Hammered

Hammered
WC 299




‘Hammer the bricks, put them in a circle, per the instructions.’ There it was, in black and white on the page so no one could misinterpret. But of course, Julie did. She put her bricks in a straight line. They weren’t hammered.

“Julie, can’t you read the instructions?” I asked. I pointed to the page. Perhaps she wasn’t paying attention in the class we had just attended.

“I choose not to follow the masses. I’m doing the exercise the way I feel it should be done.” Julie continued laying the bricks in a straight line.

George leaned in, looked at Julie’s work. “Julie, it says to hammer the bricks and put them in a circle. What are you doing?”

“She’s not following the masses. I guess she’s speaking of us, George.”

“Since when are four people the masses? John, make her do it right.”

Along came Mary. “What is Julie doing?” She leaned in and looked at Julie’s work.

Julie kept putting bricks in a straight line, ignoring us.

“I don’t want to get in trouble because she can’t or won’t follow directions. You’re the leader, John. Make her conform.” Mary stood with her arms crossed.

“I’m not the leader here. We have specific instructions. If we choose not to follow them, we will be penalized. It says so right in the book.”

“Where does it say that?” Julie stood and grabbed the book. I pointed to the page. “That is hooey. I still want to do it my way,” She went back to work on her straight line.

Mary, George, and I went off to see the leader. While we were gone, a “BANG” brought us running back outside. All we could see was a circle of bricks, hammered into dust.

Julie just became one of the masses.