Femi's First Week (Part 2)

At 9:45 on Tuesday, Ms. Ortiz put her finger on the phone. “Okay, so. This button starts the call. This one is the volume. And when you don't know a button,” she said, “you ask me. Two words. Which button?”

“Won't that look bad?” Femi said. “Asking all the time?”

“An accident looks worse,” Ms. Ortiz said.

At ten o'clock, Femi started the call. After two minutes the client asked for one more person on the line, and Femi didn't know that button.

She looked up. “Which button?”

Ms. Ortiz pointed. Femi pressed it, the client's colleague joined the call, and nobody laughed.

Femi asked six questions that day, four on Wednesday, and two on Thursday. Tuesday was better than Monday. Thursday was better than Tuesday.

On Friday a new phone arrived for the meeting room. Ms. Ortiz stood in front of it with her hands in her pockets for a long time. Then she turned around.

“Femi,” she said. “Which button?”

Femi came over, looked at the new phone, and pointed at the one on the left.

“Thanks,” Ms. Ortiz said.

It was the best day of Femi's week.