Chapter 1:
“The Day Everything Changed”
It all started on an unusually quiet Monday at Peculiar & Partners, the most boring accounting firm in downtown Chicago. Tom Jenkins, a 32-year-old accountant with a secret passion for practical jokes, was staring at his computer screen, pretending to analyze spreadsheets while actually planning his next grand prank.
The office was housed in a glass-and-steel skyscraper that looked like every other glass-and-steel skyscraper in the city. The only distinguishing feature was a giant bronze statue of the company’s founder, Herbert Peculiar, in the lobby – a man so dull that pigeons refused to sit on his head.
Tom’s arch-nemesis, Margaret “The Spreadsheet Queen” Thompson, sat in her cubicle across the hall, meticulously organizing her paper clips by size and color. She was known throughout the office for her three great loves: alphabetizing everything, correcting other people’s grammar, and reporting fun of any kind to Human Resources.
On this particular Monday, Tom had finally perfected his masterpiece: he had spent the weekend programming Margaret’s computer to replace every instance of the word “accounting” with “interpretive dancing” and “spreadsheet” with “magic show.” The best part? The changes would only appear on her screen.
As Margaret began her morning routine of sending her usual 47 emails about proper stapler etiquette, chaos erupted. Her first email to the entire office read:
“URGENT: Quarterly interpretive dancing reports due! Please submit your magic show analysis by EOD.”
The entire 15th floor erupted in poorly suppressed giggles. Margaret, oblivious to the cause of the amusement, continued sending emails with increasing frustration:
“ATTENTION: The interpretive dancing department requires immediate magic show verification!”
By lunch, Margaret was on the verge of a meltdown, especially when the CEO replied asking if she’d been drinking. She furiously typed an email to IT support:
“EMERGENCY: All my interpretive dancing terminology has been compromised! My magic shows are in complete disarray!”
Little did Tom know, this was just the beginning. Margaret, beneath her perfectly pressed pantsuit and severe bun, had been hiding her own mischievous side. As she stormed off to IT, a small smile played at the corners of her mouth. The war was about to begin.