It was a beautiful Saturday morning, the sun was shining, and birds were chirping. But for Sarah and Tom, it was the beginning of a nightmare. They had both been given the task of building an IKEA bookshelf for their friend’s new apartment. Little did they know that they would be doing it together.

Sarah arrived early at Tom’s house, hoping to get a head start on the project. Tom, on the other hand, was still in bed. When he finally stumbled out of his bedroom, he was greeted by Sarah’s disapproving look.

“Good morning, Sarah,” Tom said, rubbing his eyes.

“Morning, Tom,” Sarah replied, rolling her eyes. “Are you ready to get started, or do you need a few more hours of beauty sleep?”

Tom let out a groan, “Can we just get this over with?”

Sarah nodded, “Fine, let’s get started.”

They opened the box and took out all the pieces. Sarah had a plan in mind, but Tom was convinced that he knew what he was doing.

“I think we should start with the bottom piece,” Sarah said.

Tom shook his head, “Nah, let’s start with the sides.”

They argued for a few minutes until Sarah finally gave in. “Fine, let’s do it your way.”

As they started to put the sides together, Sarah noticed that Tom was struggling.

“Do you need some help?” she asked, trying to hide her smirk.

“No, I got this,” Tom replied, gritting his teeth.

After a few minutes of struggling, Tom finally gave in. “Okay, maybe I do need some help.”

Sarah couldn’t help but laugh as she showed Tom how to put the sides together. They continued to work in silence for a few minutes until Tom spoke up.

“So, Sarah, what do you do for a living?” he asked, trying to make small talk.

“I’m a lawyer,” Sarah replied.

Tom raised an eyebrow, “Really? I never would have guessed.”

Sarah glared at him, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tom shrugged, “I don’t know, you just don’t seem like the lawyer type.”

Sarah rolled her eyes, “And what type of person do I seem like?”

Tom thought for a moment before answering, “I don’t know, maybe a librarian or something.”

Sarah let out a sigh, “Great, just what every woman wants to hear, that she looks like a librarian.”

Tom chuckled, “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being a librarian. They’re the unsung heroes of the education system.”

Sarah couldn’t help but laugh, “Okay, I’ll give you that one.”

As they continued to work, they started to get into a rhythm. They were actually starting to have fun. That was until they got to the last piece.

“This looks like it goes here,” Tom said, trying to fit the piece into the shelf.

Sarah shook her head, “No, I think it goes over here.”

They argued back and forth until they finally decided to follow the instructions. After a few more minutes of struggling, they finally got the piece to fit.

They both let out a sigh of relief, “Finally, we did it.”

As they stood back to admire their work, they realized that they had accidentally put the back piece on upside down.

Sarah let out a groan, “Are you kidding me?”

Tom shrugged, “Oops, my bad.”

Sarah couldn’t help but laugh, “Well, I guess we have to take it apart and start over.”

They spent the next hour taking the bookshelf apart and putting it back together again. By the time they were finished, they were both exhausted.

As they sat on the couch, sipping on some cold drinks, they couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.

“You know, Tom, you’re not so bad after all,” Sarah said, smiling.

Tom smiled back, “You’re not so bad yourself, Sarah.”

They both knew that they would never be best friends, but they had gained a newfound respect for each other. And they both knew that they would never volunteer to build IKEA furniture again.