“SOMEONE missed the toilet,” Dennis says, utterly disgusted.

           Within a minute of entering Fanatic Fitness, Jeffrey’s “least favourite employee” is in his face. “What are you talking about?”

           “You know,” Dennis says.

           “Actually, no, I don’t. Someone fell on the floor?”

           “No,” Dennis says impatiently. “The men’s bathroom. There’s pee on the floor.” His arms start flailing around making him resemble an overly animated cartoon figure. “How does someone miss? Explain that to me!”

           Jeffery doesn’t know and he doesn’t care to know, nor is the front lobby a place for this particular conversation. “Grab the mop and bucket from the storage room.” He’s not sure why he has to tell Dennis this.

           Nineteen-year-old Emelia stands behind the reception desk watching the show. She’s not the only one. With the front lobby and the weight room being open concept, a few gym members are also watching.

           Dennis ups his energy level. His arms begin flapping up and down like he’s a bird about to take flight.

           Jeffrey takes a step back; he doesn’t need a smack in the face. “I said just grab the mop and bucket from the storage closet.” He really hopes Dennis will finally clue in.

           Dennis’s arms stop flapping. He shoves an index finger straight in Jeffrey’s face, a couple of inches from his nose. “I don’t like your tone. Can’t you see how stressful this is for me?”

           Jeffrey would love to shove his own index finger in Dennis’s face and tell him to do his job already! But it would be a waste of precious energy. Dennis wasn’t the type to listen. A couple more gym members joined in the gawking. “Can we please talk about this in my—”

           “We are talking!” Dennis suddenly grabs his hair with both hands. Jeffrey wonders if the guy is going to yank the hair clean out of his follicles. “This isn’t how someone is supposed to start their day,” Dennis says.

           At least they agree on one thing. “Dennis, just come with me to my office,” says Jeffery. He manages to keep his voice calm, but, damn, it’s hard.

           “No,” Dennis says, his head swinging side to side.

           For some reason seeing Dennis makes Jeffery think of a scene in The Exorcist, the one where the girl’s head spins in a full circle. Is Dennis about to vomit some green substance? Jeffery desperately hopes not.

           “I need a break,” Dennis says adamantly. “That’s what I need. I need alone time—just me and my tunes. Yeah, that’s what I need.” He rushes out the door with both hands still glued to his head.

           “Why did Joanne hire him again?”Emelia asks.

           ”Freaking family,” Jeffery mumbles, then heads to his office.

FANATIC Fitness is a great place to work. Jeffery knows it. Like many others, he’s suffered through frustrating jobs involving brutal bosses, absolute boredom, obnoxious co-workers, hostile customers, and a host of other unpleasantries. Fanatic Fitness is nearly none of that—minus Dennis, of course.

           What Fanatic Fitness is is a well-run facility offering all the proper equipment and fitness classes for a great workout, including a full-size gymnasium and outdoor basketball courts. But what makes Fanatic Fitness a great employer is Joanne. Jeffery is well aware he lucked out having her for a boss.

           After a quick stop in his office, the one with FACILITY MANAGER on the door, Jeffery finds Joanne in the weight room breaking a sweat on one of the rowing machines. It’s how she begins many of her work days.

           Joanne cuts in before Jeffery can say a word. “You know I can’t fire him.”

           Jeffery is well aware of the situation. Fanatic Fitness is a family business. Joanne’s parents opened the doors thirty years ago. Twenty-six years later they stepped back from running the business and placed Joanne in charge. Thank God. Jeffery can’t imagine Dennis being in Joanne’s position—the place would be burned to the ground within two months.

           The main hurdle is that Dennis’s elderly parents want him out of the house (at least that’s how Joanne puts it). Jeffery knows why. Dennis lives with them and too much of the guy would drive anyone insane.

           “I saw you two—actually, I think most of the weight room watched you two talking. Dennis looked like his head was about to pop off. What’s going on now?”

           The beauty of working for Joanne is you can be completely frank with her. “Some guy missed the toilet,” Jeffery says.

           “You mean he tried to sit down and actually missed the seat?”

           “No, nothing like that. His aim was off.”

           A couple of seconds pass. Joanne clues in. “Damn, why can’t you guys just point, shoot, and hit the target. Is it really that hard?”

           “I guess it is for some guys.”

           “So, where’s Dennis now?” Joanne still holds pace with the rowing.

           “I think he might be chilling out in his car.”

           “Don’t tell me he’s spinning his tires in the parking lot again?”

           “Who knows?” But Jeffery wouldn’t put it past Dennis to be doing exactly that, like some drunken, dough-brained teenager.

           Joanne pauses the rowing. “Listen, I know Dennis isn’t the easiest guy to manage—” that was an understatement; a ten-year-old would be easier to manage—“but you have to make it work. My parents want him here. Being a manager means managing people, including frustrating employees. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Sorry, buddy. Welcome to reality.”

           A gym member, a towel hanging over his shoulder, approaches. “Hey, I was just in the change room and someone missed the—”

           “Yeah, we’ll be doing a cleanup.” Jeffery doesn’t mean to be curt, but frustration gets the better of him.

           “Sorry, I just thought you should know,” the member says.

           Jeffery manages to crack a smile.“Thank you.”

           The guy nods and walks away.

           ”It still hasn’t been dealt with?” Joanne says, her eyes widening.  

           Jeffery feels like a bit of a chump, like he’s the one screwing up. “I’m on it.”  

DENNIS isn’t doing “donuts” around the parking lot. Instead, Jeffery finds him sitting in his parked Volkswagon Jetta.

           The driver’s seat is tilted back, and Dennis has his hands cupped and resting on his stomach. His eyes are closed. He looks as relaxed as could be.

           For a moment Jeffrey wonders if the guy has fallen asleep. It isn’t so. Dennis shifts his body a little. Muffled music spills from the vehicle. Jeffery knocks on the driver’s window. Dennis’s eyes spring open; he puts down the window.

           The muffled music becomes clear. Jeffrey gets an earful of the song “Barbie Girl” by Aqua. The lyric “I’m a Barbie girl in the Barbie world” invades Jeffery’s ears. He wonders if a song from the Barbie soundtrack is next on the playlist. It wouldn’t surprise him, not with Dennis. “Do you mind turning that down?” Jeffery manages to sound polite, but, damn, it’s hard.

           Dennis lowers the audio level. “I’m meditating and focusing my thoughts,” he says. “It needs to be done.”

           How does someone focus their thoughts listening to “Barbie Girl”? Jeffery couldn’t care less about Dennis focusing his thoughts. “I really need that bathroom stall cleaned up and pronto.”

           “Yeah, there’s a mop and a bucket in the storage room.” He gives Jeffery a thumbs up. “It’s good we have it.”

           Jeffery assumes Dennis will now get moving; it doesn’t happen. All Jeffery gets is a blank stare.

           Dennis reaches for the volume knob, making Lene Nystrom sing louder. The window goes back up.

JEFFERY grudgingly cleans up the bathroom stall. It’s a major disappointment that Joanne has to keep her brother—a useless buffoon—around.    

           Dennis walked into Jeffery’s life four weeks ago, but within the first three days, Jeffery had become completely sick of the guy. Dennis’s sole job was to keep the facility clean. Jeffery still didn’t understand why it was such a hard task to fulfill. On top of that, the buffoon has zero charisma in dealing with gym members. Since day one Dennis had been messing up—at least in Jeffery’s eyes.

           A week ago a gym member forgot to wipe down a weight bench after use. Instead of cleaning the bench with the weight room sanitary wipes, Dennis grabbed a roll of CAUTION tape from his car and wrapped the bench in tape. Then he told Jeffrey he’d have to wait for the sweat to dry before removing the tape. The moment Dennis walked away Jeffery did the intelligent thing: he removed the tape and wiped down the bench.

           After finishing doing Dennis’s job Jeffery returns the mop and bucket to the storage closet. He feels a tap on his right shoulder. Sadly, he turns around to face his least favourite person in the world.

           “I’m going to be out of commission for a while—I have to train,” Dennis says.            

           Train? Jeffery doesn’t want to ask but feels he should. “What are you talking about?”

           Dennis gives the same lame-brain answer. “I have to train.”

           Visibly frustrated, Jeffery says, “I mean, train for what?”

           “For my dream.”

           The conversation is becoming only more convoluted. Jeffery has no urge to know what the “dream” is. He just wants Dennis out of his face. “Are you going to wash the windows first?”

           “After. Now’s the time to sweat it out.” He gives Jeffery a double thumbs up, then scampers off.      

“HE’S being so lame!” Emelia flares, looking at her phone.

           Passing by the reception desk, Jeffery stops upon hearing Emelia’s sudden outburst. At first, he thought she was referring to Dennis. Not so. It’s boyfriend issues.

           “Reggie just cancelled on me because he wants to play the new video game he just bought. See!” She holds up the phone providing Jeffery a clear view of the text message: STAYING HOME TONIGHT TO PLAY MINEFIELD.

           “Try rescheduling for tomorrow,” Jeffery suggests.

           “There’s no point. He’ll be hiding away in his bedroom for the next four days. We were supposed to watch Netflixt onight.” She slouches in her chair, her usual sparkly personality quickly dissipating.

           Jeffery remembers a time when a date used to involve going to see a movie in the theatre. Now it was, “Hey, c’mon over and watch Netflix at my place.” Times had changed. But he keeps his mouth shut. She probably doesn’t want unsolicited dating advice from her superior.

           “Crazy,” Emelia says.

           “Who? Dennis?”

           “Well, yeah, but no, I’m not talking about him. I’m talking about gaming. It’s so huge now, just talk to Reggie.”

           “That is true,” Jeffery says. He’s fallen out of touch with the video game world, has no idea what the popular games are, but knows the industry is of colossal size.

           “And video games aren’t even just for kids anymore,” Emelia says. “All ages are into them now.”

           “Are you a gamer?”

           “Not me, but Reggie has talked about competing in those EA sports tournaments.”

           “I think if you’re going to compete in sports you need to get your ass off the couch and get active.” The statement is followed by Emelia’s confused expression.

           “Are you for real?” she asks.

           Now it’s Jeffery’s turn to be confused. “What?”

           “Wow, you’re actually being serious.”

           Suddenly Jeffery feels old, like he’s out of touch with the younger generation.

           Emelia turns to her computer. She clicks the mouse a couple of times, then types in Google’s search bar. “Take a look.”

           Jeffery shifts to his right so he can get a clear look at the monitor. A website is pulled up for Electronic Arts Competitive Gaming. The FIFA Global Series and Madden Championship Series are splashed across the screen. “What the heck.”

           “You’ve never heard of this before?”

           “Well, yeah, I’ve heard of Electronic Arts. I know FIFA is soccer, but…”

           “This gaming is massive. Some of these tournaments have even filled stadiums. It’s big, big business—and money. A few of the competitors have walked away with some massive cash in their pockets.”

           “Damn.”

           “I know, it’s so crazy.”

           “No kidding.” Jeffery’s gaze drifts from the screen to Dennis, who is standing at the cardio equipment near the back of the weight room. A situation looks to be brewing. Now what?

           Jeffery strolls into the weight room area. He positions himself close to the treadmills but doesn’t intervene just yet. Instead, he watches Dennis closely…with Selena.

           The buffoon stands beside one of eight treadmills, with all other seven currently in use. He has one foot on the ground; the other foot on the treadmill. The treadmill’s speed is at walking pace. Dennis’s treadmill leg moves back and forth. In his hands, he holds five-pound dumbbells executing shoulder presses.  

           Jeffery thinks Dennis looks ridiculous, but that isn’t unusual. Jeffery would continue minding his own business if Dennis wasn’t conversing with forty-three-year-old Salena—a woman who Dennis has a major crush on. She doesn’t appear pleased.

           “You’re not even using it properly,” Salena says, referring to the treadmill.

           “What are you talking about?” Dennis says all smiley-faced. “I’m getting my pump on.”

           Jeffery rolls his eyes. What a joke.

           It’s impossible to ignore Dennis’s outfit, even though Jeffery wishes he could. Dennis’s tank top is way too small and his overly tight, light-blue spandex bicycle shorts reveal too much. The bulge in front displays the distinct shape of testicles. Is Dennis in violation of the weight room’s dress code? Jeffery seriously wonders if that’s the case.

           “If you’re going to use the treadmill then really use it,” Salena says.

           “I am using it,” Dennis says, still all smiley.

           “No, you’re not.”

           “We should exchange digits.”

           The sudden change in the conversation’s direction catches Salena off-guard. “What?”

           “Digits. We should exchange digits. Phone numbers.”

           Now, Jeffery decides to step in. The last thing Fanatic Fitness needs is Salena, a long-time gym member, bringing forward a harassment complaint.

           “What are you doing?” Jeffery asks Dennis irritably.

           Salena takes that as her cue to walk away.

           Dennis’s demeanour abruptly changes; his smiley face quickly vanishes. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

           “I don’t know. Why do you think I’m asking?”

           “I told you earlier that I’m training.”

           “Training for what?”

           “To be an Olympic sprinter.”

           Jeffery expects a hardy laugh to come bursting out of Dennis. It doesn’t happen. Holy crap, the guy is actually dead serious. Jeffery glances down at the beer gut drooping out of the bottom of the tank top. He is fairly certain—no, correction, he’s positive—that Olympic sprinters don’t have beer guts. That, and—

           “You’re fifty-five,” Jeffery says, still expecting a punch line.

           “Yeah, so? What’s your point?” Then,with absolute certainty: “Fifty-five is the new twenty-five.”

           “Really, you don’t say.” In Jeffery’s eyes, Dennis has just raised himself to a whole new level of idiocy.    

           “Yeah, I read it on social media, so it’s definitely true. Facebook said it, and that other social media site thingy…uhhh…Reddit. Yeah, that’s the one.”

           If Dennis wasn’t taking this conversation seriously it would be much easier to comprehend and digest. “I thought Olympic sprinters were more about speed and strength”—he glances at the small weights in Dennis’s large, meaty hands—“so shouldn’t you be hitting up the heavier weights?”

           Dennis removes his foot from the treadmill, drops his arms to his sides. Jeffery really hopes Dennis will simply walk away.

           “Are you sassing me, boy?” Dennis says.

           “Sassing?”

           “How old are you?”

           “Thirty-four.” Jeffery isn’t sure what his age has to do with anything.

           “Yeah, that’s the problem.”

           “What problem?”

           “You’re younger and stupider.”

           The word “stupider” is the last thing that should be leaving Dennis’s mouth. Jeffery listens anyway. This could be interesting.

           “You’re all that social media, technology thingy, generation. You think you know it all. You like to live in that online world. Guess what? The online world isn’t the real world, boy. And I know that because I’m part of a wiser generation. We know when we’re reading disinformation, or misinformation, and other things. People like me are true, stable geniuses.”            

           Jeffery is amazed that this conversation has, again, been elevated to an even greater level of idiocy, but he doesn’t have the patience for it. “Have you cleaned the front windows?” Then he wonders why he’s asking; he already knows the answer.

           “I haven’t had time. I’ll get to it when I get to it.” Dennis drops his foot back on the treadmill. “I have to train.”

           Jeffery can’t help himself, he has to say it. He points a finger at Dennis’s treadmill leg. “You call that training?”

           “Actually, yeah, I do. Listen, boy, you can’t train hard every day. You’ll burn out. You have to mix harder workouts with lighter workouts. Now, if you wouldn’t mind leaving, I have to refocus and get back in the zone.”

           Fair enough. Jeffery has no problem walking away. He just hopes that Dennis stops pissing people off for the rest of the day.

“YOU know I still can’t fire him,” Joanne says, sitting at her office desk.

           Jeffery stands at her door. “I never said anything.”

           “You don’t have to. I saw you two talking again.”

           “Then you saw what he’s wearing.”

           Joanne nods. “It’s definitely not a first-date wardrobe choice.”      

           Should it ever be a wardrobe choice? “Has he told you about his new aspiration?”

           “What is it this time? Be the next Ronnie Coleman?”

           Jeffery is aware of who Ronnie Coleman is: a man known as “The King” in the world of professional bodybuilding. “Try being an Olympic sprinter.”

           Joanne lets out a hardy laugh. “It doesn’t hurt to have a dream…I guess.”

           Interesting. Jeffery always felt having a dream was something a person could plausibly attain through great dedication and determination. But being one hundred per cent delusional is a whole other matter.

           Joanne stretches her legs out and plunks her feet on the desk. “I’m not sure what you want me to say, Jeffery. Not to sound too crass, but my brother can be somewhat of a moron. You know it. I know it. I’m pretty sure Emilia knows it.”

           “I think the majority of our members know it,” Jeffery adds.

           Joanne nods in agreement. “Thing is, he’s always been a dreamer; he’s always had these grand ambitions. Of course, nothing ever turns out. He’s never been able to hold a job for more than a year.”

           This comes as no surprise to Jeffery.  

           “Now, he’s living at home helping take care of our ageing parents,” Joanne continues, “but they don’t want him hanging around the house all day, every day.”

           This also comes as no surprise. Jeffery would rather drown himself in a bathtub than have to live with Dennis. And now Jeffery is stuck dealing with him. Damn, life can be cruel and unfair.

           “Could you do me a favour and give the showers in the men’s change room a quick clean,” Joanne says. “I’m pretty sure Dennis hasn’t touched them in a couple of days.”

           No, Jeffery has no urge to clean the showers. He needs to be on the phone with Mighty Fitness Equipment to schedule a tune-up of the exercise bikes. But what is Jeffery supposed to say? Gym members don’t enjoy showering in dirty showers. Jeffery will have to suffer another hit.

           Joanne quickly adds one more task to the list. “And the front lounge area needs a vacuuming.”

           “Dennis buggered the vacuum up a week ago,” Jeffery informs her. “He used it to clean up water from an over flowing men’s urinal.”

           “What?! That’s what the Shop-vac is for.”

           Jeffery shrugs. What’s he supposed to say? He didn’t wreck the vacuum.

           Frustrated, Joanne shakes her head. “What an idiot.”

THE last hour of the work day, Jeffery goes for a walk around the block a few times near the gym. He needs some fresh air. He needs to figure out a way to be done with Dennis once and for all. Obviously, having Joanne deal with her brother is out of the question.

           What to do?

           That is the ultimate question.

           Jeffery walks and thinks.  

****

THE next day Jeffery stops by the reception desk to check in with Emelia and see how the morning is shaping up.

           In the lounge area, Jeffery sees nine-year-old Travis—Salena’s son—sitting at one of the four square tables. An iPad is glued to his hands; his eyes are glued to the screen. His fingers are moving around and tapping the device—gaming is alive and well.

           “Look at him,” Jeffery says, referring to Travis, “you could sit right in front of him and he probably wouldn’t notice.”    

           “I know. It’s zany. It’s like the games suck you right in. But, the real question is, are you going to go enjoy the show?” She gives Jeffery a smile, one that suggests something is going on.

           “What are you talking about? What show?”

           “Go check out the fitness class.” A spurt of laughter escapes her. “It’s a bopping.”

           Jeffery’s curiosity is heightened. He crosses the weight room to a wall made of glass panes separating the fitness classroom from the weight room.

           The muffled sound of upbeat dance music passes through the glass. Twenty people are sweating it out: eighteen women (including the instructor), one other guy, and Dennis, who is impossible not to notice.

           “Dear, lord,” Jeffery mutters.

           Nineteen people move in near-perfect unison. Dennis, on the other hand, not so much. His arms and legs flail here, there, and everywhere. Jeffery watches Dennis accidentally almost nail the woman on his left in the head. On Dennis’s right is Salena. Jeffery isn’t surprised the buffoon has found a spot right beside her.

           Suddenly, Jeffery gets an eye full—actually, everyone in the weight room gets an eye full. Dennis bends over touching his fingertips to the floor. Since he’s wearing the same much-too-small bicycle shorts, and with no other layer beneath, an unsightly display of nudity is tossed in people’s faces: three inches of pure butt crack.

           Jeffery instantly looks away. A couple of young women standing beside him snicker. It’s too early in the morning for this. Jeffery can’t stomach anymore. He goes to his office.

DENNIS is feeling an absolute high from being beside Salena. He keeps glancing her way.

           “This class is a hell of a burn. How many times a week are you here?” he asks, his arms and legs still an uncoordinated mess. Salena doesn’t answer. This doesn’t stop him. “I try to get in this room to sweat it out every week.” That’s not true, but she doesn’t need to know that.  

           Salena keeps moving. She refuses to glance at Dennis.

           That’s fine. Dennis views it as a challenge. It’s not always easy to win a woman over.

           “I’ve really been focusing on my quad muscles.” Dennis does his own thing implementing air squats. The sweat is dripping now, coating his skin. Up and down, up and down, his legs keep pumping. It doesn’t last long—five reps max. The burning sensation in the quads is too much. But he’s not finished.

           “Watch this,” he says. It’s time to show Salena a new move, what he’s physically capable of. He spins in circles. The dismal display of acrobatics doesn’t last long.

           Beads of sweat dripping from his face are launched into the air.

           “Oh my God!” Salena suddenly screeches. She falls out of sync with the instructor. Her hands cover her eyes.

           Dennis stops spinning. “What’s the problem?” he asks, honestly having no clue.

           “What do you mean what’s the problem?! Your sweat is in my eyes!”

           That’s okay. Dennis sees an opportunity to play the hero. “Don’t move from that spot. You’ve been partially blinded. You move from that spot and you could knock into someone, hurt yourself even more.” He places a hand on her shoulder.

           “Don’t touch me!”

           Dennis instantly yanks his hand away, like he just pressed it to a hot stove element.

           “Just get away from me,” she orders.

           The instructor comes over.

           His tone deadly serious, Dennis says to the instructor: “She has eye contamination. I need to give her an eye wash.”

           The instructor isn’t having it. “No, you need to leave my class—now.” She carefully guides Salena out of the room.

           The moment to shine has vanished. Dennis stands in a pool of his own sweat. He takes a couple of steps, slips and falls flat on his arse. “Damnit!” he hollers. “I think the left cheek is bruised! It’s a real doozy!”

           He crawls on his hands and knees to the door. No one comes to his aid.

DENNIS sits in the lounge area when Jeffery hands him an ice pack. Dennis slides it under his left butt cheek. “I was really rocking it in that fitness class. There were some real vibes happening between me and Salena.”

           Jeffery rolls his eyes right in front of Dennis—some people truly were delusional. “You really had to start spinning in circles?”

           “Oh yeah, it was definitely time to impress the ladies.” Dennis shifts the ice pack a little under his arse.

           Jeffery doesn’t realize getting sweat in a woman’s eyes was the way to win her over. He glances over at Emilia who looks to be struggling to contain a bout of laughter.

           Dennis, seeing Joanne walking over, stops shifting his arse around on the ice pack.

           “I think it’s best if you avoided the fitness classes for a little while,” she tells Dennis, then walks away.

           “That’s too bad,” Dennis says.”Salena’s going to miss me.”

           “Dumbass,” Jeffery says under his breath.

           “Huh?”

           “Nothing.” Jeffery humours him. “Yeah, I bet she will miss you.” He sees that Travis is still absorbed with the iPad. And then it suddenly hits him hard, like being slammed into a wall. The light bulb in Jeffery’s head comes alive. That’s it! Video games! It suddenly seems so obvious. Jeffery hurries off, leaving Dennis to tend his wound.

           Jeffery stops by Joanne’s office. He tells her he has to step out for a brief while. She asks how her brother is doing. Jeffery tells her it’s not worth getting into. She takes the hint and doesn’t ask a second time.            

           The nearest Best Buy store is a twenty-minute drive from work. Jeffery heads straight there.

           When he arrives he doesn’t waste any time; he knows what he’s looking for. It’s straight to the video game section with only two things on his mind: Play Station 5 and FIFA 23. It’s a hit to the credit card, but it’s worth every cent if it pushes Dennis in a new direction.

           Jeffery drives straight back to work.

           Dennis hasn’t moved from the table; the ice pack is still glued to his arse.

           “I got you something,” Jeffery says.He plunks his recent purchase on the table.

           Dennis sends Jeffery an inquisitive look.

           “You a gamer?” Jeffery asks. “It’s okay if you are. Video games aren’t just for kids anymore.”

           “I played some Super Nintendo back in the day,” Dennis answers honestly.

           “That’s it? Nothing else?”

           “I drifted away from that stuff.”

           “Well…it’s come a long way since Super Nintendo”—he points at the Playstation 5—“a real long way. Games these days have amazing graphics.”

           “Oh, yeah,” Dennis says, sounding unsure of the conversation’s direction.

           “You know what else has changed? People making big money playing video games.”

           The look on Dennis’s face instantly morphs into one of keen interest. “Really?”

           Jeffery nods. “Really. Check this out.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket. Quickly, he finds the website Emelia showed him yesterday. He hands the phone to Dennis.

           It doesn’t take long for Dennis to be very intrigued.

           Jeffery lays it on thicker. “I heard some of the first-place winners of those competitions walk away with a few million in prize money.” He has no idea how true that is, but it sounds good. “Who would’ve guessed someone could hit that kind of a payday playing a video game?” Dennis hands the phone back. “You should think about it.”

           “Think about what?”

           “Think about getting into one of these competitions. Give it a real shot.”

           “I could just sign up and do it?”

           “Well, no, you’d have to practice”—Jeffery gestures at his recent purchase—“with that.”

           Dennis adjusts the ice pack, shifting it to his right butt cheek. “You seriously think I have a shot at winning something like that?”

           Trying to inspire, Jeffery puts on his best performance. “Heck, yeah. You’re a dedicated and ambitious guy.” He almost chokes on his words; this isn’t the time to choke. “You take that system home and crack it open as soon as you walk through the door. And do some research on these gaming competitions. I swear, you’ll be introduced to a whole new world.”

           “Alright, alright, alright,” Dennis says. “It’s go time.”

           “Damn right, it is.” Jeffery grins widely, giving Dennis added encouragement.

           Dennis eagerly grabs the items and forgets about the ice pack.

           “Where are you going?” Jeffery asks, watching Dennis head for the door.

           “Where do you think? I have a video game I gotta crack open.”

           “You still have another couple hours left of your shift.”

           “Yeah, but…” Dennis doesn’t finish. He swiftly exits.

           Jeffery doesn’t bother to chase after him.

           “It’s probably safer for everyone here if he leaves for the day,” Emelia says.

           There’s probably a lot of truth to that, but it also means Jeffery once again is left doing Dennis’s job. The buffoon has managed to screw Jeffery over one more time.      

‍

THE afternoon whizzes by. Seeing it’s time to go home, Jeffery shuts off his office light and closes the door behind him.

           Before he can leave, Joanne quickly catches up with him.

           “Did you give Dennis a Playstation?”she asks.

           His heart skips a beat. “Maybe,” he says hesitantly. Did he cross a line?

           “Maybe?”

           Jeffery quickly formulates an innocent lie. “I had one lying around the house that I never used. I thought maybe Dennis would use it. Why?”

           “Because guess who just quit his job? He just called me.”

           Jeffery nearly erupts with joy. No more Dennis! It’s a miracle!

           Joanne quickly fills Jeffery in. “He said he’s going to be some competitive gaming champion or something. Said he has to stay at home and train, meaning shut himself in his room and play video games all day. He’s going to drive my parents nuts. I know he will. That’s what’s going to happen.”

           “Damn, I’m sorry to hear that.” Jeffery does his best to sound sympathetic, then: “So…does this honestly mean he’s never coming back to work here?” Joanne’s eyes narrow. He quickly saves himself. “I’m just asking because I’ve been putting together the work schedule for the next couple of weeks. I need to know if I should put Dennis’s name on it or not.”

           With a flick of her hand, Joanne says: “Yeah, I think at this point it’s safe to not include him.” She shakes her head. “Video game champion. Good grief. What’s next with that guy?”

           Jeffery hopes he never has to find out.      

           “Have a good night,” Joanne says. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

           Yes, Jeffery will have a good night; actually, he’ll have a great night! “See you tomorrow,” he says, and walks away absolutely glowing inside.

‍