After the school day ended, James was intrigued by Meg, the giant girl who said hi that morning. He enjoyed spending some time with her. In his mind was a raging debate. It was back and forth. He thought, and then decided. He asked Meg for her phone number. He was taking a big chance. She didn't know him all that well, but he thought she was very pretty with a personality to match. 

He tried to gage her reaction after his question. She looked at him, and all of a sudden he thought that he had made a mistake. He was going to apologise to her when she reached into her large purse and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. She wrote down her number, and the best time to call.

James was relieved. The last thing he needed was to have this giant girl think of him as some kind of weirdo. James thanked her, and asked her how her first day of school went.

Meg said it went well. Being in a school designed for her size was so helpful. She had been stuck in a gym the last three years of grade school, since she and her fellow students were too big for the classrooms. So she appreciated some normalcy.

James was the first stop on the way home, so he said goodbye to Todd and Meg, and as he was leaving, asked her if he could her later at the time she wrote. She told him yes. And with that, he exited the bus and noticed his Dad's car in the driveway. He went into his house.

When he got to the kitchen, his dad was a little upset. His mom had her hand on top of his father's. James asked him what was wrong. At first his parents tried to play it off as nothing was wrong. But James asked again. And his dad finally told him about his day.

Tom began by saying that he was called into the office of the mine manager. He had been there for twenty years, foreman for the last twelve. But he was informed that since the mine was undergoing a massive expansion, all the new hires would be people known as Alphas. They could be more productive than the regular sized crew. And with their increased size, foreman of similar sizes were needed. He was being “promoted” to an office job.

However, all the new secretaries hired were Alphas. His new job was as an accounts receivable specialist, meaning he was a glorified office boy. He had to listen to the secretaries. He asked for the rest of the afternoon off to consider the job.

James felt sorry for his dad. All those years at the mine, all that loyalty, everything he did to keep the peace between workers and management, and his reward was basically a demotion. James started to get upset. He felt his dad's pain. But there was nothing he could do about it.

After dinner, he dialed the number that Meg gave him, and at the time she wrote. The phone rang and rang, until a female voice answered and said hello. James asked if Meg was there. And the girl on the other end asked who was calling. James introduced himself. The girl said Meg was and yelled that she had a phone call.

Once Meg got on the phone, it was a conversation consisting of small talk. Eventually the conversation drifted towards school. Both Meg and James agreed that history was their favorite subject. And after a few jokes and funny observations, they agreed that as a first day of school, it went smoothly. 

The conversation lasted for a good hour, before the goodbyes were spoken. James got off the phone and checked in on his parents. They were sitting on the sofa. James could tell that his father hadn't really gotten over the sting of that afternoon. He asked his father if he had made any sort of decision on his future.

His father wasn't happy, but he decided that he needed to work to maintain health insurance for him and the family. He would accept the new position that was offered, because he didn't have a lot of alternatives. So he had to make the best of a rotten situation.

James didn't sleep well at all. It seemed every dream he had involved his dad. He woke up I'm a sad mood. Twenty years with the mine, and his reward was a big steaming pile of shit on his head.

But after getting ready, he caught the bus. Meg sat in the seat in front of his. But she noticed the sad look on his face. Once he was seated, she turned around and asked him if anything was wrong.

James was reluctant at first, but ultimately told her about his father, and the situation at work. And how after twenty years he was being demoted to a glorified office boy. And how it really stung his dad. 

Meg carefully treaded into a subject that was clearly an issue with James. Come off as too aloof, and run the risk of  alienating him. Too sympathetic, and it might seem she was being overbearing. 

But what she didn't want to tell him was that her father just got promoted to foreman at the mine. Her father basically replaced his father. And she could guess how he would react. But she thought James was a good looking guy with a personality to match. And if she had any chance of forming a long-term friendship with him, she should be totally honest with him.

The bus arrived at school. James found out that Todd's father had a meeting with the manager of the mine this morning. He could guess the outcome. Another office boy for the Alphas. He thought of their fathers running all the errands that Alphas thought beneath them. 

But he needed to concentrate on school. After homeroom, first class was Biology, and the teacher was known to have a quiz the first day. She did this to test the students knowledge.

Meg and James had nothing to worry about. The quiz was easy. He thought it was silly that he was sweating it, but he never knew what teachers would look for in their class. After class, Meg asked James if they could talk later, like maybe at the end of lunch like the day before. James said no problem. He was intrigued. He had no idea what she wanted to talk about, but he would listen as best he could, in case she had any problem that she needed to get off her chest.