Not Broken

CHAPTER I

The same old guitar alarm went off, and I stared at the ceiling half-asleep. The sun barely peaked over the horizon, and light rain splattered the windows. I was dreading this day, but it had to happen soon. I reached over to my nightstand, but I couldn't pull myself to open the drawer. It wasn't even inside the drawer, but I still wanted to look. I would have just stayed in bed wallowing in self-pity, but I dragged myself out of bed, made my coffee, and ensured my equipment was fully charged overnight. I had to finish fixing the head of H.R.'s computer and getting the loaner I gave her back; but given my attitude today, it might be much later on in the day that she'll get her PC back. Not like anyone trusts my judgment anyway, so the delay wouldn't matter to her...

 As I poured the freshly brewed coffee into my Wolfpack tumbler, I got a text on my phone as the chime filled the room. It was Jack. How're you feeling?

 I replied, Doing alright. Just managed to get myself out of bed. Today's gonna be rough.😓

 Remember I'm just a door away, he added, and don't even pay attention to what Helena  says or does when you walk in.

Thanks, Jack, you're a great friend, I reply, and then adding, Gosh, that was corny of me to say.

Jack replied with a laughing emoji, and it put a small smile on my face. I took a deep breath, grabbed my coffee and bag with equipment, and walked out.

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

Finally arriving at Alloway Stadium, I strolled down the Hall of Legends; home to history and memorabilia of the Seattle Wolfpack through the years that the team's been around. Three championships, one of the greatest defenses in the league for years led by the revered Prowlers, and one of the nicest stadiums in the league in my biased opinion. The team's come a long way from the doldrums of losing seasons when they were first founded. We're pretty decent now; although not a championship contender, but still a young and fun team to watch. And also a great team to work for.

Passing by our most recent championship trophy from six years ago, I pulled open the doors to enter the corporate area of the stadium. Taking the elevator up with linebacker Theo Wilkinson staring right into my soul behind me as the intimidating wall décor of crimson, black, and white, the doors open up to the start of the main office area on the third floor. I clock in and immediately am met with the sound of Helena clearing her throat and a very audible exhale. I've gotten used to hearing that, but today it just hit harder.

Office workers popped up from their cubicles like prairie dogs, and a hum of murmurs filled the office as I made my way to the IT department's workshop; a corner room with dimmed lights tinted glass walls, and computer parts galore. The replacement part needed for the head of H.R.'s machine finally came in as a slim Yellow Jacket Tech box sat at my desk, and I let out a sigh of relief once I saw it.

"I had a feeling you'd react like that," chuckled a familiar and gruff voice behind me. It was Jack Szymanowski, my manager, standing at the door with a clipboard and pen in his hand. "Not to put pressure on you, Marcus, but Kilgore needs the PC before lunch since she's taking the weekend off for vacation starting tomorrow."

"Ok," I said, "I guess I'll have Sam handle some of my tasks today since I know Jerry's out for the week."

"Sam's out sick today and working from home," Jack replied, "so don't expect him to take on a lot with a kind demeanor."

Great! Of all days to call in sick, he picks today? Sam is a new hire who's still getting used to the corporate world but needs a talking-to now and then as this is his second job in a year. The news irked me regardless since we're on call for the game against the Denver Bandits tomorrow night.

"We're really going to be short-staffed tomorrow night?" I complained.

"Unfortunately yes," Jack answered, "but remember that I'm still here in case you need help.

"Great," I said sarcastically.

"You doubt my abilities?"

"No, not at all, sir."

"Very well then, we'll meet after lunch to go over any more things that need to get done. Get Kilgore's RAM fixed, and get the PC to her pronto," Jack said as he walked away to his office writing stuff down on his clipboard. Taking a swig of coffee and putting on an anti-static wrist strap, I got to work.

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

After maybe ten minutes of work, I discarded the old RAM stick and installed the new one. An upgrade was needed as Kilgore said her PC's been running slow as of late. I don't see why it would be running slow as many of the applications used by the team's corporate office don't force a system to work so hard that 8 gigs of RAM get overworked. Putting the casing back together and loading it onto a flatbed cart, I took the elevator up to H.R.'s floor. All I heard from Kilgore's office was complaining, and that was with the door closed. Everyone in H.R. was trying not to burst out laughing, but they all shut up and got back to work once I walked in.

I knocked on the door to Kilgore's office and was allowed entry.

"About time," exclaimed Kilgore.

"The computer should be running fine now," I said, "but I'll connect it to see if the issue's been resolved on this end. What applications caused this problem again?"

"Just Allies," she replied, "stupid piece of junk can't open a meeting to save my—"

"It's ok, we'll test it out, and it should work like new," I said, trying to calm her down. "Is it alright if I take 10-20 minutes to connect your PC?"

She nodded in consent.

Just as I was about to start working, from behind me I heard Kilgore yell, "Perrin, Gesner, why are y'all up out of your seats?"

She sounded like my middle school principal. Two H.R. workers who were hiding behind the doorpost immediately slinked off to their desks. Why were they standing there? I haven't the slightest clue. But wiping sweat off my head and hands, I unloaded the PC and got to plugging everything back in and making sure nothing was out of place. After 10 minutes, I turned on the computer, and it ran perfectly fine.

"Alright, it should be good," I said, "feel free to let Jack know if there's anything else that needs attention."

"Thanks, and happy anni—" said Kilgore, but then she stopped herself and covered her mouth out of embarrassment.

It didn't matter, she already said it, and it cut deep.

"Who told you to tell me that?" I asked, my blood was boiling once those words came out of her mouth. "You know just as much as Jack of what I went through, and you're way too nice to say something so shameful," I added, "who told you to say that?"

Kilgore just kept silent, but I didn't care anymore. Someone went out of their way to make my day miserable. For what? Something they never bothered to verify? Just because a sea witch spread fake news behind my back and they're trying to "prove a point"? I should've known bringing it up would've made waves at the office. Doesn't matter anymore since no doubt the entire office knows now that today should've been the day I would be engaged.