Sven jolted awake, crying.
He had fallen asleep doing paperwork. Again.
He scrambled to drag everything forward and continue working.
Jag hatar dig, Sven.
Jag hatar dig, Sven.
JAG HATAR DIG, SVEN.
JAG HATAR DIG, SVEN.
"Jag hatar dig, Sven..." Sven muttered, tears making their presence visible on his cheeks.
"Boss..?" Somebody opened the door.
Sven weakly looked up to see Carol and Burt standing in the door, looking concerned.
"Is the government here?" Sven growled, standing up.
"No, nothing like that. We're concerned for another reason." Carol walked forward and touched his desk.
"We heard you, Sven," they said quietly. "Who... Who said that..?"
"You know what it means..?" Sven asked quietly.
"Burt told me..." Carol admitted. "Who said that?"
"Nobody, really..." Sven sighed, gaze meeting with Burt's. "I just... Had a dream, that's all..."
"What about..?"
Sven was silent.
"Sven, we can't help if you don't tell us." This time, Burt was speaking.
The Swede trailed his hand across his desk and rested it on the brim of his blue top hat, staring at it.
He put it on quietly.
"I'm not meant to be leader..."
"This again..?" Carol sat down on a spare seat in his office.
"I don't know what I have to say... I'm not right for this position. I'm not like Reginald, or Randy, or Reynaldo, or Sir Wilford IV-"
"But that doesn't mean you can't be a good leader," Carol interrupted. "Any good leader has some flaws, okay? Like Randy. He was so laid-back that not many things managed to get done under his leadership. Or Reynaldo. He was so fierce that he was almost asking to die in battle. Or Sir Wilford IV. He might've been one of the best leaders, but that doesn't mean every single thing got taken care of in the Toppat clan. Or we would not be having to run from the government."
Sven narrowed his eyes, not reassured.
"We've been fleeing from the government ever since we first started. There is no leader who hasn't had to deal with those annoying pests," Carol growled. "No offense, Burt."
"None taken."
"Every Toppat leader has had to deal with the government during their leadership. But they still came out as good leaders. You can too. It just matters how you choose to deal with them. But fretting and complaining about something everybody before you went through isn't a good strategy."
"Carol, I only became the leader because nobody else would!" Sven cried. "I have no leadership qualities at all!"
"Untrue. You're smart, kind, and organized. That's what we need," Burt insisted.
"We also need a Right Hand Man, because I can't do this alone." Sven looked Burt right into his hues.
"I'm counting on you, Burt, to be my Right Hand Man."
YOU ARE READING
The New Toppat (Curtisson)
FanfictionThe government is on their tail. Sven's so overworked and stressed, and nothing can help him. Everybody's assuring him but none are getting to him. He believes that it's all his fault because he failed to be the leader they thought he would be. He i...
