ref: b9fbb17c04e4ccfb2021dac818e514351ca8f646
dir: /troff/0604.ms/
.LP \& .ce .sp |4.25i .PP .ps 12 .CW ░ The firings went about as well as could be expected, under the circumstances. Nobody wanted to be laid off, which was understandable. But the readymade disloyalty came as a surprise to Tom. After three decades they all turned on him instantly. .PP .ps 12 Dimension Man: "I just don't see why we're cutting headcount in a record profit year." .PP .ps 12 Sonic Boom: "We've been speculating about this all day, and boy are my arms tired." .PP .ps 12 Eva: "I can't believe I'm even still sitting here." .PP .ps 12 Super Sonic: [Glancing at Eva, opening a new line of subtext] "Let's go." .PP .ps 12 Eva and Super Sonic exit. .PP .ps 12 Raven: "Ha ha. All this because the coke turned black? White people are hilarious." .PP .ps 12 No. \fIThat\fR wasn't it. .PP .ps 12 He hadn't fired anyone that day. What was he \fIthinking?\fR He was confusing \fItoday\fR with that \fIother\fR time, in that \fIother\fR place. .PP .ps 12 Tom slapped himself. .PP .ps 12 Snap out of it, idiot. .PP .ps 12 He tried again. .PP .ps 12 The firings went about as well as could be expected considering no one was getting fired. Nobody said anything rash. Nobody said anything, at all. He was heartened by the team's unanimous expression of support for his difficult decision. For the first time in a long time he felt like a real leader. .PP .ps 12 Dimension Man: "I figure, they're not going to cut headcount in a record profit year." .PP .ps 12 Sonic Boom: "The suits are picking up the bill!" .PP .ps 12 Eva: "Oh my God, I was sure we were all getting fired." .PP .ps 12 Super Sonic: [Snoring] [But faking it] .PP .ps 12 Raven: "Ha ha. So what do we do with all this black coke?" .PP .ps 12 \fIThat\fR was more like it.