P.S. Don't oversleep again today, I need you to
be on time- for once
George looked down to his small wristwatch. "Oh shit."
He jumped up out of bed and threw off his clothes while stumbling into
the bathroom and turning on the shower.
Three minutes later he was running around the apartment wearing only a
blue terrycloth towel, dripping water all over the wood floors. Within the half hour, he was leaving his
apartment and heading down the streets of London to the Leaky Cauldron, and
into Diagon Alley.
"You're late," Fred blatantly stated as George
waltzed in the door. "Comb your hair,
you look disgraceful." George paused in
front of the mirror next to the door, and after his reflection had deflated to
its normal size and appearance George noticed that he did look a wreck. He combed his wet hair back and straightened
his robe. There was no fixing the
numerous nicks on his chin, however, from his hasty shave that morning.
"So, I'm guessing you want to know all about the
girl, right?" George sat down on the
register counter.
"I must admit, I am a bit curious. Fresh meat-" Fred grinned devilishly.
"No, not like that." George said, interrupting his brother. "This is not just another romantic fling, I'm talking
business. She needs a job. Now don't give me that look, she's very
intelligent. American, trying to get a
job for the ministry, but needs something to do until then. Now here is the up side of this
situation. This is not some woman that
we'll have to fire after a while. She's
going to leave."
"Well…"
"Tempting, isn't it?"
"Indeed…"
"I'm brilliant, aren't I?"
"Well…"
"Don't answer that."
After a brief pause, Fred decided on a plan of
action. "Let's call her up, see what
her credentials are. Get some
references, see her résumé. Then we'll
see if she'd be fit for the job."
"See her résumé?
Geez, when did you get so serious."
"When life came up and bit me in the rear."
"Hey, Fred, what are your credentials?" George said teasingly.
"George…"
"Let's get some references."
"George…"
"Let's get Percy down here to get that stick out of
your ass."
"GEORGE!"
George walked off to the back room, snickering. Before he sat down at his hectically
organized desk, however, Fred was called him back up to the front.
"What do you want?"
George said as he walked back outside.
As he opened the door separating the two rooms, however, his voice caught
in his throat.
"Well hello, George, it looks like we have a little
guest. I'm sure you've met Miss…"
"-Cerulean."
"Yes, that's right, Miss Cerulean."
"Right on time!
Nice to see you again, Deirdre," George said, going over and shaking her
hand.
"Yes, quite."
"George, my dear, sweet, trusting brother,
can I speak to you for a moment in private?"
Fred led George into the back room, where Deirdre couldn't hear them
outside.
"You git!
You knew she would be coming today!"
"Come now. She's
quite a fine lady, I'm sure you'll change your mind about her."
"You did this all behind my back! I feel so… so…"
"Ecstatic?"
"…Deceived!"
"Don't worry!
Now let's go back out there and not keep her waiting." They headed towards the entrance, and as
they opened the door Deirdre jumped from her seat.
"So when can I start?" Fred's ears turned red and he pushed George back into the other
room.
"You already offered her the job?!" Fred yelled loudly. George winked at his screaming brother, who
was steaming mad. "This store is 50%
mine, therefore I feel that I should have at least part of an opinion about
it."
"It may be 50% yours, but it is also 50% mine. And those are my shoes you are wearing,
which makes it 51% mine. Majority
rules, she stays." George waltzed back
outside. "We'd be glad to have you
start as soon as possible. How about…
now?"
"That'd be great!"
"Excellent!
So this is the register…"
****************
The three stayed at the store late into the night, discussing
various things such as new gags, hot dogs, goblins, and paychecks. After her third cup of coffee, Deirdre
finally gave into her sleepiness and let out a deep yawn.
"Man, I'm bushed."
George leaned far back in his chair. "Yeah, I imagine we should just continue
this in the morning. And on that note,
I'm going home." He got up out of his
chair and made a dramatic stretch. "Can
I walk you home, Dee?"
"Sure that'd be great.
Well, it was nice meeting you Fred."
She walked over and shook his hand.
"And I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."
Fred watched as they walked through the door and out onto
the deserted Diagon alley. 'Not a
romantic fling, huh?' he thought. 'Bullshit… I give him three weeks. There is no way he can resist that.'
To be continued…
