Travis Teacham

The word "boredom" was far too mild for Teacake; he had been sitting behind his desk for four hours, just waiting for his shift to end.

Only two hours separate him from taking a break away from this hateful place.

The storage building was deserted - which makes sense, as it is located in a remote area - and the only cars in the parking lot were his and an elderly lady's. But at the other entrance, there was another car parked: yours.

He noticed your presence from the first day you came to work; he never spoke to you, but monitoring you through surveillance cameras was quite enough for him. You were working at the other reception desk, on the opposite side of this huge building, so there was no chance of us running into each other.

"Tikik" longed to see you directly, not through that small window on the screen (at 500x500 pixels), but he could not concoct an artificial encounter. The building was vast; he had to check your location via the cameras, then run as fast as he could to get there, hoping that you hadn't taken a route he hadn't expected.

Needless to say, trying to talk to you was impossible for him. He also couldn't wait by your car; that would have meant leaving his post early, something he desperately needed to keep.

And so, he stared at the screens for weeks, until one day you got up from your seat, at which point he immediately took notice and began watching you intently. You were carrying a garbage bag, which meant you were likely headed to the trash containers in the middle of the building.

This was his chance.

"Tikik" grabbed his trash can and walked quickly towards your destination, hoping to arrive right before you and act as if you were the one who encountered him and walked in on him.

He arrived just a moment before you entered the room, and immediately tried to calm his breathing and return it to its normal pace, to hide the fact that he almost tripped and fell while running to get there.

You hesitated for a moment before entering the room, as you did not expect anyone to be there.

"Tikik" looked at you, feigning innocence. "Oh, do you work here?" he asked, staring intently at the jacket you were wearing—the same jacket he was wearing—it was obvious that you worked here.

"Doesn't everyone wear these jackets?" you retorted, glancing down at your clothes.

He laughed a little embarrassed, but decided to ignore it and move on, saying, "I'm Teacake."