Francis, the man he was, went back to his hotel room to change before going to work. He came twenty minutes late to his meeting and didn't regret a minute of standing in front of his closet trying to decide what to wear. It, being his three-hour-long meeting, was boring and it made him sick.
"I saw a rat on the subway, today." Arthur shuddered when poking at his food in the cafeteria. All of it was white, where they ate, a large room with ultra-modern interior design. He cursed whoever they paid, who would make such a mess. All of the countries were incredibly depressed and felt ultimately put upon by being forced to partake in team-building activities by the United Nations.
"I miss home…" Francis frowned into his sad chicken soup.
"Of course you would, you narcissistic twat" Francis slapped away his tea, the top breaking open and spilling all over the floor. They broke into a fistfight.
"I hope they both die." Yao pulled in his chair and whispered to Alfred. They lasted not a minute until the security details pulled either party away from each other.
"Aw, man." Alfred slumped in his seat at the table. "It was just getting good!" It was the most exciting thing that had happened all day. Francis and Arthur brushed themselves off and sat back in their seats after security let them go.
"Hello, everyone" Ivan approached the table with a bowl of borscht on a tray. He seemed to be the most indifferent. Francis sat up and puffed out his chest.
"I met someone last night." He stirred his coffee.
"Dude, who?" Alfred craned his neck.
"I shall not say." It was awfully petty, knowing he did not sleep with the girl, mentioning it only to get a reaction. He was only vague to tell the truth.
"Did you get it on, or what, my man?" Alfred banged his fists on the table. "Give me the deets!"
"I am excited to know!" Ivan sat up, still spooning his soup.
"Uhh," Francis stalled. He had been caught. "It was fun, and zhat is it."
"Was it sex?" Arthur leaned in far enough to be uncomfortable.
"I said I would not say." He blushed. "Whatever happened last night, let us just say I made her crêpes that morning, oui?" He winked at Arthur and Alfred, only to nonchalantly take a sip of his coffee. "Ow, I burned my tongue! I think, zhat I am in love!" Francis clasped his hands together. He wasn't lying about the girl, only the allusion to sex, and he wasn't saying this to get a reaction, necessarily. Of course, he was infatuated with her, as he was with almost everyone he knew—however, he was not in love with her, and there was something inside of him that knew that. He chose to ignore it.
"How can you be in love with someone you just met?" Arthur turned to face him, his eyebrows almost shielding his eyes.
"Because she is amazing and very cool."
"What's her name, then?" Yao pressed his elbows onto the table, genuinely asking.
"Nicole" There was a lapse in the conversation.
"Anyway," Alfred was not the type to allow a lapse in the conversation. He wanted primarily to talk about his news. "I sent a letter the other day to a chick who used to work for me. She should be calling me, any day now."
"Oh really, who is it?" Arthur chewed his microwaved peas.
"Her name is Nicole, and she lives here, in Manhattan." He said. "Probably no correlation, though, dude" He playfully punched Francis' shoulder.
"I cannot wait to leave zhis 'orrible place"
"She was so cool. I bet you guys have seen her before. She was like, my assistant!" Alfred rambled on. "This one time, me and her went down this tunnel in Ohio that led to hell, to make negotiations with aliens. No biggie." Kiku, from the next table over, gave him a side-eye. "And then another time…" Now, it wasn't an exaggeration to suggest that Alfred was exaggerating. There came a point when people stopped listening, and it was time to resume activities.
It was a few hours later when Alfred got a call in the classy conference hall.
"Sir?" Alfred stood up, and faced a tall man with sunglasses and a walkie-talkie. He had a deep, southern drawl. The cart pulled beside him carried a box with an iPhone USB cord. "We're gonna have to record that call" The man lead him into a dark room with desktops on desks, and a handful of employees making calls and typing. "The Wi-Fi is the best in here. Hook it up." Alfred answered the phone.
"Uh, Nikki?"