Small Places : Nick L Belardes [99 of 128]

• Thirty-one.
• Latrice, one of the downstairs secretaries, holds a calendar to her chest. "Has anyone seen Vishnu? I just think he's so cute," she says.
• Me: "Uh oh. He's got fans." Mike: "He is rather cute." Secretaries make Vishnu's hands sweat so much his fingers slip off the keyboard.
• Me: "Just go out with one of them, Vish." Vishnu: "You don't understand. We're not of the same mental zipcode."
• Sometimes I wonder where Vishnu has gone when not at his desk. He doesn’t wander the halls. He’s not inside the vending machine.
• I wonder if he's somewhere, keyboard in hand, tapping away, solving the Web mysteries of Buildicon with the sparkling lights of his mind.
• Reality: He’s probably hiding from the likes of Latrice and other Vishnu groupies. Pretty soon I hear Mulani angry and talking loud.
• Mulani: "Not only have they gypped us at the supply cabinet. Now they're not bringing us our mail. Yet they brought Vishnu a calendar!"
• Me: "Well, she does have a crush on him. Why be mad? Was the calendar the wrong color? Was it missing a swimsuit model?"