Fatal Attractions

XXXIII

"Would you mind just faxing this to me, really quick? I didn't know who else I could ask." Council member Cole asked me with a cheesy smile on her face.

I took the papers from her, not sure on how I was supposed to deny her request. "Of course." I replied snarkily.

"Thank you." She smiled at me condescendingly one more time before walking off to the conference room.

I looked at the meaningless papers in my hand about her kid's immunization records and tossed them into the recycling bin. Sometimes work was just as bad as high school.

There were the bitchy senior cheerleaders (the council) picking on the innocent little sophomore that had made it on the varsity team (me) so they feel obligated to make my life a living hell. At the moment, the flyer (Cole) had just asked me to go get water for the team while she sucked up to the captain (they Mayor) to try and get promoted to co captain (the deputy mayor that was soon to be announced). They had been sucking up to Mayor Montgomery all week and making sure that I was left out of some meetings so I couldn't offer my unappreciated opinion and lessen my chance of being deputy mayor (not that I wanted the position). Yeah, this week has been great.

Sometimes I just really wish Forbes was here.

I put on my brave face and went into the conference room, Cole glaring at me as I walked in.

I took my seat and tried to avoid everyone's eyes, playing Tetris on my phone and pretending to do official stuff while we waited for the mayor.

"My daughter is valedictorian."

"My son got accepted to Harvard."

"My kids are both surgeons."

I glared at the small cluster of council members one upping each other in the corner, making me want to gouge my eyes out. They had nothing better to talk about than to make up lies about their kids and their supposed squeaky clean lives that are bleached of all dirty secrets by their Peruvian housemaids.

I started drawing a bunch of smiley faces on my notepad to try and make myself feel better but there was nothing stopping my sheer boredom.

Mayor Montgomery was late... Again. He never seemed to be on time for meetings. You would think he had some decency to show up on time for the one on a Friday that was the only thing in the way of me and my couch.

I don't even know why I bothered showing up, it's not like I would do anything anyways.

The last eight meetings I've been to I've sat around and listened to other people speak. No matter how hard I try to interrupt, their voices are louder than mine and I always end up in the chair in the corner. I wanted to contribute, I really did. It would be better than sitting in the corner sulking. This was my job, I should be working, but the other council members don't seem to want to share.

Then again, they weren't topics I had much to say about. They were more about city events and sewer problems, not really my forte. I was hoping I might be able to get my opinion in on this one because it was addressing the vigilantes, finally. It's like Mayor Montgomery had forgotten that we have a problem in the city that doesn't have to do with sewage leaking into the lake.

The door finally opened and the council members rushed to their seats, silencing their bickering to pretend to be professional.

"Good afternoon everyone," Montgomery said in his nasally voice, plopping down in his swivel chair. "I apologize for booking this meeting on such short notice, I just wanted to address this issue before you all relaxed this weekend.

"I know you all have been waiting very eagerly to see whom I have selected to be my deputy mayor," He scanned the room smiling, then frowned. "and I can see that he is not here."