by J. Brown

Created on: August 05, 2010

Frank was an average man with fewimportant things in his life. He had a job and an apartment and fancied a nice girl. He hated going grocery shopping. He didn't like the way the florescent lights made everyone look pasty. It sort of emphasized the looks they gave him and even more the way they looked away and didn't look back.

Today was a normal day at work, just like any other. Frank worked in a cubicle on a floor of a building, but he wasn't quite sure what he did. The small tasks he accomplished were always laborious and monotonous. It wasn't until he needed copies that there was some kind of pleasant interruption to his work. And today, he needed copies.

He only knew the pretty secretary's name was Lisa from the name plate on her desk. And he was fairly certain she only knew his from the tag on his shirt. When he was around her, Frank seemed to stop thinking and start thinking all at the same time.

"Hi Frank!" She smiled prettily as he approached. "Do you need copies?" She asked seeing the papers.

"Yeah, I only need a couple for this one." He started handing over the paper when his eyebrows came together in thought.

"What's the matter?" Lisa asked in genuine concern as she gently took the paper from Frank's limp hand.

"Nothing. I was just thinking something." Frank answered as he started to follow Lisa to the copy room behind her desk.

"What were you thinking?" Lisa asked as she jabbed some numbers on the copy machine.

“I was just thinking that maybe if there are a lot of people on the planet and we’re all kind of judged one way or the other, you know, like if you’re fit or lazy or cool, that maybe there’s one system, like a single purpose for everyone.”

Lisa looked confused. "Sorry, I dunno what you mean Frank."

“Well, it’s like… It’s like when you look at someone and think well they’re smart or fit or something. You have to base that on something, right?”

"Sorry, I'm still not sure what you mean." She smiled and returned to her desk.

Frank took the copies back to his cubicle and with a sigh forgot about his thought.

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