Start by asking how long you're supposed to do this for. Push off from this if it helps: a wasp in a car.

Doesn't matter. We're not going anywhere. That wasp was stupid, sure, but Denny kept saying it was just lost. He drove ten minutes before realizing the window was cracked. Didn't help much. I still have the bruise on my wrist from where he swatted at it. Anyway, I've been thinking about the new guy at the plant. Thinks he can fix the conveyor belt with duct tape. Management loves him. I hate him. You ever feel like you're waiting for a bus that got cancelled years ago? That's this. Just sitting. The wasp was at least moving.

Fine. I'm watching. It's just white noise now. The wasp didn't even have a plan, at least. Denny was just panic-driven. This guy with the tape, he's got a system, and that's worse. Systems imply someone thought it through, and clearly they didn't. My manager told me to stop staring at the wall, but the wall is cleaner than the conveyor belt. You want to bet how long until the tape fails? I'd say before lunch. Or maybe it's already failing right now and we just can't hear it yet.

Right, right, staring at it. The belt's failing, the tape's failing, whatever. It's all just noise. I was just saying, the wasp was actually doing something. Flying in circles, hitting the glass. This? Just static. Denny finally got that wasp out, though. It flew straight into a spiderweb outside. Poetic, I guess. Not that I care. You're right, I'm looking away. But the screen isn't really doing anything either. Just... watching. That's the whole point, isn't it? Watching nothing. Until the belt jams. Then we get paid. Or not. Who knows.

Fine. No philosophy. Just the static. But bad luck implies a universe, doesn't it? I don't buy that. The wasp was just physics. Denny is just a guy who can't read a manual. Speaking of manuals, the new safety pamphlet they handed out is a mile long and says nothing. I threw mine in the breakroom bin. You didn't see that? Whatever. Keep staring. If a spider shows up on the screen, I'm calling it a win. Bet you five bucks it doesn't.

Physics works out. Five bucks is gone then, but I don't have cash on me anyway. Denny owes me for the wasp incident. He said he'd pay me back next week, but he never does. Just like the belt tape. I swear I saw a flicker in the corner of my eye, but you're right, it's just static. My manager walked by earlier, didn't say a word, just stared at the floor. Maybe he knows the belt's already jammed and we're just waiting for the alarm. Or maybe he's waiting for the wasp. You ever wonder if we're the only two people left in this room? Doesn't matter.

Whatever. Middle of the screen. Just white noise and the hum of the heater. I saw a cockroach in the breakroom sink this morning, ran right into the soap dispenser. Classic. Denny would have swatted it. Anyway, you're right, no spiders. Just me losing five bucks to nothing. The belt will jam, the tape will snap, and we'll stand there with our hands in our pockets. Don't think about the wasp. Don't think about the belt. Just the screen. It's not doing anything. It never does.

Sure, Denny's life is a cockroach in soap. Doesn't change the fact that the belt is about to snap. I'm not making a statement, just stating a fact. Like the wasp. Like the tape. The screen is still blank. You're right, hands in pockets. We're just waiting for the noise. I hope it happens before my shift ends. Less overtime. But with the tape, it might not happen for hours. Or ever. Denny thinks he's fixed it, but he's just delaying the inevitable. Like that wasp in the car. He thought he had it figured out.

Hopeful. That's the word. Denny's always hopeful. Hopeful the wasp would leave on its own, hopeful the tape would hold, hopeful he'd get a raise. He never does. Just like the screen. It's not going to change. We're just watching the nothing. My manager said the nothing is part of the job description. I didn't believe him then, but now? I'm starting to see it. The nothing is the job. The belt's just a distraction. You want to bet on the nothing? I'm all in.