You notice the first note on your desk before you’ve even set your bag down, a small square of yellow paper beaming up at you. Someone in Dispatch has written 'Have a great day!! :D' in shaky handwriting, accompanied by a doodle of what might be meant to be a dolphin. Or possibly a seal. The artist is… enthusiastic, at least. And the note leaver might have remained anonymous if it wasn't for the very obvious water smudges.

You don’t need to guess who it’s from. Half the office has already turned their heads, smothering grins like schoolchildren watching a crush unfold in real time.

The second note appears at lunch. The third waits on your locker. The fourth comes taped to a tiny bag of gummy sweets with a label that reads 'For energy!'

By the time you reach your desk the following morning, someone has placed a fully wrapped parcel on your chair. You freeze. The office does not.

Across the room, Robert leans toward another Chase and mutters far too loudly, “That boy is down bad.” Chase else snorts.

Then Herman appears around the corner. He’s carrying his mop bucket, a faint trail of water marking the anxious drip of nerves behind him, and the moment he sees you holding the parcel, he stops dead. His ears go crimson.

“O-oh- that’s n-not. I m-mean, it is but it’s not- I d-didn’t mean. I mean, I did mean-” He is seconds away from short-circuiting. The room watches with the hungry fascination of people witnessing live theatre. He swallows hard, straightens, and tries so valiantly to appear composed. “I j-just… thought… you m-might like it,” he manages, every syllable trembling. “Th-that’s all.”

Robert coughs from across the office and you catch him give a nod towards the door, encouraging you to save Herman from the torture of office humiliation.