White Walker Read Online Free PDF Page A

legal to drink, but had yet to figure out
that getting drunk the night before he was scheduled to work was
not conducive to a productive day. He had been caught several times
napping at his desk, hung over from the night before, with an irate
customer being ignored on his phone. It was said he was on his last
warning. One more fuck up and he was out.
    Yet it wasn’t his fault, not according to Cody; it
was always this guy, or that guy’s fault, old friends had shown up,
someone had been mean to him on the phone that day, one of his
co-workers had said something mean to him. He had not yet learned
to take responsibility for his own actions, so it wasn’t any wonder
he still hadn’t learned the art of discretionary behavior.
    “I spoke with corporate just a little bit ago,”
Teddy said and the group tightened around him to hear what he had
to say. “They attempted to contact everyone to cancel work. Those
of you who are here missed the call for one reason or another.”
Several members of the group checked their cell phones for missed
calls.
    “I didn’t get a call,” Jasmine said, looking up from
her cell phone.
    “You were busy,” Cody said, pantomiming a sexual act
by moving his fist back and forth next to his mouth while he pushed
out the opposite cheek with his tongue.
    “In your dreams, little boy,” Jasmine shot back.
    “Watch your mouth, asshole,” David said as he
stepped forward.
    “Hold it,” Teddy shouted as he held up his hand and
stepped between Cody and David. Turning to Cody, he said, “Remember
what we talked about.”
    Cody immediately backed down, dropping his head and
stuffing his hands into his pockets.
    “I didn’t get a call, either,” David said as he
stepped back to stand next to Jasmine. They were opposites in every
respect. Where Jasmine was dark and exotic, while David was blonde
with a fair complexion, and an open face that screamed momma’s boy.
They made an odd pair who were in an on and off relationship.
Currently it was on, the position of Jasmine’s arm around David’s
waist a strong indication of that fact. But that could change in an
instant.
    Teddy shrugged. “Not much I can do about missed
calls. I’m just relaying what they told me. If anybody wants to
leave, you can without being charged a missed day, but since we’re
here we might as well work, give the road crews a chance to clean
up the mess outside. Corporate will route calls to us on an as
needed basis. I’ll take care of assigning each call as it
arrives.”
    “What if the electric goes out?” Leslie asked. Short
and skinny with long brown hair, she had only been on the team for
a month, so she hadn’t had enough time to get to know everyone.
    “We’ll deal with that when it happens,” Teddy
said.
    All eyes looked up at the ceiling as thunder rumbled
from the sky beyond and the lights flickered momentarily.
    “Good night to stay inside,” Kevin said. Several of
the others nodded in agreement. He was the oldest member of the
group, as well as the most dedicated, and had been working for the
company the longest. He was the friendly type, always asking how
everything was going as he exuded an aura of caring that went
beyond being a mere acquaintance.
    A call center environment left little time for
personal interaction while on the job, unlike a production setting
where assembly line workers could communicate freely with one
another while they worked. The nature of the call center’s
business, interacting with assorted customers on the phone, left
little time for the employees to get to know one another unless
they did so outside of work.
    As everyone moved to their respective workstations
in preparation for another day of work, the storm grew even
stronger. The wind howled with a fierce voice, pushing the sheets
of falling snow about like a swirling blanket, battering itself
against the walls of the building that housed the small group as
the depth of the snow on the roof increased with every