"Hello, Lana," Chloe said brightly as she and Emmeline walked into the Talon.
Lana was sitting on the steps with a stack of papers in her lap. "Hey," she smiled. "Uh, almond mocha with extra whip, and a vanilla bean frappuccino?"
"Yeah, and can you add an extra jolt of caffeine to both please? We're in our post-lunch, pre-deadline coma."
"Uh-huh," Lana laughed.
"Thank you."
Chloe took off her jacket and sat down on the steps while Emmeline pulled up a chair. Chloe began to sift through the papers Lana had been looking at.
"What are those?" Emmeline asked.
"Looks like applications for a job here."
Lana came back and joined them on the steps.
"Clark Kent applied for part time?" Chloe asked as she looked at one of the applications. "And he didn't put me as a reference? What's up with that?"
"It doesn't matter. I'm not going to hire him anyway."
"Why not?"
"Well, you both work with him at the Torch. Isn't it strange, supervising your friend?"
"Are you kidding? Bossing around Clark is the highlight of my day! Besides, he always comes through, even if it is in his own special Clark time."
"She's right. Never once have we had a problem with an issue that was Clark's fault. He always does his share."
"Yeah, but that's kind of what I'm worried about."
Chloe looked at Lana for a second. "Lana, we all know that Clark can do this job. What's the real reason you don't want him here?"
"I…" Lana made a poor attempt to find an excuse, opening and closing her mouth several times.
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
"If it makes you feel any better, things are kind of tense between me and Pete too," Emmeline told her.
"Why? What's up?" Lana asked.
"It's complicated. Certain things have happened between us that have made it a bit difficult for me to be around him right now."
"Knowing you guys, you'll patch things up in no time."
"I don't know."
"Ahem."
Chloe and Emmeline turned around to find Clark holding two papers bags and a couple cups of coffee.
"Hey," Chloe smiled. "I didn't know the Talon delivered."
"I decided to make an exception," Clark said.
Emmeline laughed. "All kidding aside, you are a lifesaver. I'm starving."
"I assume you got the job then," Chloe said, taking a sip from her cup.
"Apparently, the editor and the proofreader of the Torch put me over the top."
"So how does it feel to be a minimum wage earner?"
"Great. But there seems to be some personnel changes over at the Talon."
"Are you talking about Lucas Luthor?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
Chloe laughed. "Are you kidding? The prodigal Luthor son returns, and to top it all off, the new heir has taken over the castle. I mean, that's the story that could land you a byline on the front page of the Daily Planet."
"I just—I don't trust Lucas. I think he's hiding something."
Chloe took a seat at her desk and propped her feet up. "Come on Clark, cut the guy a break. He's had a really tough life. He bounced from foster home to foster home. I mean, he never got adopted."
"Well, when you were looking at his past, you didn't find anything weird at all?"
"Um, just the source." She turned and handed him a piece of paper from the printer.
"Hey, Clark," Emmeline said. "I heard Lex is staying at your house for the time being."
"You heard correctly."
"How's your dad handling that?"
"Are you kidding? He's loving it. He has Lex cleaning out our barn in the early hours of the morning."
"How's Lex taking that?"
"Better than expected. I think it's nice for him to not feel like the spoiled rich kid everyone believes him to be."
The next day, Clark informed Chloe and Emmeline about Lucas almost getting shot after he attempted to get Clark fired from the Talon.
Naturally, Chloe began doing her research, and it didn't take too long for her to find what she wanted.
The two of them bolted down to the Talon where Clark was working his shift.
"Hey, Clark," Chloe greeted.
Emmeline almost laughed at the sight of him in an apron. It didn't really suit him.
"Chloe, Em, what did you find out?" Clark asked as he continued to serve tables.
"So they caught Lucas's shooter outside Metropolis. His name is Dirk Lee. They tracked him down with the license plate number that you gave them."
"Did he tell the police who tipped him off?"
"Not exactly. Somewhere between the booking and the holding cell, Dirk mysteriously keeled over and died."
"Someone didn't want him to talk."
"Yeah, someone who had enough power to kill him in the middle of a police station. Know of anyone that comes to mind?"
Clark handed his tray with one remaining drink on it to Chloe and began whipping off his apron. "You two have got to cover for me, okay?"
"No. No, Clark. We drink coffee. We do not serve it! Clark!"
"I was never cut out for waitressing!" Emmeline called after him. "Ask anyone!"
Needless to say, Clark did not keep his job at the Talon after being late for his shifts and leaving in the middle of another.
Emmeline was just about to start making some dinner for herself when there was a knock at the door.
She went to answer it and found Pete on the porch.
"Hey, Em. Where's your mom?"
"At the hospital with Dad."
"Is she okay?"
"Yeah, she's just getting another round of treatment."
Pete took a deep breath. "Look, Em. I know that things have been a bit…tense between us lately, and I know it has something to do with what happened a few days ago. I won't pretend to know how you feel, and I know that there's not much I can say to make you feel better."
"Pete, I know you're sorry, but…it's so much more complicated than that."
"I know. I just want you to know that whatever happens in the future, I don't want to let you down again." There was a bit of awkward silence between them before he said, "So…see you at school?"
Emmeline nodded her head a little before closing the door. She leaned against it and sighed.
Why did things have to be so confusing?
