CHAPTER THREE: Memories and Copies

The days seemed slower to Jim as his last days drew nearer. He sat in the Annex, listening to Kelly ramble on again, but he tried to not listen and just think about his new job; he would be sitting in a small cubicle, surrounded by people doing the exact same thing as him. Thrilling, Jim thought to himself. But it was better than being here, seeing Pam and Roy every day. On Wednesday, he heard something from the front of the office; it was Pam and Roy arguing about something.

"You've gone out with your 'work buddies' more than you've stayed home with me! We are married, remember?" he heard Pam yell.

"C'mon, babe, we-"

"No. You know what? Have fun with your friends!"

He looked around the corner and heard Roy walk back to the Warehouse. Jim's face stretched into a small smirk. He knew it was terrible, but it gave him and Pam a chance.

But it wouldn't. Jim was leaving, and Pam wasn't; even if she and Roy didn't work out, Jim was going to be gone in a few days' time. He would still be in the area, but the purpose of leaving Dunder Mifflin was to get away from Pam. He decided that he wouldn't try to contact Pam. In fact, he decided to try to erase her from his life. Maybe then he would be happy again.

On the day of the wedding, Jim got drunk. He tried to forget his whole career at Dunder Mifflin, especially Pam: her curly red hair, her perfect white sneakers, and her gorgeous smile. Jim couldn't believe that she would choose a jerk like Roy over her. Jim remembered perfectly the day that Pam came to work at the office…

"Hey, everybody, we have a new receptionist," Michael yelled as he exited his small office.

"It's a shame about Margaret; she was a good girl," Phyllis said from her desk. Margaret was the old receptionist, but had to leave because she got too old to hold the position.

"Well I'm sure you'll like this girl way better than old Margie," Michael continued. "She starts on Monday."

Jim hardly looked up from his work; he didn't really care that there would be another receptionist. He didn't plan to work here long anyway.

The rest of the week went by as usual; the sales were down by 4%, but computers had become more and more popular, so they had to expect a decline. Jim tried his best to earn his commissions, but fewer and fewer people wanted to purchase paper now.

The rest of the office seemed to be buzzing about the new girl, but Jim tried to ignore it. He still really didn't care.

The minute the new girl walked into the office on Monday, Jim cared.

Pam was more distracted than ever at the office.

"Pam!" shouted Stanley. She broke her gaze at her untouched game of Solitaire.

"Oh, yeah, Stanley?" She had been thinking about how to approach Jim the whole day, but she still was at a loss for words.

"I said I needed two copies of this," Stanley said, with a hint of irritation in his voice. Pam took the paper from Stanley and put it in the copier. When they were done, Stanley snatched up his copied and went back to his desk.

Pam hadn't seen Jim all day, which made it even harder to think about what to say to him.

Maybe I should wing it, thought Pam. Just go up to him and tell him exactly what I'm thinking. She sat down at her desk, only to be interrupted seven minutes later by her husband Roy.

"Baby, I was thinking, maybe we could go out to lunch or something," he asked her. "I feel bad about last night…"

Pam's mind immediately went back to the conversation they had last night. She couldn't believe that Roy was trying to make it up to her by taking her to lunch.

"Um, no thanks, I packed a lunch for today," she told his without even looking at him.

"But baby, come on. We can go to that seafood place you like. I'll even let you order-"

"Roy, I said no," Pam told him in an assertive voice. Roy looked at her in a puzzled manner.

"Are you okay, baby?"

"Yeah," Pam said, aching to finally get this off her chest. "I'm just finally standing up for myself. I said no, so that means no. I don't want to go to lunch with you, and that's final. I don't even want to go ho-" Pam tried to stop herself, but it was too late.

"What was that?" asked Roy. Pam knew perfectly well that Roy knew perfectly well how that sentence would have ended.

"Um, nothing," Pam said quietly, turning back to her computer.

Crap! What should I say? Pam asked herself. She needed to find a cover, and fast.

"I was just saying…" Pam began. "Saying that… I don't want to go to… Um…" she couldn't think of anything. "Not even House of Noodles!" House of Noodles was a Chinese restaurant near the office.

Roy looked at her, not even knowing what to say about the conversation. So, he didn't; he walked away, back to the Warehouse, Pam guessed.

And Jim saw the whole thing.