Six: Reeve
One day, upon waking up, Reeve rubbed his chin and found out that his goatee and mustache were gone.
Which was strange because he didn't remember shaving anything the day before.
"What the heck is wrong today?" Reeve mumbled to himself. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and was surprised when he didn't recognize the beardless guy looking back at him.
"Gosh, I look different…" Different was right. He looked a bit like President Rufus, only with darker hair.
"Well, goatee or no goatee, I have to get to work," Reeve said before proceeding to pretty himself for his 'dorky' Urban Development duties.
As he was walking down the hallway going to his office, he met Heidegger and Palmer on the way. The two jaw-dropped upon seeing him. "Is that you, Reeve?" Heidegger asked in awe.
Reeve noticed the facial expression on their faces, "Eh… yeah. Why?" he asked.
"You look… different…" Palmer pointed out.
"Well… I guess I accidentally shaved off the goatee and the mustache off my face… though I don't exactly know how…maybe last night I was so drunk because you guys threw a birthday party for me… which is just so unbelievable." Reeve answered awkwardly.
Heidegger circled him and examined him more. "Gyah… I've got one advice for ya, Reeve…. Stay away from the President and Scarlet," he said.
"Why would I do that? I need to meet with them… meetings and all that," Reeve answered.
"Cuz you look like President Rufus, that's why! Tra la la! And Scarlet would just fall head over feet with the new you! Tralalalala!!!" Palmer started doing his stupid happy Palmer dance again.
"What do you know anyway?" Reeve muttered before entering his office.
"Gyahahahaha. If he only knows, we were the ones who shaved off his goatee and mustache while he was sleeping last night! Gyahahahahahaha!" Heidegger told Palmer while laughing.
"What are you two idiots laughing at?" Scarlet demanded from behind them.
The two jerked slightly and smiled ridiculously at Scarlet. "Nothin. We're just crackin' jokes. Anyway, what are you doing here?" Palmer asked.
"Kyah… It's time for the meeting, you dolts. Get to the conference room before the President starts getting cranky again… Where the heck is the Urban Development Dork?" Scarlet asked the fat ones.
She was surprised when the two started giggling, or rather, guffawing at an inside joke.
"KYAH! What the heck is wrong with you pigs?!" Scarlet snapped impatiently.
"Nothin', nothin'… Reeve's at his office," Palmer said before snickering again.
"Fine, I get to go to the 'cat' office… What the hell are you two laughing about anyway?!" she practically growled when Palmer and Heidegger won't stop laughing.
"Gyahahahah! Nothing you'd be interested in…. Scah-let," Heidegger gasped out.
"Well, we'll be on our merry fat way! Tralalalala!" Palmer said as he and Heidegger went… well, on their merry fat way.
"Humph. Stupid fat General. Stupid fat…. What does that Palmer do again? Kyah…." Scarlet mumbled to herself as she walked her way into Reeve's office.
***
"Hmph. I gotta do something about these lights. So dim here…" Reeve mumbled to himself as he tapped at the fluorescents hanging from the ceiling. "I guess it's sunlight for me today. This day just keeps getting better and better…" he grumbled as he turned on Cait Sith.
"What can I do for ya, boss? Hey, nice shave!" Cait said cheerfully.
Reeve sighed, frustrated. "Whatever. Go open up the blinds for me, Cait." He commanded.
"Gladly. Hope I can reach the thingy, though—you still haven't fixed up Mog." Cait said as it ran towards the windows.
By that time, Scarlet reached his office. "Kyah! Reeve! Do something about this office! It's too dark! Are you a hermit or something?"
"I am, already…" Reeve said, pointing towards Cait who was jumping up and down to reach the rope thingy to open up the blinds.
Scarlet sighed in a frustrated manner and went towards him. "Well, come on! President Rufus is waiting in the conference room!!!"
"Oh, shoot, I forgot!!!" Reeve said. "Where… the paperwork??!" he mumbled to himself, getting fumbly every minute. (… fumbly?)
"Kyah… Let me help you… stupid…" said Scarlet, who also started flipping folders here and there.
"Oh! Finally!!!!" Cait exclaimed as it reached the rope-thingy and the blinds opened and sunlight flooded the room.
Which caused Scarlet to finally see the Brand-spankin' new Reeve! (dandalandan!)
Cait Sith's tail accidentally hit the play button on Reeve's CD player, causing some music to play… and the music was the theme from Romeo and Juliet (you know, the song that plays in the game The Sims whenever two Sims are kissing?)
Scarlet's jaw dropped as she stared wide-eyed in awe at Reeve's new look. The guy seemed oblivious to what Scarlet was doing as he gathered his paperwork together plus a pen and a small notepad. "No need to help me, Scarlet, I already got the things that I need…" he stopped when he looked at her, staring at her facial expression with a ridiculous look on his face.
"Kyaaaaah….." it sounded like a croak.
Reeve raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay, Scarlet?" he asked.
She blushed as she got back to her senses while shaking her head, as if shaking off the "evil" thoughts in her mind… "KYAH! Of… course, I'm okay… and you, are you okay?" she asked mindlessly with a silly smile on her face, suddenly fiddling with her own fingers.
Reeve noticed the sudden behavioral change in her and it made him feel afraid. "Eh… yes, I'm okay… I think…" he said, taking a step backward away from her and then turned to Cait Sith with an impatient look on his face, "Will you turn that music off?! It's bothering me!" he spoke to the cat with a trembling tone.
"Kyah! It's okay! The music is… okay! In fact, I love it!" she said with a sweet smile on her face.
Scarlet smiling sweetly at Reeve? He felt goosebumps all over his body. "I'll see you in the conference room," he rushed out of the office, leaving Scarlet and Cait Sith there in wonder.
"What's wrong with him?" Cait Sith asked in wonder before licking itself (sorry, we don't know the gender of this thing).
Scarlet just sighed with a dreamy look on her face. "Is that even Reeve?" she asked dreamily.
Cait Sith suddenly had an urge to find a litter box because of what it heard. "I wish I was a real cat to get rid of this…" it mewed to itself before hiding in one corner of the office.
Scarlet, in a trance, waltzed out of the room in a very different mood.
***
"Okay, so we need a Public Relations Officer for this new project. How am I going to choose a new Public Relations Officer if all of you are as brilliant as you are!"
And the executives and the Turks all continued to listen rather forcefully as more insulting and degrading words came out from President Rufus's mouth… with matching sarcasm.
"We could… nominate…" Palmer suggested with a weak smile on his face.
"Geez! Why can't Rufus just tell it to our faces how much he doesn't trust us anymore?!" Reeve was thinking silently before turning to his seatmate to his right (the person next to Rufus).
Scarlet.
He raised his eyebrow upon seeing that Scarlet was looking at him dreamily while doodling hearts mindlessly on her marketing plan.
"Oh my God…" he thought silently before slowly turning his gaze to Heidegger and Palmer, his eyes saying to them, "help!"
The two just stifled their laughter upon seeing Reeve looking at them like that.
Tseng raised his hand, "President Rufus, I would like to suggest that we just hire a PR Officer so you won't have to pick out from one of us." He suggested.
Rufus suddenly laughed out loud, which surprised them, because he never laughed in front of them. He suddenly pounded on the table with his fists as he stopped laughing and got up in an angry stance, his facial expression drastically changing from pleased (because of laughter) to menacing. "You stupid Wutaian Tsengker!" and glared angrily at the others. "You all know that we have a tight budget right now and that we can't afford to hire another…" he stopped talking when his gaze landed on Scarlet who was still doodling hearts all over her marketing plan.
This caused everyone else to stare at Scarlet too.
She didn't stop until she heard Rufus ask, "What are you doing?"
Scarlet jerked and looked up at Rufus. "Kyah…" she responded.
Rufus snatched the paper full of red, girly hearts. "Oh, I think it would be interesting if I showed your rather 'intelligent' progress report to these other dopes, wouldn't it, Scarlet?" he said.
She felt like a school girl being caught by a horrible teacher doodling during a sermon. "Ky—ah…" she mumbled sheepishly, wanting to shrink.
Rufus began to flip through the pages and even saw a poem written on it together with the hearts. He raised his eyebrow. "Reeve, my precious, precious Reeve. How do I love thee? But do you love me? I hope you do, because I do. And it's true! Forever blue. Until the time is through." He read it out loud.
The others snickered and began laughing, while Reeve was literally slipping down from his chair.
Scarlet was blushing, her face as red as her dress, but she still had this sheepish smile on her face.
"Somebody kill me now…" Reeve thought.
Rufus guffawed rather loudly. "Well, Reeve, it looks like you've got yourself an admirer. I just hope you two don't do honky-honkies during office hours unless you both want salary deductions?"
Reeve swallowed hard. "Honky-honkies?" he asked nervously.
"It means, making-babies, you dork!" Heidegger added before laughing in his usual "Gyahahahahaha" way.
The whole conference room exploded with laughter… and Reeve felt so dizzy.
Palmer then mindlessly babbled, "Hey Reeve, looks like we did you a favor when we got you drunk and shaved you clean last night, eh?"
"WHAAAAT?!?!" Reeve shouted, causing a few moments of shock for everyone. (including the Prez, yeah.) Well, cuz nobody heard mild-mannered Reevie scream angrily before.
"You… fatties… shaved my face last night?!?!" Reeve forced himself to say calmly.
Palmer flinched in effect. "Fatties?" he said with hurt in his voice.
"Gyah… don't deny it, fatty. And, yeah Reeve, we did. Whatcha gonna do about it?" Heidegger said.
Silence.
"Kyah! You miserable fatsos! Kyah! How could you do that to Reeve? Why are you always making fun of Reeve?!" Scarlet snapped at them.
Silence.
"Come to think of it, fat peoples always bully slim people…" Tseng thought out loud.
"Maybe they're jealous coz he's slim and they're not." Reno pointed out.
Silence.
"What are we talking about again?" Rufus asked.
Even more silence.
"Hic," hiccupped Reno.
"That's it. This meeting is over. You all get a salary deduction for wasting yet another hour of my eventful life." Rufus said irritably.
And so, with more lessons learnt, the executives walked out of the conference room with more worries and less salaries. W00t.
But all did not end so bad... because:
1) Reeve and Scarlet tried going out and they found out that each other wasn't so bad.
2) Palmer and Heidegger, having been called fatties, went on a diet that improved their health… but still remained fat.
3) President Rufus ended up with more money because of the savings out of the salary deductions.
4) Reeve had his beard and mustache back, eventually, but Scarlet began to make it a habit to shave it off while he's asleep… until one time, she accidentally shaved off his eyebrows *uh-oh…*
-end for now-