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“I quit.”
The words were simple and plain, matter of fact, even. They held no inflection that could suggest fear or hesitation. They were simply stated as if giving the time, the lunch options, or any other mundane point of conversation.
The tone Abe was using did not at all reflect the situation he had placed himself into, standing in front of his boss in his very own office, telling the Glukkon straight to his face that he was quitting.
Yet, that’s exactly what was happening.
It was absolutely foolhardy, and not at all the markings of an Employee of the Year (or any other worker at RuptureFarms, if they wanted to live a semi-decent amount of years). Yet here the blue Mud was, saying something so outlandish right to Molluck’s face without a single breath of unease.
This had to be a joke.
“Sir?”
Molluck blinked, his confusion and utter bewilderment momentarily blinding him to the Mudokon that stood before him. He mentally chided himself for letting his demeanor slip as he scowled.
“What?”
“I said I qui–”
“I heard what you said, that’s not what I–!”
That scowl etched itself even deeper into Molluck’s face, growing more intense by the second as Abe’s demure resolve refused to crack, the Mudokon’s hands gently clasped in front of him and not a single bit of fear in his eyes.
He was just standing there, calmly, like his entire life wasn’t on the proverbial (and literal) chopping block.
Molluck was severely regretting letting the little runt up here. If he had known the blue bastard was asking to speak with him just so he could spit in his face, he would have had him thrown into a meat grinder ahead of time and been done with it. He couldn’t even reconcile why he had agreed to speak with him. Just because Abe was named Employee of the Year didn’t entitle him to any special perks (heaven forbid). If anything, it was an excuse to make him work even harder.
And Abe did work hard. He put in genuine effort, not that Molluck would ever admit something like that. If he did, he might as well throw himself against the blades alongside the Mud.
Molluck took a deep breath, his eyes locked onto Abe’s unwavering disposition as the cigar between his lips burned with the same intensity as his souring mood.
Maybe that was it. Perhaps he had smoked one too many cigars today and was currently suffering from smoke inhalation. Or maybe some of the Sligs had put Abe up to this little gaffe, under the threat of severe bodily harm if he didn't go through with it.
Or maybe Abe hit his head. Wouldn’t be the first time.
Whether it was Molluck having some toxic fume fueled mental hallucination, or Abe suffering from some horrific head trauma or intense coercion, this could not stand. No matter how good of a worker he was.
It was a shame, really, but there was only one way to properly deal with this.
“Hey!”
Molluck called to his assistant, who stood dutifully behind him.
“Get over here and knock some sense into– Get your hands off the window!”
Molluck had glanced over his shoulder only to see his assistant being anything but attentive. The Slig spun on his heal immediately, leaving obvious and incriminating smudges on the window of Molluck’s office.
“Sorry, boss! I was just lookin’! Ya know, there’s always something going on, I didn’t mean to– Ah, shit…” the Slig looked at the mess he had left behind on the pristine glass, “I can fix that, one second–” He raised his hand to wipe at the smudges, only succeeding in making them larger and even messier.
“Wait, wait, I can– Lemme try this–”
He continued to rub at them, the squeak of the glass filling the office. Molluck bit down on his cigar to the point where it was a miracle he didn’t bite through it completely.
He caught Abe’s reflection in the glass. The Mudokon was leaning to the side, looking past Molluck to the Slig desperately trying to clean his own mess.
Molluck noticed Abe’s fingers twitching as he turned to look at him. For a moment, Molluck thought he would actually go and do his job—That the blue Mud would step around his desk to clean the blemish himself. Instead, as Abe noticed Molluck’s eyes on him, he simply straightened himself out, stilling the twitching in his hands by re-clasping them with the same air of quiet resolve he’d had since walking in.
The two stared at each other for a moment, the confusion and anger in Molluck’s mind battling for supremacy as the sound of squeaking glass was replaced by squeaking pants.
“Okay, I give up. Sorry boss.”
Molluck’s assistant came to stand at his side, looking between the irate Glukkon and the suspiciously calm Mudokon.
“So, uh, what’s going on here, exactly?”
Molluck’s fury was immediately shifted onto his assistant. The Slig jumped, crumpling under his boss’s intense glare.
“I’m quitting.”
Abe spoke up without hesitation, causing both Glukkon and Slig to turn their gazes towards him. Both seemed baffled, but Molluck didn’t recover nearly as fast as his assistant, who perked up almost instantly.
“Woah, really? That’s crazy! I didn’t know you could do that,” the Slig said, sounding genuinely impressed.
Abe’s response was to simply shrug. He even offered a little smile when the Slig seemed to get even more excited.
“Ya know, I’ve been thinking about quitting too,” the Slig said, just as nonchalantly, “But I thought you had to do that whole “two week notice” thing.”
“Oh, really?” Abe asked. He seemed worried for the first time since walking in, but it quickly faded as he now offered Molluck the same shrugging response, “Sorry.”
“Yeah, sorry boss, but I’m quitting too. Nothing personal, but you are kinda mean.”
Molluck barely had time to blink as his now former personal assistant walked around his desk to go over to Abe, who turned to leave once the Slig was at his side.
“I guess we gave him more of a “two second” notice,” the Slig joked, lightly nudging Abe as the two made their way out of the office. Abe genuinely laughed as they walked out, the doors closing smoothly behind them.
Molluck stood in almost silence, hearing the muffled yet excited voices of his former Employee of the Year and personal assistant beyond his office doors. However, their voices were quick to fade as they walked away, and soon enough, Molluck was left in complete silence.
There were a lot of things Molluck could say about what just happened. There were a lot of things he probably should have said before Abe and his assistant walked out on him.
However, confusion had managed to win the battle and baffle him long enough for the two to make their exit.
Now, only one word managed to come to mind and escape into the empty room.
“What?”