The waiting room.
The walls are off white in colour. The carpet. Heavy wearing short pile and grey in colour. The chairs are sturdy silver aluminium framed with the sitting material. Green in colour. There are photographs and prints in frames black in colour. Hung randomly at different heights. On walls of different directions.There is a fresh water dispenser. Blue with single use plastic cups. Almost translucent in colour. A circular clock. White with black numbers. Narrow plastic frame. Hanging just out of sight.
In the centre of the room. A large plant container. Just over a metre high. Smooth shiny surface. Marble finish and black in colour. There is a metal wired self supporting dividing wall. Standing between the offices and the waiting area. Grey in colour. The chairs for the clients are spaced in lines. Their backs. Some against the wall. Facing the plant container. Some against the plant container. Facing the metal wired wall.
At anyone time and anyone reason. For purposes only known to those walking to and from a desk at the left to an office at the right.Some in trouser suits in comfortable shoes. Some with hair tied up. In several colours.A name tag. Pinned to a breast pocket. A clip board and a pen in hand. Green in colour.
The clients that come and go. Are of all ages. Gender. Nationalities. Some dressed in their Sunday best. Some not.Through one eye of one waiting client. Together with all the other clients. Sitting. Reading. Stalking the internet. Some snoozing with boredom.
An exercise in observation. Begins with putting names to the people. As they wait. Sitting on the silver aluminium framed chairs.
A staff member. Patricia. The name on her tag. Arrives at an opening in the metal wired wall. A clip board in hand. Everyone comes to attention. Silence engulfs the room. Eyes and ears turn to hear. If it’s their name. That is called. Patricia. Looks up from the clip board. Her mouth opens. Her lips move. Her voice commands respect. Sandra Whitehead please.
All eyes turn. Who is this Sandra Whitehead. She stands up. Follows Patricia away.
I don’t pick that name. She looked more like a ……………….. to me
Anyway been waiting 45 minutes.