Desk Fatigue Read online

Samuel politely holds up his finger to Cal and reaches for the phone. Cal nods and begins mopping the floor.

  “What.”

  There is a heavy and laborious breathing on the other end. Then after a brief pause, a young man speaks.

  “Tell my girlfriend, Sherry, that I know what she did with my best friend. They can find my dead hanging body in room 231 at the highway motel off of the 48...”

  Samuel cuts in during the man’s speech.

  “Sir, what kind of rope are you using?”

  “Wha...uh...who is this? This is the hotline right?”

  Cal chuckles silently to himself as he douses his mop in the bucket.

  “It is but listen, if you are using a nylon rope, try and find something else like a leather belt or a chain because nylon will stretch too much.”

  *CLICK*

  “Long night?”

  “You know, there is just something about Thursdays...I don’t know.”

  “Yeah. How is the thesis coming along?”

  “Good. About another two months and I should have enough data to present to my committee.”

  “Finally, huh? Oh, I was wondering. Did you ever get the new results back from the police department.

  “I did, and they said that suicides within the city are down sixty percent from a year ago.”

  “That is incredible, Sam.”

  “Yeah, who would have thought that a little reverse psychology was what these people needed.”

  “Well I think that they are just so blindsided by what you say, it gets them thinking about what they are doing actually.”

  “I agree. All in all I just want to hurry up and finish my PhD and then I wouldn’t need to manage this phony suicide hotline anymore. But first I need to get out of here so I can sleep. One of my undergrad assistants should be coming any...”

  A knock on the door, and the replacement walks in.

  “Ah, good morning Allison, and good timing.”

  Samuel grabs his things quickly and bolts for the door before another call comes through. Allison begins to settle in, pulling a text book from her backpack to begin cramming for her midterms. Cal rings out his mop water into the bucket as Samuel passes him.

  “See you later, Cal.”

  “Bye, Sam.”

  *RING RING RING*

  Allison rolls her eyes and reaches for the phone on the desk.

  “What.”