~I Needed That~

"Psst Browning!"

"Hey! Browning..!"

No sooner had Jordan cleared the steps leading down to Park Lane place and hit the main street, she heard the woos and the catcalls from the youths hanging around in a ransacked shed by the roadside.

'Hmph! these bums, how annoying.'

She swiftly adjusted the hoodie and assumed a bland expression.

'Let's ignore them.'

She strode by quickly, nose in the air.

"Hey Browning!" a low gravelly voice called, "look here nuh."

'How persistent.'

Jordan shot a glare at where the voice came from and her steps faltered a bit. Tall, muscled, and dark-skinned, dressed in black sweatpants and a black wife beater tank top with a cigarette in hand. He languidly blew a few smoke rings, his eyes squinted as he surveyed her through the smoke.

"Let me talk to you," he seemed to have gained confidence with her hesitation.

'He is pretty good-looking, is he a student?' Jordan wondered.

But after giving the group another glance, she thought the better of it. It seemed unlikely that he was and even if he was, he was not looking ambitious or even studious and she detested the smell of smoke. He might look good but she was not in the market for a boyfriend at the moment and if she was, she needed one with substance who will not just bring dick to the table. Been there and done that. In addition, who is he addressing like that? Chile. His body was banging though.

She no longer faltered but hastened her footsteps. Misha, her baby was the Team Leader on shift that night and she would nag if she was late again.

What time is it now? She checked the phone, it was 6:40 PM. She had ample time to walk to work. Tucking her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, she took long strides until she completely disappeared from view. =====================================================

6:50 PM | Kingston Information Technology Services, Jamaica.

Clank!

"Hey don't slam the overhead compartment like that." Misha turned away from her computer to survey the new hire who slammed the compartment while removing his bag and admonished him gently.

"Sorry," he mumbled clutching his bag, eyes on the floor. Misha continued to stare at him openly. He lacked confidence, does not make eye contact, and was soft-spoken. Not bad attributes but for this job, he was already a no-no in her eyes. We need someone unafraid and assertive, Misha thought, but it's his second week, and a first-year student still on the three month probation period. I will continue to train and observe him, she mentally decided.

"It is almost time for the late shift, they are no customers here at the moment so you can leave early." She dismissed him with a smile and gave him permission to leave even though he did not ask for it.

As if he could read minds, he lifted his eyes from the floor and stared into Misha's hazel ones as he stated, "I will wait."

Misha nodded her head with approval, her kinky curls bounced as she said, "Oh, okay good." She swiveled her chair and glanced at her computer screen, it was 6:55 PM.

"Who are the persons working tonight?" she asked the room at large. Brian, the new hire walked quickly to take a look at the schedule tacked onto the notice board at the Team Leader's desk. He felt like with the way Misha was sizing him up earlier, he had better not drag his feet.

"Ah, it's Jordan and Chev." he stated.

"Jordan? She's probably going to be late again," Misha mumbled matter-of-factly beneath her breath but it was heard nonetheless.

"She'll probably be here soon" Chanel, another colleague spoke up and the others nodded in agreement while some remain glued to their computer screens feverishly typing away, responding to the live chats that kept popping up. There were currently no in-house customers waiting for assistance but, the new school term will commence in September and as such, potential students were online asking all sorts of questions, especially returning students who were requesting domain password reset in droves in order to access the Student Portal. Graduation may be around the corner for some students like Jordan and Misha but for others, life and work goes on.

"Hmm," Misha wrinkled her brow and thought out loud, "doesn't Chev have a late class tonight? That means he'll be starting at 8." She stood abruptly and went to the Team Leader's desk to check the extra notes on persons who are scheduled to work a specific shift.

This had been Jordan's idea which Misha thought was quite good. Interns usually inform the Team Leaders about any problems that crop up that will interfere with work but people forget and often make mistakes so when Jordan, another Team Leader voiced the idea of filing extra notes for future reference, it was welcome by the others wholeheartedly. Smiling at the memory, Misha confirmed that Chev, known formally as Chevon, really had a late class so, for the first hour, Jordan will be working by herself.

"I'll stay with Jordan until Chev gets in," she announced smiling widely. It was as if her enthusiasm could not be contained.

Brian sitting by the door nodded his head imperceptibly. Even though he only started working at Kingston Information Technology Services (KITS) last week, the bond between Misha his trainer, and Jordan, the other Team Leader was very noticeable. They may berate each other at times when it involved work but afterward, they could be seen cuddled up in some dark corner speaking in hush tones or having lunch together several times. In his eyes, they were practically inseparable. He once viewed them hugging each other tightly and wondered if they were dating. This would not have been strange after all, the University of the Indies is a gathering place of students from across the Caribbean territories. There are bound to be some gay students in the mix, girls even and he was certain of that fact.

Bored, he glanced at his phone and saw that it was 6:59 PM and started to mentally count down to 7 o'clock in seconds

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5-

The door opened to reveal a tall, brown girl in a large black hoodie, black jeans, and boots. Jordan had arrived and it was time to go.

"You made it!" Misha smiled at Jordan, her eyes curved. She stretched out her arms and envelope the slim body into a warm hug ignoring the interns who were staring. The favoritism could not be more obvious.

"Mhmm" Jordan melted a bit into her arms and stated quietly, "I needed that."

Misha lifted her face and stared into her eyes. "Clock in and then tell me what happened. I will stay with you until Chev gets here."

"Right, he has a late class." Jordan nodded "Gimme a minute."

She walked to a computer to sign in, it was time to get to work.

"Bye guys," the colleagues whose shift ended at 7 PM chorused farewell and packed up. Brian himself had already left.

"Byeeeee" Jordan and Misha returned the farewells. At 7, the outer doors in the lobby area closed automatically so they were safe. Misha switched off the lights in the small unit and took a seat in the chair at Jordan's cubicle.

She quietly watched as Jordan concluded her response to a live chat before touching her on the shoulder to get her attention.

Jordan turned and smirked. "Hahaha," satisfied Misha laughed and repeated, "Now tell me what happened."