[F17-PP] A Better Look (Seul)

[LKZ 0]

“Hey, kid!” called the man. His voice resounded through the empty building in all of its gravelly glory. “You just ‘bout finished yet?” he asked, jangling a ring of keys in his hand.

LKZ downed about half a cup of tea, which had evidently gone cold at least a couple of hours ago. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand. “Just about!”

Bouncing every which way around the room, she tapped her fingers against seemingly every surface in sight. Before long, her stuff had been packed, the chairs had been tucked neatly away, the blinds closed and the lights switched off. With the office looking prim and proper, she closed the door lightly behind herself before scurrying down the hallway.

“Sorry!” said LKZ. She bounded through the open double doors before spinning around to address the older man. “That last client was a real doozy, you know? I mean, my hands are kinda tied by the whole ‘confidentiality’ thing, but I may have asked him how something made him feel and he might have felt a whole lotta things. I mean, he seemed like a lovely guy, and I really love people in general- don’t get me wrong, but sometimes they can just be a wee bit of a handful.” She paused, taking in a deep breath before going any further. “But, um, like I said- those last couple of parts are just hypothetical.”

The man grunted as he raised a brow, but he neither smiled nor frowned. “Naturally.” He wrapped his fingers around the frame of his glasses, adjusting them slightly as he glanced down at the smiling girl. The man’s eyes drifted steadily between the girl and the digital clock which hovered at the corner of his peripheral vision. “Y’know… I figure you really oughta learn to start thinkin’ on your feet. ‘Cause next time around, I’m thinkin’ I’m liable to locking this place up right on the dot.”

LKZ nodded, looking as if she were without a drop of irony in her entire body. “I’ll start practicing right away.” She folded her arms across her chest and, for a moment, rubbed her chin. It wasn’t long before the gears in her head apparently clicked, and she signaled the occasion with a snap of her fingers.

“Okay, how’s this? Next time someone goes overtime, I’ll tell ‘em the building’s on fire- they’ve gotta get out right away, before the whole place goes up in flames!” She threw both of her hands high into the air. “And once they’ve scrambled on out, I’ll slam the door shut behind ‘em and call it a day,” she added, demonstrating her suggestion with the help of a make-believe door.

A click came from the door as the man turned his key. He gave a little twirl of the loop which housed it, before slipping the whole assortment into his pocket. “Kid, you ever considered talking to one of the other counselors around here?”

“I guess I should probably dial it back a bit,” said LKZ with a laugh. She opened her lips, intending to carry on, but closed them as a message casually blinked into being in front of her face. The first thing to catch her eye was the name of its sender, followed shortly thereafter by the current time.

“Looks to me like you’re itchin’ to leave right ‘bout now,” observed the man.

“It’s a little scary, sometimes, how good you are at that,” said LKZ, clasping the back of her neck.

“Yeah?” The man snorted. “I’ve got a daughter on the other side and let me tell you,” he started, the corner of his lip inching upward ever-so-slightly. “You teenagers aren’t exactly all that hard to figure out.” The man rolled his shoulders and glanced back at the time. “Anyway, I think it’s ‘bout time you got a move on.”

“I’d love to stay and chat, but-”

“Yeah, yeah. I know,” said the man, his open hand held out in the universal gesture for ‘stop’. He motioned for her to shoo with a few sweeps of his fingers before crossing together his arms. “Run along now, ya little rascal.”

Having been rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, LKZ steadied her feet firmly against the ground before giving a cheerful nod. “I’ll catch you guys again real soon!” she said, spinning herself around. Taking off shortly afterward, she looked back over her shoulder and waved. “‘Later!"