Miss Byng had obviously gone on holiday and would not be returning. That left him with the most seniority in the department. That entitled him to her office.
Clive turned the knob and swung the door open.
He would need to redecorate. All this heavy antique furniture and all these paintings of people on horses. She always was a little princess, wasn’t she? So high and mighty, walking around with her riding crop as if she might smack you with it for daring to question her command. Acting like a military leader, like her father, when she’d had everything handed to her on a silver platter. He would be much a better head of the department than she ever was. He understood what it was like to be everyone else. He knew what it was like to have to actually earn things. He’d be more approachable, more common!
He shut the door behind him and locked it.
Clive approached the window. A room with a view. That was how you knew you’d made it. And now he finally had.
He pulled the curtains open and looked down upon the Parade.
It was magnificent. The gargantuan “Our Glorious Victory” statue stood dead center, the Broadcast Tower loomed imperiously behind it. And all the little people down below just like he’d been, going to and fro. Although… they should all be heading to work, but they seemed to be running around hitting each other. Clive squinted, trying to make sense of what was happening down there.
Oh, that’s right. Now he remembered. It must be the annual Tag Festival. Time certainly did fly when your career was progressing at breakneck speed, didn’t it? It didn’t seem that long at all since last year’s festival. It’d been so hot then that everyone sweated through their clothes. The cooler weather this year would make the festival much more enjoyable.
When Clive finally looked away from the view he’d worked all this time for, he realized it was now 11:35 and no one else had come into the office yet. They must have gotten caught up in the festival. He’d have to give out some reprimands when they finally did show up, but that was just as well. It was an opportunity to set the tone of his administration from Day One. Firm, but fair.
In the meantime, all he could do was wait. He plopped down in Victoria’s brown leather chair, leaned back, put his feet up on her desk, and took a Joy. He wondered who he’d have to speak to about getting Victoria’s name plate on the door swapped out for his.
Reading Comprehension Questions:
1. What is “dramatic irony”? How is it used in this chapter?
2. In your opinion, is Clive’s assessment of Victoria Byng’s character accurate? Why or why not? Cite sources not provided in the text.