I hope that prompt isn't related to the new job! But it does fit where we are at the Museum quite nicely, that's something... ;-)
At fever pitch "What seems to be the problem?" asked Fabian, concentrating very hard on not sighing and trying to keep a faint smile on his face. He looked at the Maestro first, who was red-faced and holding a struggling mage by the collar; then the mage and quirked an eyebrow as though just recognising him, and then glanced at Cass who didn't look even remotely happy. She was staring after the receding figure of the Fire Official and Fabian wondered if she was going to complain about not having been able to talk to him. "Sebastian?" he said, looking back at the mage. "I didn't think you'd be in the Museum this early. You know we're not open to the public yet?" "I caught him trying to break into the offices," said the Maestro. He sounded triumphant. "I knew he'd try something when he thought we were all absent from them. I was waiting for him!" "You were what?" Cass turned back from watching the Fire Official depart and her hands descended to her hips and clamped on. Fabian took a step backwards without thinking about it; he'd seen Cass in this mood far too many times. Luckily she ignored him. "You were supposed to be evacuating people for the Fire Drill! Do you know what it would cost us -- me! -- if you'd been any later! I can't have you messing up a Fire Drill playing spy games!" She was shouting now, which was an unusual loss of control for her. The Maestro looked slightly startled, but he rallied, hauling Sebastian in front of him like a shield. "There'd be as much trouble if we had a thief in the offices while we were evacuating," he said. Fabian thought he was trying to sound indignant, but it was coming across as slightly defensive. "People would be quick to comment, out of your hearing of course, that you didn't take enough care about security. Of the Museum." He stressed the last word just a little, and it seemed to have an effect; Cass opened her mouth, then closed it again. Fabian could see she was thinking and he decided that at the moment it was even money who would win this argument.
"What were you doing in the Museum, Sebastian?" he asked while there was silence. The mage twisted, trying to get free of the Maestro's choking grip on his collar, but the Maestro seemed to be surprisingly strong. Or Sebastian was surprisingly weak; Fabian wondered why he'd thought that. "I came to get my book back," said Sebastian. "Again! Your Maestro has stolen it from me and refuses to return it." "You have a copy," said Fabian, feeling confused now. "I gave it back to you. They're the same book, what difference does it make?" "Shut up," said Cass, who'd had time to think now. She noticed that she had her hands on her hips and removed them, folding them across her chest instead and jutting her chin forward. This was another gesture Fabian recognised and he mentally braced himself for the delivery of judgement. "Maestro, it seems that we should be more concerned with security, so I will request an increase to our security budget and cite this as reasonable grounds for an out-of-cycle increase." She sniffed. "I can't say that we will get it, but at least if I have it on record the Director," barely a nod in Fabian's direction, for which he was grateful, "can probably get it approved in the annual budget filing next year. Then I," and she grinned like the Cheshire cat, "will work out a new evacuation process that takes security into account." Fabian felt his stomach turn; there was her ace up her sleeve. No-one was going to enjoy the new process except Cass. "Of course," she said, looking at Sebastian, "this means you're going to be named unless you vanish in short order so that we can claim we never got a good look at the would-be burglar. Obviously the Maestro never caught anyone or we'd have failed the Fire Drill, and we didn't, did we?" She smiled at Fabian with all her teeth showing. "We passed," he said. She kept smiling. "I ah, might have agreed to a slight unwritten change to our hiring rules though." She kept smiling. "But it's nothing you wouldn't like to apply anyway." The smile snapped off like a searchlight that was no longer needed. "We can talk about that," said Cass. "Maestro, let that man go unless he's actually stolen something, and help me return everyone to the building. We've wasted enough time this morning."
3 comments:
I hope that prompt isn't related to the new job! But it does fit where we are at the Museum quite nicely, that's something... ;-)
At fever pitch
"What seems to be the problem?" asked Fabian, concentrating very hard on not sighing and trying to keep a faint smile on his face. He looked at the Maestro first, who was red-faced and holding a struggling mage by the collar; then the mage and quirked an eyebrow as though just recognising him, and then glanced at Cass who didn't look even remotely happy. She was staring after the receding figure of the Fire Official and Fabian wondered if she was going to complain about not having been able to talk to him. "Sebastian?" he said, looking back at the mage. "I didn't think you'd be in the Museum this early. You know we're not open to the public yet?"
"I caught him trying to break into the offices," said the Maestro. He sounded triumphant. "I knew he'd try something when he thought we were all absent from them. I was waiting for him!"
"You were what?" Cass turned back from watching the Fire Official depart and her hands descended to her hips and clamped on. Fabian took a step backwards without thinking about it; he'd seen Cass in this mood far too many times. Luckily she ignored him. "You were supposed to be evacuating people for the Fire Drill! Do you know what it would cost us -- me! -- if you'd been any later! I can't have you messing up a Fire Drill playing spy games!" She was shouting now, which was an unusual loss of control for her. The Maestro looked slightly startled, but he rallied, hauling Sebastian in front of him like a shield.
"There'd be as much trouble if we had a thief in the offices while we were evacuating," he said. Fabian thought he was trying to sound indignant, but it was coming across as slightly defensive. "People would be quick to comment, out of your hearing of course, that you didn't take enough care about security. Of the Museum." He stressed the last word just a little, and it seemed to have an effect; Cass opened her mouth, then closed it again. Fabian could see she was thinking and he decided that at the moment it was even money who would win this argument.
"What were you doing in the Museum, Sebastian?" he asked while there was silence. The mage twisted, trying to get free of the Maestro's choking grip on his collar, but the Maestro seemed to be surprisingly strong. Or Sebastian was surprisingly weak; Fabian wondered why he'd thought that.
"I came to get my book back," said Sebastian. "Again! Your Maestro has stolen it from me and refuses to return it."
"You have a copy," said Fabian, feeling confused now. "I gave it back to you. They're the same book, what difference does it make?"
"Shut up," said Cass, who'd had time to think now. She noticed that she had her hands on her hips and removed them, folding them across her chest instead and jutting her chin forward. This was another gesture Fabian recognised and he mentally braced himself for the delivery of judgement. "Maestro, it seems that we should be more concerned with security, so I will request an increase to our security budget and cite this as reasonable grounds for an out-of-cycle increase." She sniffed. "I can't say that we will get it, but at least if I have it on record the Director," barely a nod in Fabian's direction, for which he was grateful, "can probably get it approved in the annual budget filing next year. Then I," and she grinned like the Cheshire cat, "will work out a new evacuation process that takes security into account." Fabian felt his stomach turn; there was her ace up her sleeve. No-one was going to enjoy the new process except Cass. "Of course," she said, looking at Sebastian, "this means you're going to be named unless you vanish in short order so that we can claim we never got a good look at the would-be burglar. Obviously the Maestro never caught anyone or we'd have failed the Fire Drill, and we didn't, did we?" She smiled at Fabian with all her teeth showing.
"We passed," he said. She kept smiling. "I ah, might have agreed to a slight unwritten change to our hiring rules though." She kept smiling. "But it's nothing you wouldn't like to apply anyway."
The smile snapped off like a searchlight that was no longer needed. "We can talk about that," said Cass. "Maestro, let that man go unless he's actually stolen something, and help me return everyone to the building. We've wasted enough time this morning."
Greg - well, I do try. And no, job has been quite manageable so far.
And hopefully that means tensions are on a downward trend now. For a little bit, at least. In this one particular area.
... poor Fabian.
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