PAPER RINGS ━━ Jim Halpert ¹

I. MIKI MATSUBARA

"Jim– What in the hell is that?"

Their heads turned toward the open office door. Dwight slammed his finger against the spacebar, the music stopping abruptly. "Music," she deadpanned. "Really good music." Their boss stood in the opened doorway, his hands clasped together in front of him. He wore a suit, a nice suit, and his hair was perfectly slicked back. "Yeah, well, that's debatable," he replied, a snort leaving his long nose.

"Jim, can I see you in my office for a sec?" Jim nodded his head. His pencil was returned to its rightful place in his pencil cup. He made a face toward her before standing from his seat. She watched as he joined their boss in his office, the heavy door closing behind him. "What do you think that's about?" she asked Dwight. He shrugged his shoulders, instead hitting the spacebar a second time and resuming the song.

A small smile crossed her face. She pushed off of the floor, sending her chair rolling in Dwight's direction. Once she had come to sit beside him, she realized that he was looking up the translated lyrics. Her eyes flickered between the page and Dwight, amusement evident within her coffee colored eyes. "Do not say it," he warned.

"Oh, Dwight," she sighed. "It's okay to feel something." He cast a glare in her direction, his finger pressed against his tightly pressed together lips. She grinned, leaning back in her rolling chair. She dropped it, allowing them to melt into the instrumentals and the vocals of Miki Matsubara. Listening to it reminded her a lot of her mother.

The two fell silent, focusing solely on the music. Or at least trying to. Just as the saxophone began, the doors to the floor opened. Their heads turned to spot the camera crew entering the room. "Oh, no," she thought. The sudden urge to hide exploded inside of her. "I will see you later, Dwight. Enjoy Miki."

She kicked off the floor, her chair sliding away from Dwight's desk. She passed Phyllis and Stanley, stopping right in front of the shelves holding pounds and pounds of paper. Without another word, she turned toward the back of the room and continued to glide right back to her desk and away from the cameras (and her insanely inappropriate boss).

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EVELYN
I work at Customer Service. It's nice, kind of boring. I only ever really help with directing the customers to their salesmen or help them with shipping issues. Most of the time I have nothing to do. That's why I'm always with Jim and Dwight.

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"Dunder Mifflin customer service, this is Evelyn. How can I help you today?"

"Yes, um, I was just wondering if you had any tips on ignoring someone efficiently."

She smiled down at the picture on her desk. Inside the frame was a younger Evelyn with short black hair and bangs, and lots of eyeliner, alongside her mother in front of the Hershey, Pennsylvania sign. "Oh, sure. The best way to ignore someone is to act like they don't exist," she answered, her voice lower. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening.

"Hm. See, that might not work. The person I'm trying to ignore is pretty out there."

"Oh, are they?" The caller responded with a laugh, the sound igniting her own bubbling laughter. She leaned forward at her desk, elbows on the surface, chin resting on her open palm. "Minesweep helps me," she suggested. "There's nothing like a rage inducing game to drown out the world."