily unclasped the harness that held his wings together, freeing them. He immediately took flight, his heart pounding in celebration. I did it! And nothing bad—well, nothing that bad happened! He soared upwards, higher than he usually did, and headed towards the apartment, leaving the suffocating air of that call center behind. He never realized how good the cold wind felt on his face.

However, upon arrival, Jed was greeted with an unfortunate sight—his roommate, Harvey, was sprawled out on the bed, leaving barely any space left over. Glancing at his watch, he noticed the time: Monday, 1AM. Definitely later than he had originally planned for, but still manageable. He didn’t need to be there until 10AM… sharp? Whatever that meant. The luxury of still securing at least eight-ish hours of sleep if he got up at 9AM stretched before him.

Exhausted and still feeling a little embarrassed, Jed contemplated if it was worth waking Harvey and getting him to move, but decided against it. Undoubtedly, he’d ask Jed why he was home so early, and then Jed would have to explain, and that would just eat into his already dwindling sleep time. It didn’t really matter, anyways. They had a tried and true protocol for such situations—the legendary “blockade.” This ingenious strategy, born out of their mismatched schedules and occasional lack of girlfriend visitation, ensured peace during dreaded shared sleep hours. Jed retrieved the emergency stack of full body pillows that were stashed under the bed, and began strategically arranging them to create a wall. It neatly divided the bed.

Harvey stirred with the sudden shift, granting Jed a tad more space on their shared bed. “Dude… why’re you home so early?”

“Nothing. I just quit my job.” Jed responded briskly, sparing the humiliating details. Considering how thick and groggy Harvey’s voice was, it didn’t seem likely he’d get a lecture. Though, anything was possible.

“Oh, that’s really good.” Harvey turned back around, yanking the blanket up and taking it almost entirely off of Jed’s side. “See… like I told you on Saturday. Change is totallllly possible.”

Jed nodded, settling into the bed and crossing his arms behind his head. After a brief moment of silence, Jed realized Harvey meant it, and they wouldn’t have to have a long conversation, thank god. “Thanks for being supportive.”

“That’s what friends are for, man.” Harvey yawned, surrendering to the lull of sleep. Jed mulled over the statement for a second—friends? The idea was interesting. Despite their differing schedules, Jed realized the guy did, somehow, always make time for him. And he was really open to filling his house with pillows just to make sure Jed was safe. Maybe… maybe they were friends.

Setting his alarm, Jed attempted to fall asleep, ignoring the burning embarrassment accompanying the recollections of tonight’s quitting. No time for wallowing in despair—not tonight. He had a big day tomorrow. And he really, really needed to present himself in the best possible light for Vanessa.