On time

Some rules are followed. Others are enforced.

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Secretary Evelyn Tan's head snapped towards the clock on the wall, mid-task. She still had a few sentences to type.

5:55 p.m. Almost the end of the day. 

Everyone was ready. It was time. 

She shut down the computer. As usual. The mail. One last time. As usual. Worked the copier. 

As usual.

At 5:55 p.m. Packing. Moving chairs. Packing. Moving chairs. Facing the door together. 

The Silent Stare. 

There were five minutes left. 

6 p.m. Chairs moved in. Scraping the floor in tandem.

Click. 

Click. 

No one needed to look at that clock. 

They knew. 

6 p.m. It was time.  

They left. 

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The next day. The same emails. The same computer.

Evelyn typed diligently, exactly 135 words per minute, on the minute.

5:55 p.m. Monica, her best friend at the office, came by her desk.

"Hey. Time to leave." She tilted her head to the clock. It was almost time.

Evelyn stared at the manager's office, then at the computer screen in front of her.

"The documents will have to wait." She gestured to the list of office compliances pasted on the magnetic whiteboard in front of the manager's office.

"The doors." Monica gestured to the swing doors with an autolock system. They were ready. "We should go."

Monica gave the wall clock a quick, furtive glance.

5:55 p.m. Everyone stood in a single motion. Everyone headed for the door.

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Everyone, that is, except Evelyn, who stayed to finish just the last two sentences of an email she needed to send out the next day.

Listening wasn't her strong suit. Her fingers continued to tap the keyboard. That email had to go out.

And the lights were impatient. So was the system- it closed without prompting.

The building knew it was time.

And it knew that - too well.

Click.

The sound of doors shutting.

It went from full to empty in a matter of minutes.

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Everyone, that is, except Evelyn, who stayed to finish just the last two sentences of an email she needed to send out the next day.

Listening wasn't her strong suit. Her fingers continued to tap the keyboard. That email had to go out.

The lights flickered. The system began to shut down- it closed without prompting.

6 p.m. The air conditioning went off. Click. The sound of doors shutting. It was going from full to empty in a matter of minutes.

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Then, she remembered.

The colleagues who didn't show up for work. There was never an explanation for them.

There was no furore. No needless investigation.

The disappearances. Those who paused after 6 did not remain. They weren't random.

Those who followed the rule left easily. Those who didn't -

Stayed.

She had an idea. One she latched onto quickly as her colleagues walked through the shutting doors. "Remember Alvin Leong?" The name entered the room and found no place to stop.

An immediate pause in the conversation.

Not a word. They continued, in a quick, single file.

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Evelyn listened - but to her need to complete the email on hand.

The building's alarm system sounded. Too loud.

6 p.m.

The email was deleted without instruction. The task list in front of her began to erase.

Her name card disappeared from her desk. Her name vanished from the email BCC loop.

The alarm system continued to sound.

Then, her chair wasn't there. Neither were the pens and pencils on her desk.

The computer disappeared altogether.

She occupied less space. Her presence no longer needed acknowledgement.

She stood up and walked quickly to the door. It shut.

Holding her in.

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There was a new girl in the office. She ambled over to Evelyn's desk.

She walked over to Monica.

"Is there anything..." The question hovered.

Monica didn't respond. She clearly recognised the question.

Work continued.

5:55 p.m. Almost the end of the day.

6 p.m. Chairs moved in. Scraping the floor in tandem.

Click. 

Click. 

No one needed to look at that clock. 

They knew. They followed the rule.

6 p.m. It was time.  

They left.

All except the new girl.

🕔 ⏳ 🪑 🚶‍♂️ 🚪

Original story by Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin. AI tags are coincidental.

For Vocal's The Rule Everyone Knows Challenge