Junior Builders

“Thank you both for coming,” Val said, shutting the conference room door.

Greg and Jill mumbled a “sure” and an “of course” respectively, but their attention remained on the mass at the center of the table. Val had laid a sheet over the newest product to add a flourish to the unveiling.

“Ted messaged me that he’s running late,” Val said, “so let’s just get started. Without further ado, behold the newest addition to the Black & Decker toy division!” With that, she whipped off the sheet. “It’s a buildable race car for children ages ten and up. It comes with the tools required for its construction and helps develop important STEM and problem-solving skills.”

“Oh, neat!” Jill said. “So it’s like an E–”

“Yes,” Val said, cutting her off, “a Constructor set.”

“No,” Jill said, “I was going to say an Erec–”

“We call it a Constructor,” Val said.

“But I see it too,” Greg said. “It reminds me a lot of an Erec–”

“We say Constructor,” Val said sharply.

“Okay, fine,” Greg said.

“Noted,” Jill said.

Just then, the door swung open, and Ted hobbled in. “I’m sorry I’m late. I’ve been having a rough morning.” His eyes locked on the race car at the center of the table. “Cool! Is that it? You know it kind of reminds me of an Erec–”

“Constructor,” Greg and Jill said in unison.

“Oh, is that what we’re calling it?” Ted slumped into a chair. “To differentiate our product from–”

“Don’t say it,” Val said.

“Um, okay,” Ted said. “And again, I just want to apologize for not getting here on time. My back has been killing me. I don’t know what it is.”

“If I may suggest something,” Jill said, “I think it’s your posture. You’re all bent over and slouching. What you want to do is sit upright and ere–”

“DON’T SAY IT!” Val said.

“Whoops, sounds like maybe I came at a tense time,” said Erica, leaning into the room.

“Just dealing with some marketing language mix-ups,” Val said. “What do you need, Erica?”

Erica stepped fully into the room. She held up her phone. “I was wondering if anyone could help me out. See, I know it’s not work, but I take my crossword streak very seriously, and I’m on the verge of solving my three-thousandth straight daily puzzle. But I’m stumped on three clues.”

“What are they?” Greg said.

Erica read from her screen. “Four-letters, ends with e, ‘Cleveland’s shores.’ Four letters again, starts with e, ‘Genuine to a German.’ And then two letters, starts with o, ‘contrasting conjunction.’”

“That’s simple,” Val said. “It’s Erie, echt, or.”

The room fell silent.

“Oh, one other thing, Erica,” Val said. “You’re fired.”

Erica sighed and wandered out of the room to gather her things.

“It’s kind of weird that she couldn’t get ‘or,’ right?” Jill whispered to Greg.