Friday Night Pizza

Chapter 2 - A New Mystery

Tapping the old, blue phone that sat next to his old, dusty computer, Rookie reminisced about the previous day. Everything was so odd. However, that was overshadowed by the giddiness he got from Guy's number - they hadn't talked in about seven years but now they could talk at any time. 

Looking around his floor, the room was littered with a grid of cubicals busy with stressed people answering calls about vacations they wish they could go on. Rookie loved his job, but it was incredibly exhausting despite being sat down all day. The hours were long but payed well. Rookie didn't sign up for the money though. He wanted this job to help people. Giving tours seemed like a dream job; you get to impress people with your knowledge and travel around amazing places for the lowest prices! But alas, he was stuck in the place he had spent all of his life, not that there was anything wrong with that, but... By now, he had been down every alley, he knew every turn and corner. Heck, at this point, he knew most people that worked anywhere; he knew the names of every single barista at the coffee shop. The coffee shop that he had reunited with Guy at.

And with that thought, Rookie's phone buzzed to life as a text came in from Guy.
'Hey Rook.'
He stared blankly at it, internally rejoicing that Guy had actually contacted him. However, before he could respond, a hand was slammed on his desk. He knew that hand all too well. Slowly looking up, prolonging the act as far as he could, Rookie came face to face with his boss.

"Rookie." They said sternly, "What have I said about phones in this work environment?" glaring daggers at him, Rookie meekly replied,
"No phones until the end of my shift?" He muttered, looking for sympathy.
Gaining none, he hung his head. 
"Look, for your knowledge, we are considering you for a promotion."
Rookie perked up as his boss smirked and wandered off to someone else's cubical.

Turning back to his desk, he pushed yesterday to the back of his mind; he tried to focus. However, something surfaced and pinned itself at the forefront of his thoughts. The strangeness of that room, how Guy had just disappeared into thin air and that worker. The thought plagued him the entire time he was supposed to be booking tours and sending emails to his fellow co-workers.

'Why was that room so weird?' Rookie thought to himself. The room in which Guy had disappeared held so much mystery; there were so many issues like that employee that obviously tried to act like they didn't burst in with purpose. And that logo really annoyed him: it was too basic for it's outline. 'That's it,' he silently proclaimed, 'I need to investigate.'

***

Trudging out of the office door and into the crisp, cold air that bit every time he touched it, Rookie took a sharp inhale. At first he hurried, walking briskly and confidently but as he got closer and closer towards the facility, his pace slowed dramatically. Snow crunched beneath his feet as he took hesitant steps. Sunlight shone off of the bright snow but was blocked by his red-rimmed sunglasses but lit up his face, slightly exposing his nervousness. He felt a knot form and with every wavering step he took, it tightened harder. As he walked, He began to think his decision over in his head but before he knew it, he had arrived at his destination. Pressing down a slight nausea, Rookie dragged his feet to the door, a light sensation in his chest. He immediately felt eyes on him as he touched the frigid door. The person at the front desk eyeing him suspiciously, yet secretively.

Pulling the door with a lot less effort than the last time he was here, Rookie entered the building to find not just one, but three workers. Two were manning the front desk, a curved, grey and blue table with two more modern computer screens and red telephones. The room looked just as he remembered it: bright, yet odd. Desks were pushed to the walls in a 'w' formation to maximize space. Each desk space had a computer screen and a red telephone at least. One worker sat at a desk, surrounded by paper and was furiously scribbling in a notebook. At the front desk, two workers sat professionally as they typed away confidently, looking as well dressed as the worker from yesterday.

Walking up to the front desk, he was greeted with a "Hi! How can I help you?" and a friendly face. Surprised he even made it this far, Rookie fumbled with his words, the only thing he could think of at that point was Guy and his disappearance. After a few seconds of awkward silence, he managed to utter a response. 
"Uhm... does.. does Guy work here?"
"Guy..? Oh! Yeah, but he's out right now. You know JPG, saving the new agents that fall into the wilderness... that happens way too much, ya know?" the worker snickered.
"J..P..G..?" Rookie repeated, perplexed. He asked about Guy... who was JPG?!
The other front desk worker lifted their head and looked panicked for a hot second before putting on a fake composure and kicking their partner under the desk silently. The worker winced in pain and looked irately at the other person who continued to type rhythmically. All in one second, a flood of realization hit them like a car hitting a wall at high speed: Rookie had no clue who JPG was and they had just accidentally revealed something. Rookie picked up on the sudden change in attitude and was very weary of his surroundings. It felt as though a hundred more eyes were boring holes into his back, sides and front. 

"I think you should leave now." The receptionist asked coldly, now completely dropping the happy persona. Their face was now stern, showing no emotion; they had completely changed their demeanor. 

Rookie obliged to the request and span around, swiftly making his exit as the receptionist went back to eyeing him warily. He knew that either he had messed up or the receptionist had messed up and he was fairly certain that it wasn't him. Exiting the 'Everyday Phoning Facility', he still felt eyes on him until he reached at least one hundred feet from the building. It was so strange. That person had obviously said something he wasn't supposed to - and Rookie thought he knew what it was. Something about 'agents'. 'New agents' to be exact. This could mean new people at the agency they worked at. However it was obvious that was not the case though he tried to come up with reasons why it would be. New agents that fall into the wilderness? Yeah. Something was really fishy.

He thought to text Guy back as he hadn't done.
'Hey what's up?' Rookie replied anxiously. He should have done so sooner but had completely forgotten in favor of going back to the building Guy supposedly worked at.
A few minutes passed before he received a message back.
'Nothing much. Did you stop by my-' Is all Rookie could read before abruptly walking into something. That something turned out to be a child. At first he thought it was a trash can or something but instead it was a child with a very funky hat.