“My name is Verdell Silbert,” Verdell gave her a crooked smile. “thank you very much for the warm welcome, Sir Aaron.”

Aaron nodded, taking a sharp breath next and pointing Verdell at Penelope, who was serving coffee to the others. “That’s Penelope; she works with us, too, and she needs friends. Make friends with her.”

“Okay…” Verdell forced herself to smile.

Aaron crossed his arms. “Now, tell me a joke.”

Verdell backed to the counter, tilting her head as Aaron narrowed his gaze. “Excuse me?”

“Tell me a joke.” Aaron nodded once more.

“Are you really sure about this?” Verdell blurted, looking at Rosemarie, who shrugged at her.

“I am very sure,” Aaron’s lips curved into a proud smile. “I have learned my lesson.” He scoffed at Rosemarie, looked at his crotch, and returned his attention to Verdell. “I can make you do things so long as I’m far away and so long as you can’t kick my balls.”

Verdell’s clenched her teeth. She frowned, opening her mouth to let her lips quiver as her brain crushed itself to procure some thought. The man in front of her stood firm like a disciplined master who had gained enlightenment. She, too, was drawn in to seek wisdom, but her mind blanked out. It urged her to scream internally, but it seems that her internal self was too far that her blood-curdling scream was reduced to a long uninterested groan as the clock ticked. It was too late when she realized that her face had been dropping down like an old soggy sponge.

“W-well, do you w-want me t-to, S-sir?” Verdell blurted. Her own brain cried at what she just said; she laughed next in panic making it so much worse.

Aaron’s face remained firm, too, for at least a second before moving to slowly shove both his arms in between his legs. He smiled. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Rosemarie whistled, letting out a laugh before tapping Penelope’s shoulder. She gave Penelope a pencil, to which Penelope responded with a forced smile before sighing.

“She’s afraid, for sure, and hella confused, but should I really?” Penelope raised her other hand to snap, but life rushed back into Verdell’s eyes as her body revived with a shock.

“No, please! I didn’t mean that! It’s just that you took me off guard and I didn’t have a joke prepared and I didn’t have… I wasn’t ready and I… I’m really really really sorry for kicking your crotch, Boss—Daddy! It was an accident, I was afraid and I was pinned down and I didn’t have anything. I didn’t know what to do—”

“Okay,” Aaron clapped and let out a sharp breath through his nose. “I’ll pretend that I didn’t hear that because I think it’s rude to punch people in their throats at the first meeting. Also, stop panicking, geez; I don’t even have a grading notebook with me. Hell, I’m not even supposed to grade you!”

Verdell’s cheeks flared in embarrassment, urging her to look down. Her eyes moistened and glittered as she gripped the sides of her pants. “O-okay… I’m ready…”

“Oh,” Penelope sighed. “you’re the worst, Boss.”

“Oi.” Aaron glared at Penelope and turned back to Verdell. “You’re making this like a crime scene.”

“Well, you did grab a girl outside, pinned her at the counter, and somehow asked her to kick your balls after.” Rosemarie sipped her coffee and grinned. “We have witnesses for days.”

“Oi.”

“Do we want to put him in jail, though?” Rosemarie ignored Aaron, placing her drink down at a nearby table before cupping her chin.

Penelope’s face flashed into a contorted smile. “We could.”

“Oi.”

“Yeah, we definitely could.” Rosemarie nodded.

“Oi.”

Penelope tilted her head. “But we don’t want to.”

“Oi—”

“Yeah, but he ruined my coat though.” Rosemarie shook her head and held up her finger with a playful smirk. “Should I kick his balls, then?”

“Oi!”

Penelope clicked her tongue in satisfaction. “Kick it the nuts? Bet.”

“I’m right here!” Aaron screamed and took his stance for battle; he closed off his legs to cover his dick like it was the only thing that matters.

“Bet.”

Aaron narrowed his gaze and pouted his lips, moving his hands next like an old man sizing up his opponent. “Square up t-tho—”

His words were cut short when his cellphone rang. Aaron looked around him, placing his finger over his lips to silence those cultists that surrounded them. He cleared his throat next, gazing at the screen of his phone to see who was calling. It made him smile.

Almost giggling, Aaron took a deep breath and picked up the call. He shifted his weight to tilt his body, opening his mouth after to mimic an endearing old grandma saying, “Hey baby, what calling yo’ mamas in the middle of the day? You hungry—”

Rosemarie and Penelope covered their faces and groaned. On the other hand, Verdell simply opened her mouth to let the confusion that stiffened her body escape by her breath. They all watched as Aaron straightened his back and regain its firm hardboiled expression.

“Yeah,” Aaron followed with his voice sounding a lot deeper. “I’m sorry about that, yes. It will never happen again. Okay, I understand. I’ll send them over.” He sighed in silence. “Yes, I won’t do it again, just… just forget about it. This never happened, okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were in a panel meeting. Right, I’m sorry.”

The other person on the line dropped the call and Aaron followed suit and slid his phone back into his pocket. A moment of silence came. It seemed to Verdell like they were waiting on a prophetic word, and even Rosemarie and Penelope was waiting on Aaron’s words.

Aaron clapped again. Penelope and even Rosemarie, along with the others held their breaths. He nodded, taking a deep breath as he puffed his chest. His lips shook. It made him raise his chin and look at the men and women around him with a determined set of eyes before he stomped the floor and announced, “WE’VE FUCKED HIM UP, LADS!”

The crowd roared with laughter. Penelope raised her fist in the air as to celebrate, and Rosemarie cried out like a banshee out for blood. It was like a scene from a movie where they had attained victory at the cost of many lives; this was the first time Verdell contemplated her life’s choices.