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Paper Rings
chapter one
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IT WAS YOUR TYPICAL MONDAY MORNING IN SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA. The sun was shining, the air was nice and cool, and the boredom had already set within the office at Dunder Mifflin paper company. A tall, brunet sat behind his desk, leaned as far as he could in his swivel chair. His long digits were tapping a pencil eraser against the light wood of his desk. His chubby cheeks resembled rising dough as he smiled over at the girl sitting next to him. Her chair was spinning, eyes closed behind her thin rimmed glasses.
"Top three songs. Go." The eraser of his pencil pointed at the man beside him. He stared blankly back at him, his face void of anything but the emotion of disappointment. "This is stupid," he stated matter-of-factly. His small eyes blinked behind the large glasses perched on his face. The former scoffed, brows screwing together, his smile still present. "No it's not. Evie, three songs." He turned toward the girl with raven hair. She continued to spin, pursing her lips in thought.
"One," she began, her eyes following the fluorescent lights above her head, "Stay With Me by Miki Matsubara."
"Classic," he stated. The corners of her lips lifted into a brief smile. "Two, um, The Only Exception by Paramore." He snorted, the sound stopping her dead in her tracks. He chose to bite his tongue, only offering her a smile with a wave of his hand, beckoning her to continue. "And Somebody to Love by Queen."
"Should've known," he joked. Her shoulders lifted into a slight shrug. "What about you, Halpert? What are your top three songs in the whole world?" His face scrunched up in thought. The same eraser pressed into his bottom lip, tapping the area gently. "Good question," he sighed.
"No it isn't," their grumpy friend argued. His face had turned back to his computer monitor, fingers flying over his keyboard. Suddenly interested by the fervor of his movements, she began to wheel her chair closer to their desks. "What are you up to, Dwight?" she asked, finally putting a name to a face. He didn't answer, instead one hand switched over to sit on his mouse. With two clicks, he sat back and left whatever he had been searching to load.
It was just like every other day. She glanced toward the other man, eyebrows raised in questioning. He only shrugged. There's no one in the world who could predict Dwight's actions. Just as she was about to ask again, music began to play through his speakers. It didn't take long for her to put two and two together. He stared hard at the video playing on his screen.
The music played through the office. Many heads turned toward the three. She sat back in her chair, swaying to the music. She returned to a slow spin, closing her eyes to absorb the music in the best way. She hummed softly along. Dwight's hand rested beneath his chin, brows furrowed. He was reading the lyrics, the video reflecting off of his glasses.
"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."
"You mean Minesweeper?" he said, a light chuckle ending his sentence. "I guess that could work. Or maybe talking to a coworker could work, as well."
She snorted, eyebrows bouncing to her hairline. Quietly, she slipped back against her chair, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "That could be a good idea. I'm sure your desk mate would love to have a conversation with you."
"How do you know I'm sitting at a desk?.. Are you watching me right now?"
She could picture him looking over his shoulders at that very moment. Her hand covered her mouth to muffle the soft laugh she breathed out. "You didn't know?" she asked. "We always keep a close eye on our customers by implanting cameras in their personal effects, like watches or cellphones, even glasses."
"Very bold," he replied. "Efficient."
"Well, we do strive for efficiency," she said. Her cheeks were beginning to hurt from smiling so much. With a beat of silence, she glanced over her shoulder once more to detect anyone eavesdropping. "I guess I could entertain you, though. The day is pretty slow."
There was a soft gasp on the other end of the line. "Really? Are you telling me that customer service isn't an exciting job?"
She scoffed. "It can be. However, a lady never shares her secrets." Her finger spun within the coiled line connecting the handheld to the box. It looped around the digit over and over, unlooping and looping again. "Has ignoring that person become easier?" she asked.
"Kind of. But I think it would be easier if I had someone to talk to. You know, here."
"Shame," she sighed. She stretched her arm over her head, a bright smile on her face. "I'll head over in a second.
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JIM
There's not many people in the office that I talk to regularly. There's, um, Pam. She's pretty cool. And Evelyn. She's, uh, yeah. She's my best friend.
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Evelyn strolled right back to her designated spot. It didn't take long for Jim's eyes to find her. A broad smile crossed his face, his finger jutting toward Dwight. Curiously, she glanced toward the other man sitting in the desk right beside Jim's. He now had a pair of headphones on his head, swaying to whatever song was blasting in his ears.
She snuck up behind him, hands together behind her back. From where she stood, she could read the names of each of his tabs. Right in the corner was YouTube and Miki Matsubara's name. Her smile brightened, the ghost of a giggle escaping past her tongue. "What?" Jim asked in a whisper, his eyes bright with curiosity.
She sat on the corner of Jim's desk, unable to hide the happiness that beamed across her features. "He's listening to Miki," she whispered, biting back the urge to laugh. "I think I just got him hooked on J-Pop." Jim glanced around her as Dwight continued to bop his head to his music. He bit down on his finger to hide his own smile. His eyes flickered back toward the bespectacled woman, cheeks growing red with her fight against her own amusement.
"Good for you," he congratulated her with a strained voice, fighting his own urge to laugh aloud. Her nose scrunched up with her smile. Her hands covered her burning cheeks, head shaking. Jim's fingers drummed over the surface of his desk, his face turning into his palm. "Just wait until he finds out she died last year," she whispered. "It's going to crush him."
Jim tapped his index finger against his lips, his head shaking slightly. Her shoulders trembled with her laugh. Suddenly, Dwight took off his headphones and set them to the side. Both Evelyn and Jim watched as he pushed away from his desk and stood up. His eyes ran over Evelyn and Jim before focusing in front of him. The two turned back to glance at one another, quietly laughing to themselves.
Evelyn's eyes followed Dwight behind Jim. He stopped at his left side, his eyes flickering toward the raven haired woman. The corner of his mouth twisted up into a soft smirk. His finger tapped lightly on Jim's right shoulder and when he turned that way, Dwight walked off with a giggle. Amazement washed over her face, her head following him as he left.
"Did Dwight just prank me?" Jim asked, brushing off the shoulder of his shirt. Her head twisted back to face Jim, a breathy laugh escaping her. Her head bounced in a nod. "Dwight just pranked you."
rumi says . . .
i cannot believe this is finally here 😭
jim halpert is my type. like i would have
fallen in love with him the first day we
met bc of his charm and his humor. which
is why i thought i'd write this fic. bc all
i can picture is him with evie and them
wrecking havoc in the office.
what are your thoughts on the first chapter?
what are your thoughts on evie?
thank you for reading!
feedback is greatly appreciated!