Famished

Wednesday:

I know it's him doing it.

I fume at my desk. So hungry. Is that making it worse? No! My therapist said to stop invalidating my feelings. This anger, it's justified. No need to dismiss, downplay or excuse. I've every right to be mad. He's been stealing my damn lunch. When I confronted him, he lied to my face!

Belly grumbling, I stab at the keyboard. I grind my teeth and flash furious looks at his back.

Thursday:

I scour the cupboard for something I can put on a sandwich that won't need to go in the fridge. Come 1:30, I take my squashed lunch out of my bag and unwrap it. Ugh. This? Every day?

Friday:

I cook myself a hearty breakfast. I feel sick, unused to eating much this early. I can adjust to this. I won't even notice missing lunch.

By noon, I'm hungrier than ever. Another afternoon spent ravenous and snappish.

Monday, again:

Roast chicken from the day before. I've made a salad to go with it, prepared a honey mustard dressing. No way I can not refrigerate this. I stick a firmly-written note on the tub. It doesn't help.

I'm taking this up with HR.

Tuesday:

Leftover stir fry. I keep it in my bag so I won't have to spend another day famished. My meeting with HR is at 1:30PM, so I'm taking my lunch early.

12PM: I set the tub next to my keyboard and go to use the restroom. Then I make a detour to the staffroom for a fork and there he is! Eating my lunch! Bold as brass!

1:30PM: He has a peanut allergy. My stir-fry had peanuts in it, so the meeting goes differently than expected. I am rebuked for not labelling the food!

Wednesday, again:

We are informed that all food must be labelled with common allergens. Seething, I write CONTAINS PEANUTS on my soup tub. And on the strawberry yoghurt as well.

Several days later:

I've written it on everything, but it stopped deterring him after a few days. Today, he ate my Massaman curry. He's currently speeding away in the back of an ambulance.

He really should've left my food alone.

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Word count excluding title, subtitle, and authors notes: 366

Submitted on Tuesday 20th August at 21:00

A Year of Stories: I'm writing a story every day this year. This one continues my 233 day streak since 1st January.

Please consider lending your support to the other creators on this madcap "a story every day" adventure. They're putting out excellent content every day!

Rachel Deeming

Gerard DiLeo

The story behind the story: Office drama, amirite? What do you think: is this main character just trying to prevent his/her lunch being stolen by deterring the thief with those labels? Or was this a deliberate move to cause a severe allergic reaction and get the thief landed in hospital?

Thank you

Especially if you are one of the wonderful people who has been staunchly reading these daily scribbles since the start of the year. I see you, and appreciate you very much indeed!

If you enjoyed this one, the very best compliment you can give me is to share it, or read another!

Here's an oldie:

A recent Runner Up placement:

My look back at July:

My reflections on the recent nonet challenge:

Here's my current Dollar Challenge:

And now for something completely different:

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Thank you again!