Lisa Has Lunch With Her Team

Every month, on the last Friday, the whole team at the studio went out for lunch together.

It was a small tradition that Helen had started years ago. No laptops, no phones on the table and no talking about work. That was the only rule.

"Just lunch and good company," Helen said on Friday morning. "We'll leave at twelve thirty."

Lisa liked the idea, but she was also a little nervous.

At work, it was easy to talk to people. There was always a project, a question or a deadline to talk about. But without work, what would she say?

At half past twelve, all eight of them walked to a small Italian restaurant around the corner. The owner knew Helen and had already put three tables together by the window. Lisa sat between Mia and Paul. Tom sat across from her, already reading the menu.

"What are you having?" Mia asked her.

"I'm not sure yet. Everything looks good. What do you recommend?"

"The pizza with mushrooms is amazing," Tom said without looking up. "But the lasagne is even better."

"Don't listen to him," Paul said. "He says that about everything."

"That's because everything here is amazing," Tom said, and everyone laughed.

Lisa ordered the mushroom pizza. Mia ordered a big salad, and Paul ordered the lasagne, after a long and serious conversation with the waiter about how much cheese was in it.

When the drinks arrived, there was a short quiet moment.

Lisa took a sip of her water and tried to think of something to say. But before she could, Paul turned to her.

"So, Lisa. Two months now. How are you finding it?"

"I really like it," Lisa said, and she meant it. "Everyone has been really kind. And I've learned so much. Especially about posters."

The whole table laughed. Even Helen.

"What did you do at the weekend?" Mia asked.

"Not much. I went for a long walk by the river and read a book in the park. What about you?"

"I played a concert," Mia said.

Lisa looked at her in surprise. "A concert? You play music?"

"I play the drums in a small band," Mia said. "We play in bars on Saturday nights. Nothing big. But it's fun."

"I had no idea," Lisa said. "I'd love to come and listen one day."

"Really? Next month we're playing at a place near the station. Come along."

"I will," Lisa said.

The food arrived, and for a while, everyone was busy eating. Lisa's pizza was even better than Tom had promised.

Between bites, she learned more about her colleagues than she had in two months at the office. Tom grew tomatoes on his balcony and had strong opinions about every vegetable.

Paul had two teenage daughters who thought he was the least funny person in the world. And Helen, who always seemed so calm and organised, had once worked as a cook on a boat for a whole summer.

"A cook on a boat?" Lisa said. "How did that happen?"

"I was twenty, and I needed money," Helen said with a smile. "I couldn't cook at all when I started. By the end of the summer, I could make pasta for thirty people in a storm."

"That explains why you stay so calm when things go wrong at work," Mia said.

"After cooking in a storm," Helen said, "a wrong date on a poster is nothing."

Lisa laughed and went a little red. She was starting to understand that here, mistakes became funny stories. That made her feel better about all the mistakes she would still make.

When the plates were empty, the waiter brought the bill. Lisa took out her wallet.

"Shall we split the bill?" she asked. "How much is my part?"

Helen shook her head. "Not today. The first lunch is always on the studio. It's another one of our rules."

"Are you sure?"

"Completely sure. You can buy the coffee next time."

"Deal," Lisa said.

They walked back to the office slowly in the autumn sun.

Paul told a joke that nobody laughed at, which made everyone laugh even more. Mia sent Lisa the name of the bar where her band was playing.

That afternoon, back at her desk, Lisa noticed something. When she looked around the office, she didn't just see colleagues anymore.

She saw a drummer, a tomato farmer, a dad with bad jokes and a calm cook from a boat in a storm.

It was only lunch. But somehow, it felt like the first day she was really part of the team.