Boo

Ch. 31

Ms. Ågren had never been one to randomly call people to her office for a chat. Of course, this was to be expected. Being the leader of such a huge gang meant that she needed to keep the others afraid of her at all times. That was hard to do if you were inviting them over for a cup of tea.

So, naturally, Remus was terrified when he was called to Ms. Ågren’s office. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d done this time? He liked to think that he had matured from the fourteen year old she had met all those years ago. He was older now, wiser. 

The latter was barely true, but he could imagine.

His days of causing mischief just for the rush of adrenaline were coming to a close, and he was simultaneously proud of himself and terribly afraid of the unknown. He couldn’t stay in this type of business forever. He needed a real job, one that Roman would be proud of. So, like the responsible and mature adult he was, he began searching for one.

Had Ms. Ågren found out?

Remus had expressed his anxiousness about the meeting to Emile the second he received the message, the older man reassuring him that it was unlikely she would kill him. After all, he was indispensable. 

It did little to calm his nerves, but he appreciated the thought nonetheless. 

He knocked on the door to her office, trying to calm himself down so that the color would return to his face. “Enter.” Ms. Ågren called, and Remus huffed out a laugh.

Of course Ms. Ågren would be the type to say ‘Enter’ all dramatically instead of just saying ‘come in’ like the rest of the world.

He paused. ‘Come in.’ Under different circumstances, it sounds a little--

Remus opened the door, and his thoughts stilled, nerves returning full force as he locked eyes with Ms. Ågren. 

She was leaned back in her chair, a cigarette in one hand and some papers in the other.

“Um, hello.” Remus gave a shy little wave. 

Ms. Ågren snorted, gesturing to the seat in front of him with the hand that held the cigarette. 

Remus quickly sat down, not wanting to get on her bad side. 

He furrowed his brow. ‘Bad side.’ Who had even come up with that term, anyway? It was so weird.

“Remus,” She said, gaining his attention, “thank you for being here.”

“Are you going to kill me?” He blurted out without thinking, and almost immediately mentally facepalmed. He really needed to use that filter of his sometimes. 

“Kill you? What gave you that idea?” She laughed. “Quite the opposite, actually. I want to promote you.” 

Remus’ eyes widened, and he pointed to himself in disbelief. “Promote me? Me?”

“You see, Remus.” Ms. Ågren took in a puff of smoke, breathing it back out a couple seconds later. “Jasper was your competitor for the position I want to give you. That position being the heir to this little gang.”

Remus’ jaw dropped. “H-Heir to the--?!”

“I was planning to make you two fight for it.” Ms. Ågren hummed. “A friendly competition, though I figured it wouldn’t be too friendly.” She placed the papers back on the desk. “It was going to be a test. A test to see who was capable of being the next heir.” 

“That’s not really possible now.” Remus said before his brain could reprimand him.

“It certainly isn’t.” Ms. Ågren smiled sardonically. “I have a new test for you, though. So not to worry.”