Standing for Something

Standing for Something

         Nicole Henkins was running around her room, grabbing her clothes from the floor.  The knock on the door had come unexpectedly.  She had never even heard of her boss going to the homes of the employees.  Nicole knew she had made a lot of people mad at the office.  She had not intended to.  She just could not go on any longer allowing those people to be so cruel to Andrew Jenkins. 
         Andrew was an unusual character.  He kept to himself, and never made a fuss about anything.  Whenever anyone needed anything, Andrew was the go-to guy.  That should have earned their respect.  Instead, they talked behind his back, ridiculed him, and showed him no respect.  That afternoon, Nicole was running behind in her work.  Everyone else had gone to lunch, but she opted for an orange at her desk instead.  She entered the copy room to finish up her work, and saw Andrew.  He tried to avoid looking at her, but she could still tell that he had been crying.
         Nicole never could stand to see somebody hurting.  When she pressed Andrew to tell her what was wrong, he told her that the others in the office had gotten to him.  He said he felt foolish for letting them get the better of him.  It all began that morning, when on of the secretaries went into his office to ask him a question.  A jazz song, “Turn me on” by Nora Jones was on his radio.  The secretary started making jokes about how Andrew could never turn anyone on.  She must have told others in the office, because they joined in, too, whenever Andrew was in earshot. 
         This had angered Nicole beyond her control.  She tried to maintain herself.  When the Account Manager made the mistake of cracking a joke about it in front of Nicole, she lost her cool.  She stood on a filing cabinet, and yelled to get everyone’s attention. 
         “Everyone shut up, and listen!”  She saw too  much red to see the surprised looks everyone gave her.  “Andrew Jenkins is a valued employee at this company.  The jokes that are being made today are uncalled for.  More importantly, they are sexual harassment.  I would advise each and everyone who made this off-colored jokes to Andrew to promptly apologize.  If that is a problem for anyone, they can opt to call their lawyer instead.  This is NOT high school, people.  We are all adults, and we need to start acting like it.  Also, each and everyone of you can do your own work from now on.  There will be no more going to Andrew for help!”  Nicole got down, and stormed off to her office. 
         Now that the boss was knocking on her door, Nicole really wished she would have sent out a memo instead of making such a fuss.  She took a deep breath, and opened the door.
         “Hello, Nicole.”  Brandon Peters said as he pulled a holey sock from her sweater.  “May I come in?”
         She allowed him to come in.
         “I would like to talk to you about what happen this afternoon.”  At those words, Nicole’s heart sank deep.  She really loved her job.  “I am looking for somebody to manage the floor.  I need somebody who is willing to put in the extra time and energy into creating new sexual harassment awareness.  Your speech today made me realize that you are a prime candidate.  So, I went over some of the work you have done in the past few months.  I must say that I am impressed.  So, if you would like the opportunity of advancement, the position is yours.”
         Nicole could not believe her ears.  She had lost her cool.  She had gone outside of the box she had tried so hard to stay in.  It had gotten her promoted.  She felt like she was in some kind of after school special.  She gladly accepted the promotion, and called Andrew to see if he would go celebrate with her.