Unavoidable.

So, not to badger this subject to death, but...

As I may have mentioned before, my lab is technically a single room with a narrowing in the middle that serves as the barrier between the two sides. Actually, it's two labs... I don't know and have nothing to do with the things that the other side is doing and vice versa. As a side note, I don't think anyone outside of the research lab knows this little fact, since everyone assumes I know exactly where the other girl is, what she's doing and how to reach her - an assumption that is actually the exact opposite. The girl who works over there is really nice and I would love to talk to her more, but since the boss can hear everything I'm doing, I can't really just go over and start up a conversation. She's rarely there, anyway. Since she's rarely there, their phone rings over and over (I KNOW I've mentioned this before... *smiles wryly*) and this morning was none the different. But alas, their phone rang a bunch of times and then my phone immediately rang. So I knew it was the receptionist from downstairs, who I love dearly and is very amusing. I pick it up, extremely hesitant, because I know she was trying to get in touch with the other people and will now ask me about them. She says that there's a box downstairs and is the other girl there? I say she's here today, but not in the room. She asks me if I could just tell her that there's a box downstairs when she comes back in. Now, I know my boss can hear what I'm saying, and as we've been through this, I am NOT ALLOWED to do ANYTHING for ANYONE else. "It's THEIR job, not yours." So... I grit my teeth and say no, that she'll have to keep calling the other side. There is a silence, and she goes, "ok" and hangs up. Sigh.

Later, at lunch, I sit with her and some other people and she immediately brings it up, saying, "I should tell you not to be so rude!" in a sort of joking voice, mostly for the mixed company, but we both know she wasn't joking. Since I was sans boss, I apologized and told her the jist of it. She understood my position, but still couldn't understand why - a feeling I am very familiar with. I guess she still felt a little put-out, because she kept mentioning how an embryologist even brought up the package to the other girl, and he was so helpful, and yadda yadda. I could only look down at my food.

I'm really stuck between a rock and a hard place in that situation. Damned if I do, damned if I don't. I guess in the long run the most important thing is doing what your boss tells you, but I hate being snobby/unhelpful/"rude"... there is just really no reason.

I should just tell everyone beforehand to please, please don't ask me to do anything, because I won't do it and not because I don't want to.