In terms of the list of places Pam Beesly would ideally like to be, the Dunder Mifflin office in the mind-numbingly miserable Scranton, Pennsylvania, currently ranked at about 406th- cutting it close to Vat of Animal Excrement, coming in at 405th.

The rain fell at the window with such persistent force that Pam wondered if the heavens had a surplus of precipitation for which they simply couldn't accommodate any longer. She wouldn't be surprised if it ceased to rain again after today.

With slow realisation it dawned on Pam that she had probably spent more time today looking at the weather than she had done actually working, and reluctantly she began typing some mindless memo about some mindless issue that some mindless employee had raised.

The sad truth, one that Pam desperately tried to ignore, was that she didn't really have any friends or even casual acquaintances at Dunder Mifflin. There was of course Roy, her fiancée of three years- yes, three years- who worked in the warehouse. Sure, she cared about him a lot, but he was definitely not the most understanding of people, and secretly it did sadden her that he would rarely ever come up to the office to even say hello. So there she sat, alone. Even after a whole year of her being secretary there, a combination of her hesitance with new people, her tragically shy personality...and, honestly, just bad desk location, meant that she left work each day having barely said two words to anyone. Admittedly it made her a little downhearted, but, as she constantly reminded herself, it's just temporary until I find something better.

Something better. Anything...anything would be better than this.

Deflated, she spun in her chair to fax the memo, which she glanced at:

"A message to all employees - today we will be joined by the new addition to our sales team, Jim Halpert. Please assist him in his getting settled into the office."

Pam gave a soft, breathy, somewhat cynical laugh. Get out while you still can, she thought. Oh, what she would have given to have never set foot in this godforsaken office.

As first impressions go, Jim was not exactly overwhelmed with excitement as he half-heartedly approached the drab, lifeless block of cement that he guessed would be his new workplace. However, knowing his own pessimistic nature, he attempted to look past the hugely unappealing exterior and at least wait until he got inside. He wanted to be here. He did.

He had taken this job because 1. Cliché and hopeless as it was, he desperately needed the money, and 2. Although he wouldn't hastily admit it, he was genuinely interested in sales. He liked to talk to people. What he really wanted to do was sports marketing but...he tried not to dwell on that. Stupid dream, he would think. Jim covertly knew that another appealing factor was that he couldn't quite bring himself to leave Scranton- having grown up there, he just didn't feel ready to say goodbye to his friends and family, all for a job that he may not even keep. So, naturally, when a friend notified him of the opening at Dunder Mifflin, he attended the interview with an open mind; an opening that now seemed to be shrinking, bit by bit, with every step he took towards the office doors. Stay positive, he thought, this can only lead to good things.

Even if you hate it, it can just be temporary until you find something better.

Trying to look at least somewhat confident as he walked into the room, which hummed with the dull murmur of it's inhabitants and the occasional trilling of an office phone, he looked ahead to see a reception desk, at which sat a young, fair-haired woman who the instinctive part of Jim's brain immediately thought was really, really pretty. She looked up with the slightly panicked look of a rabbit caught in headlights. She said, apprehensively,

"Um, hi. Welcome to Dunder Mifflin, c-an I help you?"

Jim felt the unmistakable sickness that signaled his nerve failing him, and in a moment of utter stupidity, he could not for the life of him remember his own name.

"I'm, uh...God, I'm uh..."

Bing! There it was.

"...JIM! Sorry, I- I'm Jim. Jim Halpert. I'm the new salesman, I'm, uh, I'm starting here today?"

He nervously ran his hands through his already disheveled hair- he had tripped on his own words so catastrophically that right now he would have preferred to trip and fall into a deep dark hole and never come out. She replied timidly,

"Oh, of course. Well, uh, hi Jim, welcome to Dunder Mifflin, I'm Pam. Pam Beesly." She gave a smile so small that it was almost undetectable, but somehow it lifted Jim's spirits just enough to get his thoughts back on track.

"Nice to meet you Pam. Where shall I set up?"

She gestured towards a desk not far from hers. Jim gave what he hoped was a friendly smile, murmured his thanks, and made his way to his new office dwellings. Taking a seat in his chair and glancing back at Pam, who was back once again engrossed in her work, he could sense the somewhat uneasy feeling continue to brew inside of him. Just first day nerves...right?

"Oh, and enjoy this moment, because you're never going to go back to this time before you met your desk mate Dwight."

Pam almost clapped her hand to her mouth. She was completely perplexed as to where the words came from, they just sort of slipped out without warning. In all honesty, she could swear that she had never said anything with such confidence as that to any member of this office, maybe not even to Roy. She had just been compelled to say it, almost as if it felt natural to act this way around Jim, despite having literally only just met him. The ridiculous thing was, she knew she would happily talk like that to any member of her family- it was her, it was the personality she had always had hidden under her many indestructible layers of hesitance and shyness. For some reason Jim gave off this aura that had broken down those barriers in moments, so fluently that Pam had let her guard down before she herself had even realised.

Jim looked up at her, slightly bewildered, before saying,

"W-What do you mean?"

Pam composed herself, realising she at least owed him an explanation of her little outburst- and despite being aware of her vocal chords this time, again she found herself completely and utterly comfortable talking to him. She decided to go with it; actually conversing at work made a nice change.

"I'm sure you'll find out pretty soon. Dwight's, uh...well, let's just say Dwight is an interesting character. And by interesting I mean the most unexplainably annoying guy you will ever meet."

She felt her heart quicken a little as Jim let out an exuberant laugh. No one ever found her funny. They just didn't.

Throat still catching a little on the chuckle, and with a sarcastic self-assured nod, Jim replied,

"Well, thanks for the heads up. I'll, uh, be sure to hold onto this moment."

Pam knew he had only said it in response to her comment, but she couldn't help the smile that spread modestly across her face- it didn't often happen that someone wanted to remember something about Pam Beesly. On the contrary, she felt was a pretty forgettable character in the lives of those around her. Watching as Jim turned back towards his desk, the same smile that had graced her now appearing upon his handsome face, she almost felt a small sense of accomplishment. She had- kind of- made a friend.

Roy hadn't come up to say hello to her during office hours for 4 months and 13 days now- she actually kept tabs on it (besides, what else was there to do). Today, however, it didn't seem to matter so much.

The harrowing sound of the torrential downpour came to an end, and a ray of sunlight pierced through an opening in the clouds. The pitter patter of the last few drops of rain melded into the sound of the modest symphony of fingers on keyboards, and the day went on.