The corporate hierarchy and IT office employees are so pitted against each other that everyday office talk feels tense. It resembles a whole delegation of chaotic verbatim. Conversations are filled with never-ending polite altercations. Only in the cafeteria do the two species get along civilly, often to the chagrin of their respective bosses. The 1-hour break is a tradition of clandestine yet polite activities.
While working in Hyderabad at a similar workplace, I experienced that myth, which proved true. A long queue of people waited to collect their food-ordering coupons. The queue seemed endless. Many people took advantage of small gaps. They crossed the line to reach the dining area. A little “Excuse me, May I get through?” was all I heard for a while.
I had to go to the dining place to meet my friends. I applied the same technique as others. I asked a person to kindly give me some space to pass through.
The person was a little rough, and he was having a bad day. He looked at me as if I had asked him for his bank account PIN. He assumed I would take his place in the queue to speed up the order. He told me sternly, “Do I look like an idiot?”
I understood his thoughts, and to play with him mockingly, I said, “Yeah, though, never mind!” His colleagues and friends from the project were listening to the conversation. Hearing my mocking answer, the person became quite agitated. A few people wanted to march toward me to intimidate me. Still, I knew nothing would happen to me, as it was an office with a certain decorum. He was the one who started it; I responded politely.
To settle the score, he asked which project I was working on and who my managers were. I didn’t give him any information. Instead, I challenged him to play Counter-Strike one-on-one if he wanted to preserve his pride and self-respect. He was perplexed, looking me up and down intently. His friends laughed over the incident and began berating him.
To avoid an embarrassing situation, he accepted the offer. On the given weekend, he came to my apartment to play the then-popular game, Counter-Strike. We got along and laughed heartily over the silly incident. To this day, we remain friends, though we now work for different companies.
The Witty Stride 