I turned left at the driveway to Eastham Robotics, the company where I had been working for almost 5 years. Recently I had gotten my driver’s licence and got myself a car. Before you expect a shiny new, black Porsche or a silver Mercedes: My new car is a 1994 Fiat, blue, with a radio from the dinosaur age and no steering support. The latter means that you have to use all of your arm muscles when attempting to turn the steering wheel while the car is standing. That car is all I can afford but I am proud of it. Not to mention the shiny new Porsche would greatly suffer if a beginner like me provided for its first scratches.

I pulled up to the parking spot of the parking place reserved for the company and got out of my car. When I turned the key to lock it, I noticed I had not parked as well as the other people did and part of me started debating whether I should get back into the car and start another parking attempt when I heard a voice behind me: “Better take some extra driving lessons so you won’t damage anything here, huh?” I knew that voice. It was Jeff from Controlling. The same Jeff who made the ladies from the IT department furious by asking them who they turned to for help because apparently women had a harder time with electronics.

Jeff was always well dressed and showed perfect manners with his superiors. When you first met him you would never assume him being a rude guy with bad manners. But sooner or later, he showed is set of mind on certain aspects of society.

“Morning, Jeff” was the only thing I said after I had quickly decided not to re-park the car and proceed to the building instead. Further remarks would not have been of any use, since Jeff never admitted any fault of his. Instead, he continued.

As the week went on, I even witnessed him making “creative” remarks about how Aubrey Wildford, the head of Accounting, must have made her way to the position she had today. After Jeff said what he thought he had to say, Aubrey went straight into her office without another word and most of the other employees in the open office space either went outside for a coffee, smoke or any other undertaking which was far more promising than the prospect of being in one room with Jeff from Accounting for more time than necessary.

This went on for many weeks. I pulled up to the parking, on some days Jeff was there any could never leave without any comment about me, my driving style and about how I had parked my car.

Then, one morning, everything seemed like it usually was when I turned left at the driveway to the parking until I saw the smoke. I came closer when I saw three apparently damaged cars. I drove past them, parked my Fiat securely and locked the door, then walked towards the scenery. There was someone walking around and shouting, waving his hands. His hair was unruly and looked like it had been modified by furious hands. It was the hair of Jeff from Accounting. On his right leg, there was a black mark, like something had burned straight through the white fabric of his jeans. “Morning, Jeff” I said when I walked past.

I later learned how the scenery I saw actually developed: Jeff was pulling up in his car, smoking as he usually did, when his ID card for the building fell down from the board next to the steering wheel. In an attempt to retrieve it from the floor, the hot ashes from his cigarette fell down on his right leg. The sudden, unexpected and unknown pain made  him move his leg onto the gas unintentionally. The car made an elegant leap forward into the side of the car to the right. In agony over having damaged something for the first time in his life (according to his wording) he put in the reverse gear and went on the gas again and used a little too much force. That was when his back lights touched the left side of the car next to him. The smoke that then went up from Jeff’s car was not really from the impact of the crash but rather from Jeff not having paid any attention to the cooling water being empty. The motor of his black car was giving out.

“Morning, Jeff” was also Aubrey Wildfields greeting to the Jeff with wild hair this morning. No further additions to the greeting were necessary.