HT100 Challenge 277 - M is for...
This came to me listening to my Christmas hits playlist on Spotify this morning. Happy Christmas in July!
CHRISTMAS IN JULY
The two resident troublemakers had been smiling a lot lately, something that filled Martin Querns with an acute sense of dread. He'd already known that McManus was part mad, but to drag Sean Murphy down with him was a sad sight to see.
When getting his first cup of coffee on the morning of July 25, he noticed that the breakroom had a new addition to it- a fully-decorated two-foot tall Christmas tree perched atop one of the side tables. Martin could feel a headache starting to form behind his eyes. On the table next to the microwave was a box of frosted cookies in the shapes of snowflakes, stars, and Christmas trees with a handwritten note “Happy Christmas in July” taped to it.
Unless there was a gallon of the Christmas punch that Querns was so fond of in the refrigerator, he was going to call a stop to this right after the...
Oh no, he thought, making a beeline to the conference room. He had to get there before the others.
He threw open the door and there was-
Nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing had changed. It was just the conference room set up as usual for the weekly meeting. He half-slumped against the door frame in relief. “Hey, Warden,” Claire Howell said approaching him. “You okay?”
“Just fine, Officer.”
“You look like you were waiting for something.”
“No, I-”
Out of the blue, Claire leaned forward and kissed him.
“What the- Officer Howell, this is highly inappropriate.”
“No,” she said, pointing to a spot over the door where a sprig of mistletoe hung. “It's tradition. Don't want to get kissed, don't stand under the mistletoe.”
Querns sighed and took his seat at the conference table. “If we didn't have such a staff shortage, I'd fire those two assholes.”
“I don't know. I'm not the most holly jolly when the season rolls around, but it's kind of nice having something other than a riot to break up the monotony around here,” Claire said.
“You're thinking maybe I should implement some of those programs that McManus suggests?”
“Oh hell no,” said Claire.
Querns chuckled and smiled at her warmly. “How would you like to run EmCity for a week?”
Claire kissed him again.
“That offer doesn't warrant that kind of gratitude, Officer Howell.”
“It's not that.” Claire said, and pointed to the spring of mistletoe mounted on the ceiling above his chair.
“Tradition or not, this has to stop,” said Querns, moving around to the other side of the table and looking up at the ceiling for any greenery before sitting back down. He could hear the opening notes of a song he had come to despise right outside the door. “On second thought, let's make it a month. Those two are going to have to learn the cardinal rule, 'Don't fuck with Querns.'”
CHRISTMAS IN JULY
The two resident troublemakers had been smiling a lot lately, something that filled Martin Querns with an acute sense of dread. He'd already known that McManus was part mad, but to drag Sean Murphy down with him was a sad sight to see.
When getting his first cup of coffee on the morning of July 25, he noticed that the breakroom had a new addition to it- a fully-decorated two-foot tall Christmas tree perched atop one of the side tables. Martin could feel a headache starting to form behind his eyes. On the table next to the microwave was a box of frosted cookies in the shapes of snowflakes, stars, and Christmas trees with a handwritten note “Happy Christmas in July” taped to it.
Unless there was a gallon of the Christmas punch that Querns was so fond of in the refrigerator, he was going to call a stop to this right after the...
Oh no, he thought, making a beeline to the conference room. He had to get there before the others.
He threw open the door and there was-
Nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing had changed. It was just the conference room set up as usual for the weekly meeting. He half-slumped against the door frame in relief. “Hey, Warden,” Claire Howell said approaching him. “You okay?”
“Just fine, Officer.”
“You look like you were waiting for something.”
“No, I-”
Out of the blue, Claire leaned forward and kissed him.
“What the- Officer Howell, this is highly inappropriate.”
“No,” she said, pointing to a spot over the door where a sprig of mistletoe hung. “It's tradition. Don't want to get kissed, don't stand under the mistletoe.”
Querns sighed and took his seat at the conference table. “If we didn't have such a staff shortage, I'd fire those two assholes.”
“I don't know. I'm not the most holly jolly when the season rolls around, but it's kind of nice having something other than a riot to break up the monotony around here,” Claire said.
“You're thinking maybe I should implement some of those programs that McManus suggests?”
“Oh hell no,” said Claire.
Querns chuckled and smiled at her warmly. “How would you like to run EmCity for a week?”
Claire kissed him again.
“That offer doesn't warrant that kind of gratitude, Officer Howell.”
“It's not that.” Claire said, and pointed to the spring of mistletoe mounted on the ceiling above his chair.
“Tradition or not, this has to stop,” said Querns, moving around to the other side of the table and looking up at the ceiling for any greenery before sitting back down. He could hear the opening notes of a song he had come to despise right outside the door. “On second thought, let's make it a month. Those two are going to have to learn the cardinal rule, 'Don't fuck with Querns.'”