I have been working in this law office for years now. I sort the snail mail, answer the phones, set appointments for our clientele, schedule the conference room, greet the clients, and perform other administrative tasks as necessary. The staff services a team of four attorneys. Things run pretty much the same from day-to-day...until yesterday.
Yesterday, the Office Manager hired a brand new law clerk. He is an older law student from the nearby university who decided to start college later in life, thanks to his Veterans Education Assistance Program. The Office Manager showed him around our establishment and then introduced him to all of us who were available.
Our office had an independent law library, updated regularly as laws change. He was set up in the law library where the walls were lined with bookshelves packed with volumes of orderly beige and burgundy law books. The wall that wasn't covered by books was glass and shrouded by a curtain of white mini-blinds. The room was furnished with a large table, a couple of chairs and, of course, a computer. A large stack of loose papers sat beside the computer next to a half-empty pencil holder and stacks of yellow legal pads. Looks like this guy would have to hit the ground running.
A week had passed. I noticed our new law clerk had been working late almost every night. We were all working extra hours on a case for an important client. One of the partners had treated us all to pizza and salad to thank us for our hard work. The law clerk had confined himself to the library and had the blinds closed. I prepared a plate for him, knocked on the library door and opened it. He was concentrating intensely over law books and writing furiously on a yellow legal pad.
I took the opportunity to check the room out, check him out, utter a little greeting, drop the food, and leave. I repeated the same delivery the next night, and the night after. That guy was really tense.
