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"YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA." She turned toward Jim curiously from their safety in the kitchen. Dwight was currently trying to get everyone in on hoisting Michael up in a chair like a boy at his bat mitzvah. "We should go to the store and get something for Kevin. To lift his spirits."
Her eyebrows raised in slight surprise. "Do you think we can sneak out of here without anyone noticing?" She snorted at his question. Without answering, she grabbed his hand. All they needed to do was let Dwight's shenanigan run its course and they were home free. Well, store free. Oscar, Creed, Ryan, and Dwight were squatting next to Michael. Michael was beaming, loving the attention. Evelyn wondered if Dwight actually surprised him with this one.
His smile didn't last long. After the count of three, Michael was lifted into the air. His head pushed up a piece of the ceiling. Jim snorted. "Let him retreat back into his office, and we can go."
━━━━━━━━━━
Michael sat at his desk, sulking. His birthday wasn't going the way he had hoped for. No one seemed to be remotely interested in his big day. There was a knock on his door. He didn't bother to look to see who it was. from the camera crew. The door swung open and closed behind the person.
"Michael," Dwight greeted. In his hand was a gift bag. Michael's name was written across the bottom in blocky, red letters. Michael hummed, his gaze unmoving. "I know you said to wait for gifts, but this one is important." Finally, sad eyes moved to the present in Dwight's hold. What could be so important that Dwight chose to ignore his direct orders. "Alright," he sighed, arm outstretched. Dwight slid the red handles onto his hand, glancing at the camera with a knowing grin.
The tissue paper was black and white. He didn't notice, but Dwight had used his personal Dunder Mifflin Co. stamp to label the white pieces. Well, only one. That task seemed to be never ending and he didn't have the time for it (and Evelyn refused to do it). Michael rolled the paper up and tossed it onto his desk. Inside was a black box, a shoebox. "It's shoes," he deadpanned. Dwight giggled in excitement. "I don't know," he replied in a sing song tone.
With an eye roll and a heavy sigh, Michael withdrew the box from the bag. The bag made a thud against the floor by his feet. More tissue paper stuck out of the box. "This is stupid," Michael muttered to himself. He picked up the flap of the box and saw the tissue paper. One by one, he plucked it away until he saw it. The tie, embroidered for him. His sad expression shifted into one of surprise. "A tie," he said, voice light and airy. Dwight silently pumped his fist in the air. His present idea had been a success, and a successful pick me up. Michael was already working at his current tie to get it off. "It was made special, specifically for you," Dwight explained.
