AN: This chapter has been update to change David Wallace's role. The art judge is now Dr. Vargas after my old boss when I worked at the museum. If anyone can think of an Office character that would go good here, please feel free to drop a line.

I left Michael sitting dumbfounded by my actions. I didn't feel that he needed an explanation. What was important was getting back to the pavilion to talk to Jim. Unfortunately, I didn't get far. Kelly and Ryan, hand in hand, came out of nowhere to block my way. Ryan looked as though Kelly had dragged him through hell and back. I had no sympathy for him.

I would have walked right past them but Kelly called my name. "PAM!" she screamed, grabbing my arm as I walked by. My level of frustration was growing swiftly as I was on a mission and had no intention of stopping. "Where have you been?" she asked.

"What do you mean where have I been?" I shot back not sure what she was talking about. "Where have the two of you been? Did you make the flyers for the dance and post them like Jan told you to?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Ryan answered with a smug look. On second thought, I decided I didn't want to know what they had been up to and if it wasn't work related, Jan could deal with them. I had other things to worry about.

"I saw your blind date over at the pavilion," Kelly beamed. "So, are you ready to meet him?"

I let out a sigh. "Yeah, Kelly, I sort of already met him."

"Isn't he amazing?" she cooed.

"Look, Kelly, he seems like a great guy, but I just don't think it's going to work out," I said as kindly as possible. Hooking up with Andy was never going to happen.

"What? Why not?" Kelly acted hurt.

"We just aren't…clicking," was the best I could come up with.

"Come on, give him another chance," Kelly insisted. The ABBA song played again in my head and I scrunched up my nose. "He's, like, Ryan's best friend so do it for Ryan."

Ryan's eyes widened. "He is not by best friend," he said seriously. "In fact, he was just this guy that hung around me at one frat part and never seemed to go away." If I didn't know better, I would think that Ryan got Kelly to hook me up with Andy just so he would leave them alone. The sneaky little punk annoyed me but I let it go, having more pressing issues to deal with.

"You know what, we'll talk about this later. I have something I have to take care of," I said hurriedly, hoping to shake them off.

"Oh, do you mean the art contest?" Kelly said casually.

I froze. I completely forgot about the art contest. I was supposed to meet the judge before it started. "Oh my god, what time is it?"

"I don't know," Kelly said with a shrug. "I don't wear watches, they look so tacky."

"It's almost five," Ryan said rolling his eyes at her.

I put my hand to my forehead. "Oh my god," I repeated, beginning to freak out a little. "The contest started almost an hour ago. Is anyone over there?"

"Why would I know that?" Kelly asked. "Ryan and I have been busy all afternoon."

"Shoot," I said, not believing that I had almost blown the contest off. "Now I've really got to go." I said taking off towards the west end of the park where the contest was being held.

By the time I got there a large crowd of people were swarming in and out of the tent that held the contest. I pushed my way through the crowd, making my way into the tent where even more people were crammed in. I had no idea what the judge looked like so I didn't know how to find him but luckily I found Oscar standing in the farthest corner.

"Hey, where have you been?" Oscar scolded.

I wanted to say emotional hell but I didn't think he really wanted an answer. "I'm so, so sorry," I answered as apologetically as I could. "There was this thing…and I got caught up… did the judge show up?"

"Yeah, he called the museum," Oscar explained, a look of disappointment on his face. "He said he couldn't find you so I came back out. The contest is over, they already announced the winners."

I wanted to know who won but since Oscar was here, I asked about the museum's state of affairs. "Have you and Jan been able to work things out?"

Oscar frowned. "Not really. We've talked to Ed Truck's lawyers and there may be some money earmarked for us, but the family doesn't seem to want us to have it. There isn't much more we can do tonight except hope that people show up to the dance. Jan said she'll be back when it starts, but I'd avoid her if possible. She's in a nasty mood."

I nodded. "Alright, I'll watch out," I said. "And thank you so much, Oscar, for covering for me."

"It's alright, Pam. It's been a crazy few days for all of us," a small smile formed on his lips. "Oh, congratulations by the way."

"For what?" I wasn't sure if he was getting at what I hoped he was.

"Go check out your piece," Oscar suggested. "It is rather lovely, by the way. I never knew you had that kind of courage in you."

"Thanks, Oscar," a comment like that from Oscar was a true compliment. "Is there anything I need to do or is this all under control?"

"I've got it," Oscar replied. "Go ahead."

I smiled at him giddily before heading towards my piece. There were two older women chatting in front of it, blocking it from my view. "…such a lovely piece but the girl looks so sad," the first woman was saying.

The other woman nodded in agreement. "I hope the lady who drew this is in a better place in her life." With that, they shuffled over to the next piece, letting me have full view of my work.

There at the bottom of the canvas was a silver ribbon designating second place. I smiled ecstatically, proud that I had talked myself into even entering the contest. Part of me wanted to let those women know I was in a much better place in my life. Looking at the woman in the drawing, I was reminded at just how far I had come in six months. That girl was lost in the woods and maybe now she was just finding her way out.

If I knew what the judge looked like I would have thanked him, but I didn't. I wanted to call my parents and thank them for all the support they've given me over the years but I knew they were still at work. But more than anything, I wanted to tell Jim. I wanted to share this with him. I wanted to-

"This is quite a lovely piece," a taller man wearing glasses and a suit said as he stepped up beside me, breaking my train of thought.

"Oh, thank you," I said looking up at the stranger.

The man tilted his head thoughtfully. "You're the artist, aren't you?"

"How did you know?" I asked.

He gave me a friendly smile. "You look like the woman in the portrait."

I laughed and blushed a little. "Yup, that's me."

He gazed back at my drawing. "I'm impressed by the amount of emotion you were able to portray. May I ask what the inspiration was?"

I was hesitant to respond. It was such a personal piece that I was never sure how to talk about it with people. The drawing represented a time in my life when I was unsure of where I was going, of who I was, what I wanted. How could I explain this to a stranger that the experience of drawing this work was cathartic and helped me move forward in my life? I had no words to express it.

The stranger understood though and smiled kindly, nodding his head. "Ah, I understand," he responded when I didn't. "Personal experience through art. We have all been there."

"We?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself," he said holding a hand out for me to shake. "Dr. Vargas, I'm the head of the art department at Penn State."

"Oh my god," I said as I shook his hand. I was shocked and pleased to be in the presence of a man with such high caliber. "Welcome to our art festival. I'm PR for SIA."

"Right, Miss Beesly," he said, "I believe we were supposed to meet before but your colleague, Mr. Martinez, explained that you were busy with museum business."

"You were the judge," I said, thinking I really needed to thank Oscar again for covering me. "Yeah, I, um, had some museum business to attend to. I apologize greatly for my absence."

Dr. Vargas let out a laugh. "Relax, you're quite all right. And getting back to your piece, if I may, it's quite phenomenal. You were able to utilize such a simple technique in such a provocative and moving way. There were so many wonderful works here today, but I was impressed by your use of just pencil."

I was speechless and flattered that such a renowned professor spoke highly of my work. "Thank you," I said again, not able to find the right words.

"Ah, do you mind if I make a suggestion though?" he asked, sincerely unsure if I was up to hearing it.

"Yes, please," I insisted.

"You might try to use all of this negative space in a more creative manner," he said referring to the blank space that took up the top half of the canvas. "Maybe in the future, try offsetting the subject to the side rather than placing it in the center."

"Alright," I said nodding as he pointed out his thoughts. "Stuff to look for, I appreciate it so much."

"Anything to help an aspiring artist," he replied.

I smiled gratefully. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, what did you give first place?"

Dr. Vargas let out a chuckle. "Well, there was a very ambitious young man whose sculpture was made out of Cheetos and duct tape. I had to give him credit for sheer creativity, but it turns out the sculpture looked exactly like him."

I laughed as well, knowing exactly the sculpture in question. "Well, Dr. Vargas, I would love to chat, but I have to go back to work. I'm so glad that you made it all way from Penn State."

"It's been fun, Miss Beesly," he said cheerfully. "I love art festivals of any kind and this one has been a pleasure."

I said goodbye to Dr. Vargas and headed towards the pavilion with a newfound bounce in my step. I was excited, happy and eager to find Jim so I could tell him. Winning the contest had instilled a confidence in me that I haven't felt in a long time.

When I saw the pavilion I quickened my pace. Jim was there, leaning against one of the posts, Karen beside him, both with their backs turned to me. I could hear their voices and what sounded like a tense conversation. I was about to call out when I heard Karen say my name and I froze in my spot, wanting to listen.

"…she told me I should talk to you, so here I am talking to you," Karen was saying. Her voice was hushed, so I inched forward to hear better. Jim's voice was too low to for me to understand. "What's going on, Jim? One second you're you, the next you're not. All day it has been nothing but mixed signals. Just talk to me, Jim."

I was very intrigued by the conversation and moved, as quietly as possible, a few steps closer so that Jim was now audible. "Karen, I-" he stopped, letting out a sigh. "I know what you want, but I'm not sure I can…" he trailed off.

Karen nodded her head, though I could tell from her profile that she wasn't liking what she heard. "I came back early from my vacation because I thought maybe we might have a chance again so the least you can do is give me an honest answer."

There was a pause. I leaned in to listen better. "Here's the thing…I, um, sort of, uh, met someone. And I-It wasn't something I expected to happen, it just-I don't know."

My heart began to race and my stomach turned in knots.

"You met someone?" Karen asked. She didn't believe him. "Who could you have met in the last three days? According to Josh, you've been here the whole time and-" she stopped as it finally had occurred to her what had been going on. "It's Pam, isn't it?" Jim didn't respond. Instead he turned his head away. Karen's voice wavered. "Is it her?"

I held my breath, waiting for Jim to answer. I knew what he would say, but to hear him say it…

"Yeah…" he said finally.

Karen nodded but didn't respond right away. "Well, does she like you back?"

Jim didn't answer and I wanted to tell him desperately that I did, but I bit my tongue. "I don't know," Jim said finally.

"Well," Karen said, sounding very upset. "What now?"

Jim looked as though he were about to speak but was interrupted by Andy who shouted across the pavilion. "Hey-Oh" Andy yelled making me jump. He waved at me. I was suddenly aware that I was only a few feet behind Jim and Karen. Andy came jogging towards me as Jim and Karen turned around, both shocked to see me standing there.

"How long have you been standing there?" Karen asked in an accusatory tone.

"I, uh, just walked up a few, uh, seconds ago," I stuttered. I couldn't meet her eyes. Instead, I looked up at Jim but he turned away.

Karen nodded but I wasn't sure she believed me.

"Anyone up for a little dinner?" Andy asked as he came up. "It's Mexican night!"

Andy was right. A local Mexican restaurant was catering the dance tonight and Andy seemed happy as ever to hear of it. "I love Mexican food," he told us, not at all aware that the three of us weren't in the mood for his antics. "I took two years of Spanish at Cornell. Actually, I took intro to Spanish twice but it was worth it."

"That's great, Andy," Karen said distractedly.

"Oh, and because I helped with the band," Andy continued. "They said I could sing with them tonight."

I let out a tiny sigh. "Andy, I don't think that's such a great idea."

"Why not?" Andy asked confused. "I can totally sing better than half of those guys. Oh, hey, listen to what their drummer Kevin and I just put together in honor of Mexican night." He pulled out his cell phone and played us the ring. It was Andy's voice singing 'La Cucaracha' while Kevin banged on some drums in the background. The ring lasted only about ten seconds before repeating. Andy grinned wildly.

"That's lovely," I complimented, even though by the third time through it annoyed the heck out of me.

"Alright," Andy said. "Who's up for some dinner?"

Karen gave a false smile. "You know what guys, it's been great, but I think Jim and I are going to take off."

"Actually, I'd love to get some dinner," Jim said much to Karen's distaste but it made me smile to hear that he was staying.

Karen gave him a glare. "Well, I guess I have a few final questions. We can finish up during dinner." Karen didn't look too happy to be staying and I felt guilty for wanting her to go.

We all headed out to the Food Tent. There was a line trailing a few people out of the tent and I was glad to see so many people there. Andy got in line first followed by Karen then Jim and I came in last. I worried that it would take a long time to get through the line, but people shuffled through rather quickly.

"So, Karen said you had a problem with your contacts?" Jim asked once we were settled in line.

"Oh, yeah, no biggie," I said as Karen eyed me suspiciously. "All fixed."

"Really, you were gone for a long time," he said. It made me happy that he sounded concerned.

"Right, um," I smiled brightly thinking of my piece. "Actually, I was over where they were doing the art contest. And guess what, my piece came in second place."

"No way," Jim responded, genuinely happy for me. I felt a warm rush sweep over me. Karen looked over and gave me a weak smile. "That's awesome, what was the piece?" Jim asked.

"It was this drawing I did," I explained excitedly. "Um, a self-portrait actually."

"Well, can we go see it?" he asked. "How about after dinner we go over there and—"

"Jim, we can't stay much longer," Karen insisted, cutting him off. "I mean, Pam that's great that you won and I'm sure at some point we would both like to see it, but really we have a lot of work to do if you want this article to be out tomorrow."

My face fell as I realized Karen was not about to let go of Jim so easily. "Well, I guess come out when you can."

"Come on, Karen," Jim persisted. "We can take five minutes and check it out."

Karen pursed her lips. "Jim, you said you wanted to help write this article, so you're going to help write the article. I do not want to be working on it all night." There was a bit of desperation in her voice.

I waited eagerly for a response from Jim, but he didn't get a chance to respond.

"Isn't it the awesomest thing you've heard!" Andy yelled loudly as he made his cell phone ring again. He was only a foot or so ahead of us and played the song to the red-headed woman that was bartending while he danced to the music.

The bartender, whose nametag read Meredith, did not look impressed. "You better shut that thing off and order before I knock your head off," she said fiercely.

Andy gave her a scowl and put the phone on the counter as he proceeded to lean over to see what kind of drinks she had. "Oooh, do you know how to make a Mexican White Russian?" he asked as he reached out to grab a bottle.

Meredith swatted him away. "You're asking for it sweetie. No one touches my booze."

As Andy argued with the bartender, I noticed Jim take the phone off the counter and place it in his pocket. He turned to look at me and winked. Karen leaned over to see what Jim was up to but I don't think she understood. Then Jim must have pushed the button to make the cell go off because Andy's voice drifted through the air again and Jim gave a broad smile.

Andy stopped his bickering and went to grab for his phone. When his hand slammed on the counter and nothing was there, his eyes grew wide. "Where is my phone?" he demanded. He began searching the area, peeking over the counter to see if it had been pushed over but it wasn't there. He then went down on to his knees to see if it had fallen on the ground. I let out a laugh but Karen rolled her eyes at Jim, not impressed at all.

Andy stood back up, a wave of anger sweeping over his face. "Alright, I want to know who took my phone right now," he demanded. He turned his attention to the bartender. "You took it, didn't you?"

"I didn't take nothing," she argued back.

While Andy argued with the bartender, Jim pulled the phone out of his pocket and held it behind him. At first I wasn't sure what he was doing, but he wiggled it to signify that I should take it. I reached over and daringly traced my fingers over his before I took the phone and hid it behind my back. He turned to me, surprised and gave me a devilish grin. Karen had seen the whole thing and my face fell when I saw how hurt she looked.

I continued with the prank anyway and pushed the button on the side of the phone to make the ringtone go off again. Andy became even more flustered than he had before, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.

"Alright, which one of you took my phone?" he accused. He looked squarely at Jim. "Do you have it?" he twitched. Jim held up his hands to show he had nothing and shrugged. "Then where is it?" Andy's voice rose, startling several people in the line. Karen shot Jim and I a fierce look.

I thought it would be best at this point to give it back but then Andy went a little crazy. "Who took my phone?" he yelled at everyone in line. "I want it back right now!" he demanded before grabbing a bottle from behind the bar. Meredith tried to swipe at it but Andy pulled it away. He let out a frustrated scream then broke the bottle against the bar. Bits of shattered glass and alcohol flew everywhere and everyone in the tent froze. The cell phone slipped out of my hands and landed on the ground behind me.

I thought that might be the end of it but Andy let out another frustrated scream, wanting his phone back and slammed a fist on to the counter that was covered with all of the broken glass. He let out another scream, this time one of pain, and a tickle of blood started to flow on to the counter. Andy withdrew his hand and looked at us sheepishly.

"I think I may need a Band-Aid," he said remarkably calm.

"Come on, Andy," I said, placing an arm around his shoulders. The least I could do was help him fix up his hand. "I'll take you to the medical tent."

"Hey, missy," Meredith called out to me. "I ain't cleaning up this mess myself."

"I'll help you," Jim offered, starting to gather the glass in his hand.

"Andy, here's your phone," Karen said, retrieving it from the place I had dropped it. She gave me a glare, but didn't mention that it was Jim and I that took it. "You must have knocked it over here."

"Thank you," Andy said sheepishly as he put the phone in his pocket.

Andy and I walked silently over to the medical tent. His hand was bleeding down his arm and so he covered it with his left hand. I thought he may have expressed more anger and pain, but he was strangely cheery. A blonde woman, with a nametag reading 'Elizabeth', replaced yesterday's nurse, Dana.

"Hello, Elizabeth," Andy said sweetly as we came over to her.

"Oh, wow, what happened here?" Elizabeth asked.

"He sort of had an accident with a bottle," I explained.

"I see that," Elizabeth responded, immediately cleaning out the wound. "It doesn't look too deep, but let me dress it for you." Andy and I remained quiet as Elizabeth did her work, cleaning Andy's hand, applying some Neosporen and giving him a few bandages.

"I'm sorry about my over-reaction," Andy said finally. "I have been attending anger management classes lately, but sometimes I get pushed over the edge. I can promise you it will not happen again."

I let out a little sigh. He didn't need to apologize for anything, it was my fault for not being honest with him sooner. "There's no need to apologize," I said truthfully. "Andy, I think we-" This was harder than I thought it would be. Despite the fact that he went nuts a moment ago, Andy did have a likable quality to him. "You're a sweet guy."

"Thank you," Andy replied grinning. "Maybe I can interest you in going out to desert tonight."

"Uh, thank you but no thanks Andy," I said, hoping he wouldn't go into another rage. "I don't think you and I are going to work. I'm sorry."

"Oh." The smile remained plastered on his face, but his eyes showed he was disappointed. "Well, that's alright. I guess I wasn't feeling the vibes."

"Yeah," I said, giving him a half smile. "But we can still be friends."

"I think I would like that very much," Andy returned.

"You're welcome to stay at the festival as long as you like," I suggested, thinking that Andy as not a date would be more tolerable. "The community dance is tonight, so you should be able to meet people that way."

"Oh, I'll be here, the band offered to let me sing," Andy reminded me.

"Right," I said, still not really believing that.

"Besides, there was this lovely blonde selling Jesus statues," Andy continued, "that I think may be into me."

I thought about it for a second. He might have been talking about Angela, a thought that made me laugh. "Go for it," I encouraged.

Andy and I parted ways after his hand was bandaged. He headed towards the pavilion, where in a short time the dance would start, and I went back to the Food Tent ready to face whatever would be waiting for me there. The mess Andy made had been cleaned up and the museum owed the bartender only one bottle of vodka, which was manageable. I told Meredith everything would be taken care of if she never mentioned it to Jan, which thankfully she never did.

A slight worry that Karen and Jim would have just taken off swept over me, but I was relieved to find the two of them sitting next to each other with a plate of food at a table in the corner. I waved to Jim and Karen to signify I was back. Jim gave a half smile but Karen half heartedly waved back. I got myself a burrito, beans, and a bottled water even though I wasn't hungry at all and grabbed a seat across from them.

"So that was crazy," I said trying to sound casual as I took my seat. It wasn't working so well. "Andy's going to be alright, it wasn't as bad as it looked. And we decided that it would be best to part ways."

Jim gave a slight smile at that. Karen, however, frowned. I wasn't sure if she disapproved of how we treated Andy or just that I existed, but she was looking to leave as soon as possible. The charade of finishing the article would prove to be a tedious task, as none of us could really say what we were thinking.

I picked at my food, thinking about how I should ask Jim to stay while Karen asked me her final questions.

"So, activities for the next few days," she said. I noticed she had a false energetic tone. Whatever enthusiasm she had for her work when I first met her had long slipped away. "I think it would be great to give a list so our readers would know what to look forward to."

"Well, there's the fireworks show tomorrow night," I explained. My mind was not in work mode and I had to concentrate to come up with what was going on this week.

"Oh great," Karen said. "And what time does that start?"

Before I could answer, Jim let out a noisy yawn. Karen looked over at him annoyed. "What?" he asked, seeming not to understand what was bothering her.

"I'm sorry, am I boring you?" she asked, dropping the nice act. I knew Karen had to be on edge.

"What? I yawned," Jim replied confused. She continued to stare at him, causing him to stare at his plate. "I didn't get enough sleep last night," he mumbled. I blushed a little, thinking it was because of me that he didn't sleep well. I tried to hide my face behind my hand, but Karen noticed.

"Well, you know, getting a good night's sleep is an important thing," I said trying to make light of an uncomfortable situation. But what was coming out of my mouth was less than admirable.

"Really?" Jim said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh yeah, I read somewhere, or watched on the Discovery channel, this thing about how people need to enter a dream state before hitting the unconscious state so that they can be fully relaxed and that gives a good night sleep," I explained. I couldn't believe I was talking about sleeping cycles. It was worse than the conversation about zombie birds. I trailed off my words and went back to poking my burrito with my fork.

Jim nodded but looked more confused than anything. Karen was again annoyed. "Anyway," she said wanting to get back on topic. "About the fireworks show…"

I continued to talk about the week's upcoming events. As I did, I noticed Jim's lack of interest. I wanted to get his attention, let him know I wanted him to stay, but I had no idea how to go about it. I had already proved I was horrible at flirting. A daring idea popped in my head, one I wasn't sure I could pull off, but I figured at this point, what could it hurt?

Karen continued her questions and I answered to the best of my ability. While that went on, underneath the table I slipped off one of my shoes. My heart began to pound as I realized I was actually going to try getting Jim's attention in a more physical manner. I lightly brushed one pant leg and waited for Jim's reaction. He was still focused on the other things around him. So, I tired again, this time my foot wondered lower, seeking the end of pant leg. With a deep breath, I slipped my foot underneath the edge of the pants. There was something wrong about his leg. It felt unusually…smooth?

"What are you doing?" Karen asked her eyes wide.

I recoiled my foot immediately, blushing profusely in embarrassment. "I was just…stretching," I managed to say, pushing my arms out to demonstrate. "I'm sorry, did I hit you?" Jim shot me an amused look and I couldn't have felt worse. I wanted to just die.

"Jim, do you think you can get me a cup of coffee?" Karen asked, her eyes never wavering from me. Jim looked at her as though it were an odd request. She turned her attention towards him. "Please?"

Jim hesitated a moment before getting up. "Your usual?"

"Yeah," Karen responded.

"Pam, do you want anything?" he asked.

I shook my head, fearing what would happen when Jim finally left. I really didn't want to have any sort of confrontation with Karen, but unless I got up and ran away, I would have to endure anything she threw at me. The confidence I had gained from winning the art contest was slipping away and I felt like a scared little girl.

Karen remained stone-faced and silent for a moment. Maybe like me, she wasn't sure what to say. "I know this is a weird thing to bring up," Karen started. "But…" she swallowed hard before asking. "Do you like him?"

I could see worry in her eyes, which made it hard for me to come up with a response. I was so nervous I was nearly shaking. "Yeah, sure," I said as casually as possible, though my squeaky voice gave me away. "He's a great guy."

Karen tilted her head. She knew I was purposely avoiding the question. "No, I meant…are you interested…in dating him?"

"Oh, no," I said a little too quickly. I squirmed in my seat and began picking at the cold beans on my plate.

Karen's face relaxed a little. "Sorry to put you on the spot like that. It's just that Jim said—"

"What?" I asked interested.

She shook her head. "He just said you guys hit it off really well yesterday and I thought-You know what, never mind."

"Oh, right, yeah we did," I said not seeming able to control my mouth.

"You did?" she asked, trying to read me.

"Well, like, uh," Karen staring intently at me was causing my nervousness to grow. "I mean, we're friends. Just- friends."

"So, nothing happened between you guys."

"Yes."

"Yes, something did?"

I was incredibly flustered. "Oh, I mean no."

"No?"

"I mean, we, uh, had a lot of fun hanging out and he took me home cause I don't have a car and then he kissed me-" It just slipped out. I hadn't meant to say that but the words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Karen looked shocked. "He what?" she asked immediately.

"Oh, uh, that didn't mean anything," I said trying to recover.

"But he kissed you?" there was hurt in her voice.

"Yeah, just to say goodbye," I said quickly. "Really it didn't mean anything because you said you guys were close. And Jim and I aren't close; we just met. I mean, yeah, he's a really great guy, well not like, uh, you know what I mean? Yeah…"

Karen looked lost and I didn't blame her with all the backtracking I was doing. As much as I didn't want her to get hurt, as much as I didn't want to be the bad guy, my true feelings seemed to seep through the lies.

"Okay then," Karen said simply. Neither of us knew where to take it from there. Luckily, we didn't have to say anything because Jim had return with a cup of coffee for Karen.

"Hey, they didn't have decaf," Jim stopped when he saw that both of us were frozen in our spots. He set the coffee down. "Did I miss something?"

Karen shot up out of her seat. "Pam and I finished everything up. I think we're set to go." She started to walk away.

"What's going on?" Jim asked, very confused. He looked over at me for an answer, but I didn't have one to give. He then turned towards Karen.

"Jim, can we please talk for a moment?" Karen asked.

Jim hesitated. I nodded my head slowly, signifying it was alright. I thought that whatever else happened, it was only fair that Karen and Jim work things out first. Jim waited a little longer before following Karen.

I waited until they left the tent before I got up, throwing my uneaten food in one of the trashcans. I felt stupid for what I said. I felt even worse for my actions. But if I had the chance to rewind time and do it again, I wasn't sure if I would have been able to do anything differently.

I came to the edge of the tent to watch Karen and Jim meander through the crowd of people. I wasn't sure if they were speaking or not and soon they would be too far away to even tell. Part of me wanted to follow, but I knew that wouldn't be a good idea, so I continued to watch. They made it all the way to the fountain when Karen suddenly started throwing her hands in the air. They were arguing, that much I could see.

I was about to go closer when I was stopped again by the reality of my job.

"Hi, Miss Beesly," It was a tall man with grey hair and bifocals. We had met before. "It's Gordon Franklin, channel 7. Remember from a couple of days ago?"

"Yes," I said nodding, remembering how sleazy this guy was. He hadn't hesitated to hit on me a couple of days ago when we met and I was annoyed that he was again checking me out. "Can I help you?"

"Just wanted to let you know we're set up to cover the community dance tonight," he said with an obnoxious grin. "Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get you on the dance floor as well."

I gave him an unpleasant look. "No, I don't think so," I muttered as I looked away. I knew I had screwed many things up in the last twenty-four hours. And I knew that I had to get back to my job, which I had been neglecting all day. I wanted very much to know what was going on between Jim and Karen, but I had to refocus my priorities. And although I had just won second place in an art contest and gained the respect of a renowned professor, I felt like I couldn't catch a break. I looked up at the sky and sighed. Congratulations universe, I lamented to myself, you win.