Page 14 of Lovely War
Attaching the list again here. Thanks!
Two minutes. Maybe responding so fast makes me look like I have nothing better to do, but I don’t care. Personal vendettas aside, I need to finish this video tonight.
But he leaves the office without my noticing. He must’ve walked the other way down the hall on purpose so I wouldn’t stop him, even though it takes twice as long to get to the stairs. This is sabotage, right? He’s setting me up to fail.
Time for a different strategy. I pull out the directory so I can figure out Blue Monogrammed Vest’s real name.
The next morning:
Friday, 9:04a.m.
From: Ben
To: Annie
Had to leave early yesterday. Working on this now.
I’m triumphant as I write back.
Friday, 9:42a.m.
From: Annie
To: Ben
No need, I spoke to Verona last night and he got me everything pretty quickly so I was able to get it done in time. The video is up on our social channels now if you want to see it. Thanks!
Ha. I’ve thwarted whatever blend of distraction and nonchalance he’s using to make my life difficult. I’m not expecting another response from him, but I get one.
Friday, 2:54p.m.
From: Ben
To: Annie
In the future please make sure any requests go through me rather than going to Verona. I see a few errors in the video. It looks like he pulled from the wrong file.
I have to do some deep-breathing exercises and take a quick lap around the building before I write my final email. I write it and then read it and then highlight the first four words,Per my previous emails,and change them to all caps—PER MY PREVIOUS EMAILS—turning them red and bold and increasing the font size to 24. I add the wordsEAT SHITafterEMAILS, then delete them and change the font back to normal.
Friday, 3:18p.m.
From: Annie
To: Ben
Per my previous emails, I needed the info by Wednesday afternoon. I gave you an extra 24 hours, which required me to do some scrambling. I had no problem doing this, but it would have been helpful if you could have informed me of your inability to meet the deadline in advance. I had to come up with something by last night and Verona was still in the office, so I asked him.
Please send me the right numbers so I can figure out whether to delete and repost a corrected version.
A stress headache has my head pounding. I can already imagine Coach Thomas breaking the news to me at the end of the season:It was a tough decision. I’m sure you understand.And I would understand. Ben is an evil data genius with an eight-year-experience advantage. Our work is so different it can’t be compared directly. If I don’t excel, if I don’tmake myself undeniably valuable, they’ll choose him by default. Easily.
Mom, Kat, Eric, and Cassie will pity me for getting punched in the gut by this team again. My inbox will sit empty as I send job application after job application out into the void. The remains of my dignity will wither and die, and I’ll move back to Mom’s house in New Jersey to live the sad little life of a former wunderkind who never amounted to anything.
Oh, god, my life is going to be a Bruce Springsteen song. I need to try harder.
FIVE
On the first day, Godcreated basketball. At least that’s how the story would be told in my family’s house. Tonight feels like evidence that this version of the story is true.
