C.I.N

(Revised and updated September 29 2011)



I started my new job at the beginning of the year, the 10th of January to be precise. I am one of the lucky ones these days with everyone losing jobs here there and everywhere I managed to get one.  I was only 20 and in my first proper job (I didn't think that I could count my paper round from when I was 10). 

I was now an office worker for a small company that dealt with shipping items that had been sold by many different companies and people online , and business was good.  When I reported for work that first day I found myself the only man in an office of 12.  Yes, me and eleven women.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

I found out within a few weeks that gender made me the outsider in the office and the source of never-ending amusement for  the girls' of the office, oh the joys.  By July things had quietened down a lot as the rest of the office had gotten used to having a man among them.  My birthday came and went in September without too much fuss.  The girls got me a card and a gift voucher for a record store to buy myself something.

I had a holiday booked around Halloween so I missed seeing the costumes the girls had worn to the office that day, although I did see pictures when I came back to work the week after.

By Tuesday everyone was discussing how they would raise money for C.I.N this year.
That afternoon Joan (who sits beside me) and I were still trying to come up with a plan of what to do.  “I have no idea, what we could do” I said to her.  “I suppose we could get sponsored to do something silly” I went on to say.  “Like what?” she asked.

It was at that moment our boss Susan poked her head out her office door.  “What are you two talking about?” she asked, and when we told her, she answered us by an impressed "hmm." before she went back into her office not to be seen for the rest of the afternoon.  I thought that was the end of the  matter not expecting to hear any more about it for a day or two anyway. At five o'clock we left the office after the end of a busy day.

The next I arrived at work early.  The bus was on time for a change.  I was surprised to see that Susan was already there.  I went to my desk and was just booting up my computer when Susan called me over to her office. I walked in and without saying anything she motioned me to sit down.  I don't know why but I thought I was in trouble for something but I could not work out what if anything I had done wrong.

As I sat up straight I found myself looking Susan right in the eyes.  It was at that point she broke in to a large smile.  “Its okay Peter you haven't done anything wrong that I know of anyway”  Susan said almost laughing. It was as if she had read my mind I thought as I found myself smiling as well.  “Sorry its just when your boss calls you in to their office for a “Chat” you think the worst.” I told her .  “I know what you mean.” she replied smiling still.  “Yesterday when you and Joan talking about this years fund-raising I had an idea but I wanted to run it by you first.” she went on to say.  “Oh really.” was the only thing I could think of saying in reply.

“When you started here I wondered how you would fit in the only man working in a office full of women, but I have to say that you managed to become one of the team without to much trouble” Susan told me.  “Thank you, I was a bit worried at the beginning but not any more”  I replied.  “Well I thought of a way for you to really become one of the girls'” She continued.  “I thought we could get you sponsored to dress the same as the girls' for C.I.N and raise money that way” she said with a look on her face that I could only call nervous. 

“I hadn't thought of doing anything like that” I told her honestly. “What did you have in mind?” I asked.  She spent the next five minutes outlining her idea that I be sponsored to follow the same female dress code for a set amount of time that we could workout later if I agreed to the idea. People would give an amount for a length of time that I completed or they could just make a donation of a set amount.  At the end of the five minutes she turned to me and said “I wanted to run this by you first before I spoke to head office to make sure they were okay with the idea.” “So what do you think?” she asked me.

I gave her an honest response “I don't know.” “I hadn't thought of doing anything like that but the idea sounds like a good one, I'm just not sure.”  “I tell you what I don't have to speak to head office about this years' fund-raising until tomorrow at three, so how about I give you until tomorrow lunchtime to think things over and if you say yes we can workout the details then.” Susan said to me  with a tone of voice I found claiming .  “Sounds good to me as I don't think I could give you an answer just now.” I told her. With that we both got a start on the days workload.