Goosebumps - part 1

Read other Sunday Scribblings here.

On a Friday afternoon, locked in the ladies room, inside the last stall, was Gus. He was panicking, sweat dripping down his face. It's been half an hour but no one had came in yet. He stood there wondering how he got himself into this.

Gus knew his two male coworkers hated him but he never quite figure out why. He was just a geek who work as an IT guy. He was fixing his boss' laptop when they surprised him. Mr. Z had stuck a floppy disk into the cd drive. Gus thought the laptop was wasted on him. It took Gus a hour and a half explaining before he even knew how to use his email. Gus must have been in his office about a dozen times trying to show him this and that. How in the world did Mr. Z got to be boss of an internet company is beyond anyone's guess.

Just as he fished out the floppy disk, his coworkers, Mick and Todd grabbed his arms and dragged him down the hall. Gus tried to resisted but was no match for these two bigger guys. They took him to the ladies room, pull his glasses off and threw him into the last stall. Then they placed the trash can against the door. Gus heard their malicious laughter as they walked off.

Gus pressed his body against the stall door and tried to pushed but it open but it refused to budged. He tried to climb over the door but heard voices heading his way. Gus was silent as he listened to the two female voices. He knew them from accounting. It was Karen and her pal, Zoey. He was too ashamed to call out for help. What would they think of him with him in the ladies room? Gus said nothing as the ladies left without using the facility. Gus was glad of that.

Gus had a crush on Zoey for almost a year now. Each time he had tried to speak to her, Mick and Todd were always around making fun of him. Even when they were alone, Gus always had trouble speaking to her. His mouth would go dry and goosebumps would appear on his arms. When he does speak, he would blurt out things that would embarrasses him or her. She would laugh it off and walk away.

After Zoey and Karen were gone, Gus tried once again to climb over the stall door. Totally out of shape, Gus had barely any strength to even move. He had to catch his breathe. He managed to get over the door and use the trash as leverage. His hand slipped on the trash can and he fell down onto the tiled floor, landing on his elbow. Sharp pain shoot through his arm like a hurricane. Gus covered his mouth as he was about to scream. He dragged himself up and sneak out of the ladies room.

At his cubicle, his desk been trashed, mostly paper were scatter everywhere. Gus knew who did it by the image tagged to the fake cubicle wall - a guy with black rim glasses sitting on a toilet. Gus knew this joke was meant to anger him. Many times Mick and Todd had messed with him and many times, he refused to acknowledge that he was hurt. This time they had gone too far.

Gus stood there staring at his desk. He didn't he feel the pain in his arm. He checked his watch. It was almost five. He decided to go home. Took his bag from his desk drawer and left. Instead of the elevator, he walked the stairs. He went to see his brother, Joe, to get his arm fix.

Joe didn't asked questions, he just fixed him up. Joe knew Gus well enough not to say anything. It was no use. His brother was too old for him to protect. He will have to fight the battle himself. Gus left Joe's office and went home. No broken bones but Gus felt like a loser. He stayed indoor all weekend not speaking to anyone.

Early Monday morning, Gus got in three hours early. He went to Mick and Todd's computer and proceed to copied files and then trashed their harddrive. He renamed their user names - MIck's to Todd's secret lover. He then did the same to Todd's computer with Mick's name. H made sure it plays the song, "Secret lover" when they start their computer. Gus laughed to himself. It was the first time he felt comfortable at work since he started working there last year. Gus also created memos with Todd proclaiming his love for Mick and another one with Mick proclaiming his love for Todd. Gus wonders what their girlfriend's gonna think when they hears this. They worked at the office above. Gus sent emailed the memos to everyone in the office. Gus chuckled as imagined what their reaction would be when they come in.

Gus sat in his cubicle and pretended to work on his boss' laptop which he had already fixed. He heard laughter around the office. Mick's and Todd's angry voices raise and fall as they tried to get their computers to work. Gus tried not to laugh as their boss yelled at them for their incompetence.

"Have you heard? Someone messed with Mick and Todd's computers. And did you get that memo, oh wow!" It was Zoey staring down at him. He nodded his head. "I've got the memo,' he said trying not to look at her. Zoey laughed and said, "I wonder who did it." She smiled at him as if she knew. Gus turned his face away. He was turning beet red. Zoey doesn't seem to notice. She walked off smiling. Gus tried not to smile as Mick and Todd came over to asked him to fix their computers. Gus said he had a huge workload and couldn't possibly help them. Mick and Todd smiled nervously as they begged him. They even got down on their hands and knees and brought him coffee. Gus casually said he will try his best to help them as soon as he can. They thanked him profusely and left. That very day, Gus decided to ask Zoey out even if there's a chance she would say no. Gus smiled all day as he work.

Read part 2 here.