Frank said to George, “Where is Sue?”
“I dunno,” George said, biting into a kolache. “How’s your dating going?”
Frank turned red. This was so awkward. Pretending to date a girl he really wanted to date. She wasn’t the prettiest girl in the universe, but she really seemed to like him… and that really was the most important thing, eh? It sure made a girl more attractive when she seemed to like you!
Just then Seth walked in, with Julia on his arm. How had he ended up with her! She was always so bouncy, so cheerful, so excited about everything the team was going… and so into Seth! And how he had managed Frank certainly didn’t know.
“How’s it going, Peeps?” Seth asked, going over and grabbing a coke, a sausage dog, and a chocolate donut.
“Frank’s worried about where Sue is,” George said.
“I am not, I just wondered,” Frank said, embarassed. Which he didn’t need to be. Worrying about where Sue was good for the act they were putting on, no?
Seth pulled Julia onto his lap, but she frowned and got back off. But she didn’t frown that much and put her hand on his lap, and he grinned and put his arm around her shoulders and leaned up against her. “Girls are great,” he said. “Glad you’ve got one.”
Sue and I aren’t… I mean, we sort of are… oh, good, here she is.
“Hello,” Sue said, coming in. She was wearing a different dress this time, long, almost to her feet, with flat sandals that seemed like they almost weren’t there… which was probably the idea. Make it look like she was barefoot without making her run around barefooted. “Sorry I’m late, my bike got a flat. Good thing I keep a kit.”
She went over and got a water and a granola bar, which Frank saw that Mr Madison had started stocking.
“Oy, come on in!” Mr Madison called from the speaker. “Let’s get this show on the road. Get in here.”
The team got up and followed Frank into the studio. “Ok, guys, sit down!”
The team sat down and Julia went across the way and sat behind Mr Madison and grinned at them. “And… we’re live. So it’s been going great with you lot. Having a great healer is really helping you lot!”
Frank watched Sue blush. It was one thing he really liked about her, how modest she was. She hated getting credit for anything. And she looked so good when she blushed.
Mr Madison went on and on about how important having a good healer was to their team. He acted like they were the only team that had a healer!
“And how about you, Frank, how are you finding your job as leader?”
Frank looked at Mr Madison. Well, over his shoulder. And was tempted to frown. “Well, Sir, it’s been a struggle.” This wasn’t exactly the kind of image I wanted to show! “Learning to lead a group in battle is difficult. I have to not only do my own fighting, but think about how the whole team is doing…”
Well, maybe this wasn’t so bad, Frank thought as he read the prepared speech. It would cover for him when he messed up, and give him a ‘growth’ arc. Indeed, it would make everything he did seem better.
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Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,
Von