latenightlover
Experienced
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2017
- Posts
- 40
Patrick Dunn sat hunched over his desk, his usual position while in his office, grading a stack of tests that was so tall it almost toppled over. The room was dimly lit as it was starting to get late into the afternoon and being winter it was already starting to get dark out. The blinds on the window behind him were open and a magnificent sunset shown in the distance but he seemed to involved in the task to notice. It was his office hours but as usual none of his students had been by for quite some time, which was fine from him because of the stack of tests he had to mow through before tomorrow afternoon.
Depression quickly started to sink in the further and further the deeper into his grading he got. He threw down his pen in an combination of disgust and frustration as he ran his hand through his hair. His dress shirt crinkling a little at the option and coming slightly untucked from his long black dress pants. After being at it for several hours he needed a break. His stomach growled and he realized that he had worked through lunch and his body was reminding him that, other than stressed, he was also quite hungry.
Taking a quick peak around his office and at what little bit of the hall he could see and listening to see if anyone was coming down the hall, he reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a brown paper bag and a flask. He usually didn't drink on the job but this semester had been very trying and he used it to calm his nerves. On top of the busy semester with frustrating students he was up for tenure so his performance was under the microscope. He feared after this most recent group of tests that he would never get tenure. The stress of being up for review was starting to put a strain on his life outside of work and it caused him to recently break up with a long term girlfriend. If he was being honest, the drinking also helped deal with that, but he wasn't that honest with himself.
Pushing the stack of papers back on his desk, he set to work on his lunch. It was a simple sandwich and an apple and his flask was filled with rum and coke mixed. He wasn't much of a drinker so he felt less guilty mixing the hard liquor with soda. It also helped hide the fact he was drinking. Taking a long drag from the flask he started to feel his weary muscles relax. He took a deep breath and set to the task of trying to relax and enjoy his lunch despite the mountain of papers cluttering his desk and the thoughts ever present in the back of his head.
He was deep in through when he was pulled out of his revelry by a knock on his open door. He jumped a little at the sound and then felt a bit sheepish as he hadn't even heard the young woman in his doorway approach. The sudden jolt out of his thoughts made him spill a little of his drink onto the desk, which caused him to panic and soak up with his tie.
"Yes..." he said nervously to the student in his doorway.
Depression quickly started to sink in the further and further the deeper into his grading he got. He threw down his pen in an combination of disgust and frustration as he ran his hand through his hair. His dress shirt crinkling a little at the option and coming slightly untucked from his long black dress pants. After being at it for several hours he needed a break. His stomach growled and he realized that he had worked through lunch and his body was reminding him that, other than stressed, he was also quite hungry.
Taking a quick peak around his office and at what little bit of the hall he could see and listening to see if anyone was coming down the hall, he reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a brown paper bag and a flask. He usually didn't drink on the job but this semester had been very trying and he used it to calm his nerves. On top of the busy semester with frustrating students he was up for tenure so his performance was under the microscope. He feared after this most recent group of tests that he would never get tenure. The stress of being up for review was starting to put a strain on his life outside of work and it caused him to recently break up with a long term girlfriend. If he was being honest, the drinking also helped deal with that, but he wasn't that honest with himself.
Pushing the stack of papers back on his desk, he set to work on his lunch. It was a simple sandwich and an apple and his flask was filled with rum and coke mixed. He wasn't much of a drinker so he felt less guilty mixing the hard liquor with soda. It also helped hide the fact he was drinking. Taking a long drag from the flask he started to feel his weary muscles relax. He took a deep breath and set to the task of trying to relax and enjoy his lunch despite the mountain of papers cluttering his desk and the thoughts ever present in the back of his head.
He was deep in through when he was pulled out of his revelry by a knock on his open door. He jumped a little at the sound and then felt a bit sheepish as he hadn't even heard the young woman in his doorway approach. The sudden jolt out of his thoughts made him spill a little of his drink onto the desk, which caused him to panic and soak up with his tie.
"Yes..." he said nervously to the student in his doorway.