"Jack you take care of the new kids coming in today," Steven, Jack's senior, said.
"Can't you just find someone else? You know that I'm the one who's always being thrown around and barely allowed any free time." Jack tried to avoid the fact that he didn't want to add to his already heavy workload.
"Come on. You're the only one I can count on. You're my only hope for help," Steven coaxed.
Jack chuckled, his already wrinkled face looking even more wrinkled. Like a dirty shirt that hasn't been ironed. "That means I want to be slowly killed by this crazy company. No, it doesn't. Please don't complicate my life." Jack bent over trying to refuse.
Steven suddenly fell to his knees and begged like a slave for his life. "If you accept my request. I promise that you will get more pay besides that, also I will try to reduce your work schedule. Are you willing? You won't get any more benefits like this."
Hearing all the benefits offered by Steven. So inevitably Jack accepted it. He himself was also prepared if Steven broke his promise. He was ready to continue terrorizing Steven until the promise was actually realized.
"Okay, I want to. But you have to be prepared for the risks if you break it," Jack said with a smiling face.
Seeing Jack's strange smile gave Steven goosebumps. He could feel the aura of a killer from Jack he had to play with his promise.
***
Jack took a deep breath when he saw a young man with a disheveled yet strangely neat haircut enter the room. His energetic face and unique yet polite style of dress immediately caught Jack's attention. There was an eccentric impression that looked so obvious from the figure of the young man.
"Jack, this is Brandon, our new employee," Steven said as he tapped Jack on the shoulder to introduce him to the new employee.
Brandon greeted him with a big smile. "Nice to meet you senior. I hope to learn a lot from you."
Jack nodded as he thought, Oh God, another project. However, he was surprised to hear Brandon's polite and gentle way of speaking. Well, well, a typical British gentleman in our chaotic office.
Jack smiled. "All right, Brandon. Let me show you around the office," he said, trying to sound enthusiastic even though in his heart he wanted to hurry home.
As they walked around, Jack explained the various departments and introduced Brandon to his coworkers. Brandon seemed to be following along well, jotting down a few important points in his small notebook that had an electric guitar and skull motif decorated with black roses.
"Do you always talk like that, Brandon?" asked Jack when they reached the break room.
"Like what?" Brandon asked back, confused.
"Like someone who just got out of the manual, I mean you can seem so very polite," Jack replied with a laugh trying to break the ice.
Brandon laughed too. "Maybe. My parents always taught me the importance of being polite. Even though I like to be eccentric, I believe in keeping a low profile. That's all," he said humbly.
Jack nodded in agreement, though in his heart he thought, being polite is not enough to deal with the chaos in this office. Especially when you're already a slave like me in this office.
Time passed, and Jack recognized that Brandon was a quick learner and made it less difficult for Jack. They finally came to the end of the workday. Brandon thanked Jack for his guidance.
"As a thank you, how about treating senior to dinner?" Brandon offered.
Jack's rumbling stomach agreed before his brain could protest. "Sure, why not? You're not working on me, are you?"
"No, I'm not. I'll give you the best food. And seniors don't have to pay for it." Brandon smiled brightly even though the sky had darkened.
***
They arrived at a restaurant that looked ordinary from the outside. However, once inside, Jack was greeted with a strong rock atmosphere. The wall decorations were full of posters of classic rock bands, and the frenetic atmosphere immediately took his breath away. Jack could even feel the goosebumps on his skin.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" asked Jack, half shouting to cut through the noise of the rock music playing at such a high volume that it made hard-of-hearing grannies do the opposite.
Brandon smiled. "Of course. Welcome to my family's restaurant."
Jack was surprised. "Your family restaurant? This is beyond me."
Brandon laughed and nodded. "Yes, and tonight, I'm going to show you something special. Wait here for a moment."
Jack sat down and looked around, feeling a little awkward. Soon enough, the stage lights came on and the rock music started blaring. Jack almost choked when he saw Brandon come on stage in full rocker garb. And his disheveled hairstyle now looked lifted up so high like a tower.
"Yo my friends, here comes Brandon!" shouted the MC, and Brandon began to sing. His loud, energetic voice echoed throughout the room. He looked like he had given his whole life to rock music.
Jack was stunned at the drastic change from the polite Brandon to the charismatic rock singer. "This is unbelievable, I hope the optometrist is still open at this hour," he muttered with a smile.
The food arrived and Jack started eating a bowl of hot noodle soup. As he savored his meal, he felt like he was at a concert. The rock songs that Brandon sang made the atmosphere more lively and exciting. Jack himself thought that this was one of the strangest experiences of his life. He could eat food while being accompanied by rock music that always made his heart beat faster.
When Brandon finished singing, he returned to the table with his breath taken away and sweat pouring down his body, he had put so much effort into his performance just now. "So, what do the seniors think?"
Jack pointed out his big toe. "You're really amazing! I never thought that the polite and gentle new employee would turn out to be a rocker. It's like you have multiple personalities." This unexpected compliment flew out of Jack's mouth.
Brandon smiled widely. "Thank you, senior. I'm glad you enjoyed it."
It was unexpected that this new employee was a true rock lover. Jack would never stop thinking about this. From this he realized that his life was always surrounded by strange people.
***