I'm back after a week hiatus!
I decided to take a week off from my writers workshop, while I really did need the break, I also really did miss feeding my muse the prompt of the week.
Nick did a great time hosting in my absence, and I was really excited to be able to host with him again. I was even more excited to write again!
Kiss my shiny metal tablet.
And boy and did I get an amazing prompt!
My prompt this week was 'High Noon' muahahaha.
This week's short story is an unfinished story because I think I'm going to turn it into a novel. And yes, I'm pulling from my own experience because writers write what we know, and I know corportate call center hell way more than I should.
And here we go!
Press Zero for Romance
Ellie Spencer Thacker, a force of nature with a shaved head and a blown out tribal tattoo on her left hand, wore her ‘High-Noon’ T-shirt to work today. Delia noticed because Ellie was the only co-worker that didn’t make fun of her Hello Kitty mouse pad.
The T-shirt had a cartoon pineapple on it wearing a poncho a-la Clint Eastwood with blood-shot eyes and holding a big blunt.
It was definitely not work-place appropriate, even for a call center that wasn’t client facing. Yet, their manager had already dozed off at her desk at the late hour of 10:02am. The execs wanted to can their manager, Gwen, but she had a medical disability of ‘narcolepsy’ listed on file with HR and they didn’t want an ADA lawsuit on their hands.
“Mornin’ sunshine.” Ellie drawled, passing behind Delia’s chair to sit at the cubicle next to hers.
She smelled like grape dutches and patchouli.
It made Delia’s day.
“Hey Ellie.” Delia answered as Ellie tore off her heart-shaped Exxon gas station sunglasses and tossed them at her cubicle. They clattered against her keyboard, waking up her dormant computer to the log-in screen.
Ellie used to go by El, but then that Stranger Things TV show came out, and apparently a character in the show who was also named ‘El’ had a shaved head. Deliahad never watched the show, she preferred her shows more vapid, like Lust Lagoon, but this ‘El’ character apparently had some mental issues.
And well, Ellie Spencer Thacker didn't take kindly to the comparison.
Whenever one of their co-workers called Ellie, El with a knowing Stranger Things reference, she’d time a bathroom break to bump them up in the incoming call queue so they’d get back to back angry customers.
“Hows it going Kel? Finally break up with that loser yet?” Ellie asked clacking her fingers rapidly on her budget keyboard to log into the call queue before she was counted as late.
“Actually. He broke up with me. We even did the dreaded ‘stuff-exchange’. I never want to see another frisbee or ‘Las Vegas Raiders’ T-shirt in my apartment ever again.” Delia replied, noticing her place in the call queue, jump up one so she’d be the next to get an incoming call.
She really didn't want to talk about it, or even think about Derek's stupid face.
Delia noticed how she had stunned the usually witty Ellie into silence.
“Holy shit, that sucks, my bad for bringing it up. Let's go out for lunch.”
Delia opened her mouth to answer with a ‘I’d love to please let’s do something like get blitzed at an Applebees during our lunch break.’, but her headset dinged with an incoming call and a customer’s information populated across both monitors.
“Thank you for calling Americana Bank and Credit, this is Delia, how may I help you?” Delia upped the pitch on her voice and slowed her cadence to her ‘customer service’ voice.
Mrs Sharon Tart with a credit line of three thousand dollars, and an overdue balance of five thousand two hundred and ninety seven dollars answered by shrieking like Cassie when she found Aiden cheating on her with Mallory on Lust Lagoon.
Typical.
After explaining to Mrs Sharon Tart that no, Americana Bank and Credit could not force her to pay her bill, but the charges would remain on her account, Delia turned to Ellie who was explaining to Senor Juan Gonzalez in fluent Spanish what the charge for ‘OF’ was to.
Only Fans.
No, a criminal did not steal your credit card number to charge 25.00 to OnlyFans.com, and yes you’re responsible for the charge.
Delia didn’t wish working in a banking call center on her worst enemy, not even her mooching ex Derek.
God she really should've broken up with him, why did she wait around like some sad puppy for him to break up with her? What was wrong with her?!
She shouldn’t have dated him based on his name alone. Derek and Delia? How did she not see how gross that was?
“Delia, you’ve really gotten your numbers up, good work." The executive of their department, Donovan came up to her cube, smelling great and looking better.
To be continued...
Thank you for reading, and please comment about what you think!
As always, I'm embracing the paper hurricane!