He arrived at the meeting unfashionably early. There were twenty seats to choose from. He agonised over the decision for a while, then flopped into the nearest one and took off his jacket. He was hot, sweating from the rush to get here only to find no one else had arrived. He’d not missed anything, as he had feared. No one could be annoyed with him, or angry. He had inconvenienced no one except himself. Yet this was lost time.
He fidgeted, knowing he should read the report. He took it out and laid it on the table, but his eyes glossed over the words. He couldn’t concentrate.
Why was no one else here yet? Didn’t they care? Or understand?
He shuffled in his chair, squeaked it across the floor, got up and strode to the window. In the streets below, a car pulled up. Three people got out, laughing. Carefree. They headed towards the building.
He wiped sweat from his brow, went back to his chair and waited.