Just like the boys in grade school, the clowns in high school, the self-centered egos she knew in her college years, the young men in her office were unaware Alice existed in the cubicle three doorways down.

She had to go through the story twice. After the first telling, they'd say "And where do you work, Anne?" or "Did you call the lab?" or "Yeah, I'll be right over," but none of them came.