The Coffee Break

Dazed after one hour of car horns, sweat and people yelling at each other, I reach the air-conditioned office entrance. There is a long queue for the lift, so I take the side entrance. Three flights of stairs later, I sigh as I open the bay doors. A familiar face waves at me, or someone just smiles, or mumbles a "Good Morning". I wave back, smile or get into a quick chat.

I reach my desk, almost in time for the scrum call of the day. There is always the-latecomer, the-one-who-has-already-fixed 2 issues for the day, and the just-in-time one. I arrange my desk with utmost care so much so that someone watching me would lose patience. Forty-five minutes of essay questions, rapid fire rounds and irrelevant laughter pass by.

Then comes the favorite part, coffee break. 

But, not yet. 

First the headphones come down and the snacks come out. Then the leg pulling happens. There is always the-one-soft-target. Stuffing our faces while already talking about lunch, we walk towards the breakout area, hoping to find it empty. Gossip of the day, oh-did-you-know, the new pub in town, the new food joint, all very important topics are discussed while we fill our cups one by one.

Then the-enthu-cutlet speaks up and reminds us all to get back to work, or rather, start work.

Back at our desks, every 15 minutes, there is a work discussion, every 40 minutes comes a topic where everybody has an opinion. Our discussion solves nothing, but it is very important to make your point. The oh-please-let-me-work tells us off and we get back to work.

 The too-many-questions, the-funny-face, the-logic-brain, the-food-fanatic, the-movie-buff, the-always-annoyed, the-shy, the-witty, the-strict, all have something to say, all have something to discuss.

 Work gets done! Food gets eaten! Opinion gets shared! Emotions get expressed!

 And now, I wake up, and I start work!