The Cursed High School Reunion

Chapter 9

“Boss? Are you okay?” Tina asked hesitantly as she stepped into the office. She had heard the door slam shut as she had entered the building that housed both the break room and Mike’s office. She had entered the office to find Mike sitting behind his desk. He looked fine except for the fact that his face was super pale, and he was sweating, despite the coldness of his office.

“Yeah, I am fine,” Mike lied. He thought I was just seeing things, right? I just imagined that spot on the mat outside the door. I had to of. Tina didn’t seem to notice it. “Are you sure, sir? I don’t mean to overstep or anything, but you look like you have seen a ghost or something,” Tina said, looking around the office as she slowly sat in one of the chairs opposite Mike.

“Yeah, I am fine, I promise. Just a little jumpy today for some reason,” Mike said, laughing nervously while he straightened some papers on his desk.

“Okay, if you are sure, boss. Um, Jason said you wanted to see me. Did everything go okay with the electrical inspector today?” Tina asked. Curiosity and nervousness now evident in her voice. She slowly rubbed the arms of her chair to keep her hands from shaking.

“Well, that’s why I wanted to talk to you, Tina. How many of those power outlet plugs did you wire?” Mike asked calmly, putting his business face on, and put the thought of the wet spot on the mat outside the door out of his mind.

“To be honest, sir, I don’t know the exact count. But I can tell you that there was only one that I did not do,” Tina said, worriedly.

“Perfect, and how many of the lights and switches did you wire?” Mike asked. He fought hard to keep the smile off his face.

“All of them, sir. Were they done correctly? Did I miss something?” Tina asked, the suspense obviously getting to her.

“Do you recall who did the power plug on the outside? The one right next to the front door,” Mike asked smugly.

“That was the one plug that Art did, sir. The day before he quit if I recall correctly,” Tina replied.

“Well, how would you feel about your skills as an electrician if I told you that, that one plug that Art did was the only thing that failed the inspection today?” Mike asked, finally letting the cat out of the bag.

“Wait, what? Are you serious?” Tina asked excitedly. She couldn’t quite believe what she had heard.

“I am very serious. And he said that the only thing wrong with that plug was that the wires were crossed. So, in the morning, if you will uncross those wires, we will be good to start the dry wall install. Think you can handle that?” Mike asked, watching the excitement grow on Tina’s face.

“Oh, absolutely, sir. Not a problem,” Tina said, sitting up a little straighter in her chair.

“Wonderful. You know, Tina, you have been with our company for a little over two years now, right?” Mike asked.

“Yes, sir, I have,” Tina answered.

“I have watched you learn every trade that you possibly could in those two years. And I mean every trade. From the concrete pouring for the foundation to painting and everything in between. I would absolutely be honored and thrilled to have you be our full-time electrician,” Mike said. The smile on Tina’s face grew even bigger if that was even possible.

“Are you serious? Oh, my goodness. Let me think about it” Mike watched her perplexed as thought she would jump at the chance. “Yes, sir. I would love to be your full-time electrician,” Tina said so excited. She could not believe her luck, and she just wanted to mess with Mike for a bit.

“You deserve it, Tina. You proved to me that you are not afraid to do the work and make sure that it is done right, the first time. I can appreciate that type of workmanship. Now, that does include a pay raise. You will still be a part of the raising crew as well. After this build is done, we will need to sit down and get things ironed out as far as your electrician team and everything,” Mike said.

“I will have my own team?” Tina asked.

“I mean, like one or two people, but yeah. Art was supposed to have his own team, but he ran them off with his sour attitude,” Mike answered, standing. “You didn’t think that I was going to expect you to wire an entire house by yourself, did you? Well, I mean another entire house.”

“Will my schedule change much? I have two kids who need me, too, sir,” Tina asked worriedly.

“Nope, you would keep the same schedule and if we ever have a late workday, you can bring them to the build site. How old are your kids?” Mike asked.

“My little girl is three and my son will be five next month,” Tina answered.

“Well, on those late workdays, I could ask my wife, Marsha to bring my twin boys up to the build site and they could have a little playdate,” Mike offered, moving around his desk as Tina also stood and headed for the door. Just as they were passing Jason’s desk that was between Mike’s desk and the door, the office door suddenly opened and closed. This caused both of them to pause. After a few seconds, it did it again.

Mike pushed gently past Tina and rushed to the door, throwing it open as soon as he had reached it. There was no one standing outside the door. He stuck his head out and looked up and down the small hallway. After not seeing anyone, he turned back to face Tina, who had stepped up behind him.

“What the hell was that all about?” Tina asked.

“I am not entirely sure,” Mike admitted. Memories of the event earlier with the mat came flooding back as he continued, “Probably just one of the guys playing around. That’s all.”

“Yeah, Joey is always playing tricks like that on us. He tries to convince me that every build is haunted,” Tina said, laughing and shaking her head.

“That sounds like Joey. He thinks that he is quite the joker sometimes,” Mike said, laughing with her.

“Thank you so much for everything, Boss. I will see you tomorrow morning,” Tina said, as she stepped past Mike into the hallway.

“You are very welcome, Tina. Thank you for a job well done. See you in the morning,” Mike said, waving goodbye to her.

As he watched her walk down the hall towards the door that led outside, something on the wall about halfway down caught his attention. The sight caused him to begin to sweat again as he hurriedly closed the office door.

There on the wall about halfway down the hall and seeming to move slowly towards him, was a wet handprint. The wet handprint accompanied wet footprints on the floor.