Zack hopped up on the curb, his hands stuffed deep into his coat pockets and his breath misting in front of his face. The sun shone like a spotlight onto the entrance to True North Canadian Bank, and Zack unlocked the door and strode inside. He was late, but only by a couple of minutes. He squeezed inside, past the partly opened security gate separating the ATMs from the main bank.
Immediately, a heavy sense of dread rushed over him. It was like walking into a courtroom right before sentencing.
Jamie was behind the counter, starting up the computers at each station. When she spotted him, she hurried to catch him in the main foyer.
“Good morning, Zack. Uhh, I mean Supervisor Zack.” Her hands wrung like she was doing imaginary laundry.
Zack raised his eyebrows. “Morning, Jamie. You okay?” He tried to walk past her, but she stepped in front of him to cut him off.
“Do you know what the meeting today is about?”
Zack frowned. He jangled his keys in his pocket for a moment before realizing that he was also nervous about what the meeting was about. “Actually, I don’t. I’m sure Cory will tell us when the time is right. In the meantime, let’s just do our jobs. Sound good?”
Jamie nodded and headed back behind the counter. Roger, a tubby, balding man who had been a casual teller for much of his retirement, came from the back carrying the “Interested in a low mortgage rate? Talk to our mortgage specialists today!” sign and propped it up in the foyer, near the maze that the customers walked through. “I’d bet that they are cutting more hours or something,” he said.
Jamie’s hair fanned as she whirled. “Really? I need this job.”
Zack pumped the air with his hands in his best calm the fuck down gesture. “Guys, that is pure speculation. Let’s not get wound up. We have no idea what the meeting is about.”
Roger shrugged. He sported a white goatee and his jowls bounced as he spoke. “I don’t know, Zack. It has only been getting less and less busy. Writing’s on the wall, I think. Time to think about the big R.”
Zack’s phone rang. A number he didn’t recognize. He silenced it and slid the phone back into his pocket and smiled. “Let’s just do our best. We can talk about the meeting at the meeting time. No talking about the meeting until the end of the day. Cool?”
Roger sighed and moved off towards his station and Jamie huffed. Zack pushed the half-open security gate into the wall panel and locked it.
The door opened, and Sydney walked in holding a coffee. “Morning everyone. Sorry I’m late.” She walked over to Zack and touched his shoulder. “What do you think this meeting is about?”
Zack rubbed his face with his hands. “I just told Roger and Jamie to stop talking about it. I don’t know what the meeting is about, but I need to keep things cool, alright?”
Sydney flinched. “Whoa there. Chill out. Just a question.”
“Sorry. I’m a little edgy today. I’m worried.”
Sydney nodded. “Same. Take care of yourself. I’ll just be in the tech office if you need.”
Zack tried to relax his jaw. If he kept on clenching his teeth, he would have a headache later. “Thanks.”
Sydney went off into her office and closed the door. Zack started checking the stock and doing his morning tasks when his phone rang again. It was the same number. He ignored it.
His phone buzzed again and Zack grumbled as he dug it out of his pocket. It was his mom.
“We got a past due letter from a credit card company with your name on it. Are you sure you’re ok? You are always welcome back home :).”
Zack’s hands shook as he typed a message back. “No worries. I just cancelled that one, so it must just be a little bit of money carried over. I’ll take care of it. Thanks mom!”
He tossed his phone in the drawer underneath his station as the arms on the clock moved to nine o’clock. Zack took some practiced deep breaths and gulped the acid reflux back down into his churning gut.
Cory slipped out of his office and unlocked the front door, letting the first customers into the branch. The customers snaked into the lineup, and Cory threw a quick wave at Zack.
Zack jumped out of his station and tried to catch Cory. Cory was nearly running to his office, but Zack still met him at his door. He had to hold a hand out to catch the door before it closed.
Cory peeked his face out. “Oh, hey! Sorry Zack. I can’t really talk. Lots to get done today.”
Zack looked over his shoulder. Every teller was staring in his direction. Even some of the customers were watching. The tension was palpable.
“I just wanted to ask about the meeting today. As supervisor, can you tell me anything about what it will be about?”
Cory shook his head. “Sorry, man. I’m not comfortable with telling anyone.”
Zack awkwardly stood there for a moment. Then Cory’s eyes brightened. “Hey, actually, do you mind standing up with me in front of the staff when I share the message? That would be really nice.”
“Uh, can I think about it?” Zack asked. He’d been manipulated, hell, he’d been the manipulator, often enough to see that Cory just wanted him as a meat shield. This message sounded grim.
Cory chuckled. “Sure! Sure. No problem.”
And then the door to the office was closed. Zack meandered back to his station.
After the initial few customers at the beginning of the day, the bank became less and less busy. Zack started to think that Roger might be right, that the job he so desperately needed was going to be cut back.
He busied himself with tidying his workspace and going over the numbers, checking and rechecking balances. He ran a program that would tell him which customers were eligible for programs the bank was running and tried not to think about the rushing pressure that was building in his mind, like the spring runoff that would be flooding their communities in the next few weeks.
Near the end of the day, Zack’s phone rang again. He heard it buzzing obnoxiously in the drawer in his station. He yanked the drawer open and picked up the phone as he made his way to the bathroom for some privacy.
“Hello? Why do you keep calling me?” Zack asked as he burst into the bathroom. He locked the door behind him.
“…Uh, hi. Is this Zachary Cooper?”
“Yeah. What. Do. You. Want.” He didn’t mean to be an asshole, but with everything in his life ratcheting up, it was hard to stay in control.
“My name is Jason Johannes with Coast Credit Solutions. I am calling on behalf of your True North Canadian MasterCard account ending in zero-four-two-five. I’m calling today as our records indicate that your outstanding balance of, let’s see here, $2043.91, is significantly past due, and the next escalation is to go to collections. We need to arrange payment immediately to ensure this does not escalate and negatively impact your credit score. Can you provide the balance, or the minimum payment of $216.12 immediately to avoid this?”
Zack saw his face in the mirror through the stall. He looked like he was about to vomit, his face was so pale. His throat felt like it was closing and he fought off the tears that had already begun to fall. The phone shook in his hand like a flag resisting a gale force wind.
“…Mr. Cooper?”
Zack hung up the phone and dropped to his knees. He filled the toilet bowl a few times and then slumped onto the floor. He stood up on shaking legs and exited the stall. He washed his face and mouth at the sink and stared at himself in the mirror.
“FUCK!” He yelled. He hammered his fists on the counter a few times for good measure. He cried and sniffed as he glared at his puffy face.
He was tired of being a loser.
The bathroom door shifted, like someone pushed on it only to find that the door was locked. Zack let out one last racking sob and then wiped his face with the bottom of his shirt.
“One minute!” He called.
There was a noise, like someone answering him, but Zack ignored it. He cleaned himself up as best that he could and then when he felt presentable, he went over and unlocked the door.
It was Sydney. Her eyes went wide for a second when she saw him, questioning, but Zack shook his head. She got the message. “Uh, the meeting is starting. Cory is looking for you.”
Zack wiped at his nose with his sleeve one last time. Was the day already over? How long had he been in there?
“‘Kay,” he said.
He pushed past Sydney and made his way out into the foyer. The bank was empty of customers and the digital clock read just after four. The staff eyed him, afraid, like cattle being led into the slaughterhouse.
Cory put up his hands. “Here he is! Alright,” he moved over and threw an arm around Zack’s shoulders.
“Okay everyone, there is an announcement from corporate. Now, I need you to know that this is not our decision, but it is coming from the bank headquarters.”
“Just tell us what is happening, Cory,” Someone called out.
Cory chuckled and clutched onto Zack again. Zack tried to shrug his grip off, but he held firm. “So, unfortunately, on May thirtieth, True North Canadian bank will be closing this branch.”