As Becky was driving from work, she decided to visit her friend, Susan, to thank her for sending Tom Adams to work for her. He had worked really hard on polishing her proposals and making them coherent and easy to understand. She felt really good about her chances at getting something approved by the budget department.

She stopped off and got a couple of bottles of wine, which was very unusual because she didn’t drink, preferring to remain clear headed in case an idea came to her. But she was in a mood to unwind, so she drove to a section of town that was once filled with old warehouses that had been quickly converted into Alpha apartments. 

As Becky was navigating through traffic that was a mixture of Alpha and Beta cars, she saw a road being built adjacent to the one she was on. She started to wonder what it was for, but soon she saw a sign explaining that the new road was being built for the Betas to drive, as their smaller sized cars posed a traffic hazard for Alphas. 

The sign knocked Becky’s good feelings out the window. She got upset. This was a Beta town for ever, and yet, Alphas were only here for a short time and were already segregating Betas like second class citizens. She shook her head in sadness.

She finally reached Susan’s apartment. Grabbing the wine, she took the elevator to the third floor, and making her way down the hall, found the door she was looking for and knocked.

Susan had just come out of the shower, so she answered the door wearing a bathrobe, with a towel wrapped around her head. She was surprised to see Becky, but then saw the bottles of wine and smiled.

Becky entered and made her way to the sofa. Susan grabbed a couple of glasses, and asked Becky what the occasion was. Becky told her all about Tom’s relentless quest to get her ideas approved by the company, and how much he had accomplished in a few days. She just wanted to thank her friend for what she did.

Susan told her that she didn’t do anything special. She just thought that two like-minded people would work really well together, and help each other out in the process. Susan told Becky that she had gone to Personnel and looked at his file, and saw his history. 

Tom had never used a sick day, and used his personal days sparingly, so he was ultra dependable. His employee reviews were always the highest in the company, so his work ethic was unrivaled. It was why the company decided to keep him when they moved to the Alpha workforce. They just didn’t know what to do with him. That’s why he was such an ill fit for where he was. He needed to be in a department that could use his vast talents and experience.

Becky told her friend that she would owe her for what she did. She told her friend that her ideas now had a great chance of getting approved, and she was really excited about submitting them.

The women finished the ridiculously large bottles of wine. Becky was too drunk to drive, so she slept on Susan’s sofa. Susan didn’t have to be at the office until 11, as she had an appointment early in the morning. Both were sure to feel the effects of the wine.

Tom arrived home from work in a fantastic mood. Debbie could see how happy and excited and energized he was. It was like his life had suddenly become Christmas morning all day, every day. He gave his wife a kiss with such passion, that Debbie got the hint. When James went to bed, so would they.

James walked in just after his dad, and he could see the emotions written all over his face. It pumped him up. He had been excited about doing the project with Meg, until she told him about Ms Psychotic. He looked at his dad, and could just picture her mom threatening him, all because his son liked her daughter. But he would cross that bridge when he came to it. 

Debbie cooked steak for dinner, and between James and his father, there wasn’t a piece left. But once again, James cleaned up to give his mom a break. Debbie really appreciated the opportunity to relax with Tom while James did the dishes, and swept and mopped the floor. 

After dinner, James told his parents about the history project, and how he would be working on it with Meg. As long as James didn’t think about her mom, he was able to project excitement in his voice. His parents were happy for him. In fact, James wondered what Meg was up to, so he smiled at his parents and grabbed the cordless phone and went to his room.

Once they heard the door close, Tom and Debbie looked at each other and smiled. Simultaneously, they blurted out that their son was in love, then laughed uncontrollably like teenagers. That’s when Tom grabbed Debbie’s hand and led her to the bedroom. The door closed, the music played, and the bed gently rocked. James didn’t see his parents when he went to hang up the phone, so he went back to his room and read.

Meg got off the school bus and entered her house. She saw her mom sitting at the table, reading a magazine. Meg gave her a hug, and asked her how her day was. 

Her mom, Michelle, replied that it was like any other day. She read about the new roads being built around town that were just for Betas. She was glad. They were a menace with their little toy cars and were putting Alphas in danger just by being on the same road as them.

Her mom’s rant didn’t make Meg feel any better, but she went to the kitchen, got a glass of water, and sat down at the table. She asked her mom if she could discuss something with her. Her mom said yes.

So Meg explained about History class, and the project that was assigned. She told her mom that they had to partner up with a classmate, and the only person left was a Beta boy named James. So she was “forced” to work with him. Meg hated lying to her mom.

Meg could see that familiar look on her mom’s face when there was a Beta mentioned. Meg stressed that she needed his help in order to complete the assignment. 

Her mom grew quiet, but Michelle already had the wheels turning in her head. She looked at her daughter, and told her that this little kid could come and help her, but as soon as the last word was written on the paper, he was to immediately leave, no exceptions. 

Meg was feeling frustrated inside. Damn her mom and her attitude. But she still lived at home, and would have to abide by her rules. So Meg thanked her, and went to her room to do her homework.

She finished quickly, then went to her sister’s room. She explained to Amanda what was going on. She asked her sister that if James called, she would just announce that he was calling to set up a time to work on the project.

But Amanda sensed something was up with her sister, and asked Meg if anything was bothering her. Meg told her about her ever growing feelings for James, and told her about their mom’s rant against Beta drivers. And she was afraid that her mom would find out what was really going on. All she had to do was talk to another mom, or pick up the phone while she and James were talking, and that would be it.

Amanda hugged her sister, and told her that her secret was safe. The sisters then went to the dining room and sat down for dinner. And after the meal, the sisters cleaned up. Then the phone rang.

Amanda answered, and told Meg that “some boy” named James was calling to set up a time to work on a project. Meg grabbed the phone and tried to act nonchalantly as possible. But inside, her heart was beating at the speed of light.

The next morning, James again woke up before the alarm went off. He followed the same pattern as the day before. He showered, dressed, made his breakfast, then did the same for his parents.

But when his parents came out of the bedroom, they had their arms wrapped around each other and and weird smiles on their faces. James took one look at them, and then a thought came into his head, then he shuddered. His parents? Really? Ugh!

James quickly cleaned up, grabbed his backpack, said goodbye, and got on the bus. He couldn’t even think about anything but his parents and what they might have done. Once he was out of the house, Debbie turned to Tom and asked him if James knew what happened. Tom chuckled and told her that yeah, James knew, and then he winked at his wife.

James made his way to his seat next to Meg, and took her hand and absentmindedly started caressing it. She asked him if he was alright, and he told her yes, but he couldn’t get the thought of his parents and what they probably did out of his head.

Susan was finally able to wake Becky up. Becky felt very nauseous, and the room was spinning out of control. Susan told her that she was going to be late for work, so she gave Becky some clean clothes, and watched as her friend ran around trying to get ready.

Tom got to work a little before his 8:30 start time. The office was filling up with employees, so he made his way to Becky’s office. She wasn’t there yet, so he got situated, and got to work on her ideas. About 15 minutes later, she still wasn’t there, so he made himself a cup of coffee, placed it on his desk, then made one for her, so it would be waiting for her as soon as she arrived. 

Once he placed the coffee on her desk, he went right back to work. Suddenly, Becky arrived and she didn’t look so good. Her face was flushed, and she looked like she had spent some time getting to know the porcelain crown. 

Tom could see that Becky was a mess. He went over to her desk. He could smell her breath and he knew. So he  put his hand on her arm and said that if she wanted to go home, he would be able to handle the office.

Becky curtly said she was fine. Tom knew that she was in no condition to work, and if she stayed, she was liable to make a serious mistake without realizing it, and get in trouble. So he told her to go home, he could take care of things there.

Tired from a lack of sleep, with blurred vision, a raging headache, and dealing with a room that never stopped spinning, Becky lashed out without thinking. She moved her arm upward, and with force, causing Tom to stumble backwards and fall on his ass. She yelled that she didn’t need some fucking Jiminy Cricket telling her what to do, and she stood up and stepped towards him, causing Tom to be overcome with fear. She just glared down at him. And then Becky sat back down.

Tom was shaking. He stood up and quietly went to his desk and typed something on his computer, printed it out, signed it, put it in an envelope, placed it on Becky’s desk, and left.

Becky had been trying to massage the pain in her head, and never noticed Tom leaving. She looked up at his desk and saw it was empty. She finally noticed the cup of coffee that he had made her, and saw the envelope next to it simply addressed to Ms Curtiss.

She opened the envelope and read the letter. It was from Tom, informing her that he was quitting, effective immediately. He thanked her for the opportunity to help her with her proposals, but now finally realized that he could no longer work in an Alpha world. He told her that he would make the arrangements to have his personal belongings packed up and sent to his house. And it was signed Tom Adams.

Becky gasped in horror as it suddenly dawned on her what she had done. She was mortified that the one man, Alpha or Beta, who tried his best to help her had been chased out of the office by her reprehensible outburst. Oh my God, she thought, she could have seriously hurt him, when he was only trying to help her. She berated him and insulted him.  And just like that, he was gone. She had done the one thing she swore that she would never do. 

She got up and ran out of the office. She asked the receptionist about Tom, and the lady replied that he had turned in his badge and key, and filled out the forms dealing with his personal belongings. Becky asked the lady to not do a thing with them until she returned.

Tom had dropped everything off with the receptionist, and made the arrangements dealing with his personal belongings. He got into his car and started crying. The only job he had ever known was now gone. He had enough. What Becky said to him, hungover or not, stung him more than what the secretaries had said to him. He would tell Debbie. She would understand.

Tom had his head down on the steering wheel when he heard a heavy tapping on the window. It was Becky. She had tears running down her face. Tom rolled down his window and asked her what she wanted. 

Becky told him that she was totally out of line, and her conduct was inexcusable. She could have hurt him and she begged him for forgiveness. Tom looked at her warily, and asked why? Why should he trust her? He believed her to be different from other Alphas, but when given the chance, acted like one of them, instead of like a human being. He only wanted to look out for her, and his reward, being knocked to the floor, insulted, and threatened. 

He told Becky that he had enough. He was done. He wished her well, and started his car, which only caused Becky to cry uncontrollably. But Tom didn’t drive away. As angry and upset as he was, it bothered him more that Becky was upset. He thought about how sweet she had been to him. And in some strange way could put himself in her place with regards to being hungover and lashing out. 

He turned the car off and got out. He looked up at her, and told her flat out that if she even looked at him funny, he was out the door, and for good. Becky was so relieved and happy that she picked him up and hugged him and gave him a kiss on his cheek and swore to him that she would never behave like that again.

She eventually put Tom down, and the two of them went back into the building. Tom collected his ID Badge and office key from the receptionist and followed Becky back into the office.