The One With The Privacy Screens

A few months ago, the head of Facilities dragged a pair of privacy screens up to my department's workspace. She said the screens were free samples from a vendor, but she didn't have a good use for them. Also, she told us she felt bad that our cubicles were built with leftover materials scrounged from demolitions in other parts of the building and thought we'd appreciate some brand new pieces.

"Try them out for a while, and if you like them, they're yours. If not, I'll find some other place for them."

We had great fun goofing around with them for weeks. Every day we pushed them around and tried different things.

We considered using them as walls to frame a coffee or snack station. 

We joked about using them for blanket fort supports or turning them sideways to make a tunnel.

There were several conversations about arranging them in a way that would block other people's access to our Ecommerce alcove.

At one point, we completely boxed in the intern's desk.

Eventually we ran out of silly things to do, and the screens settled into comfortable places where they, surprisingly, provided actual privacy to a couple cubicles that were exposed to passing foot traffic.

Monday morning, I arrived to find all the screens arranged around my desk. It had been so long since the last time we'd moved them around, that I doubted any of my coworkers had put them there. I pushed one aside, and sat down to work.

As each coworker filed in, we had the same exchange:

They: What's with the screens?

Me: That's were they were when I got here. I figure it's a prank. I thought you did it.

They: Nope, wasn't me.

We all tossed around a few half-hearted accusations, then we moved the screens back where they belonged.

"Are we ever gonna find out who did it?"

"If we say nothing about it to anyone," I said, "whoever comes by and asks why we moved the screens back will be the the guilty one."

We dove into our tasks and waited. Then I quickly forgot about the whole thing.

The day passed without any other interesting incidents. Members of my squad started leaving for the day, and I made a trip to the bathroom before my own drive home. 

When I returned to gather my things, my two besties were standing in our workspace with Matt, a senior manager from another department, looking a little sheepish.

"Well, we found out who moved the screens!"

As expected, the guilty party noticed we had put the screens away, and he couldn't help but remark about it when he passed by. And unwittingly tattled on himself.

Matt explained that he had been alone in the office last Friday night and thought it'd be funny to block my desk.

Why me? Ah, that answer has some history...

Back in January or February, the CEO's daughter got married and the bridal shower had been held in one of the bigger conference rooms. The next day, all of the balloon decorations from the shower appeared in our work alcove. Our own director thought it'd be funny to stuff the balloons up in our space rather than throw them out. We were delighted and made several nice arrangements out of them. 

Many people made remarks about the party decor as they passed by. Matt was one of them. He teased our team about getting special treatment and pouted that no one ever gave him balloons.

Well, you KNOW as soon as he walked away I gathered up as many balloons as I could and snuck them into Matt's office. I didn't have any tape to hang them, and I was in a hurry not to get caight in the act, so I just left them loose to roll around on his desk and floor.

A while later, Matt came around to thank me for the ballon saying it was very nice.

"The" balloon, he had said. I thought that odd, but I let it go.

A while later, he came back and said, "Very nice, very colorful."

Was he so happy about a half dozen balloons that he felt the need to thank me twice? Again, I let it go.

The third time he came around, he marched straight up to my desk and said, "Okay, I get it, we've had some fun, but I don't need any more balloons, okay?"

I thought for a moment and figured out what had happened.

After I'd left the balloons in Matt's office, most of them had bounced around and blown under his desk. When he thanked me for "the" balloon, one was all he had seen. Each time he left his office and returned, another balloon would bounce into view making it seem as if I had visited again and left another. And another.

It was a beautiful, totally unintended, recurring prank.

::chef's kiss::

So yeah. Ten months later, on a dull Friday evening, he finally got his revenge. 😂