ariela was sitting near the gazebo with a notebook on her lap, a pen in her right hand, and a powdered donut in her left. on her face was a blank, unimpressed expression: not elated, not disappointed, just blank. granted, she had no emotional attachment to any of these kids, so it’s not like she had any sort of investment in their performances tonight. she took another bite of her donut before she heard a buzz in her pocket, right in the middle of the elementary school’s performance of “frosty the snowman”. putting her pen down on top of the notebook, she figured that it was probably important. “ no, ricky, park across the street !! ricky, oh my god, do i have to come get you ?? we went through this. parking in the city is not like parking here. you can’t just park wherever you want and pray they don’t fine you. look, i’m trying to get a good analysis for my report tomorrow morning. i have to be here. it’s a required thing for my job, so if you could just-- hello ?? hello ?? “ she called out, giving complete disregard to the children’s little song. hell, it’s not like anyone would care, but she figured she’d just come up with a good cover just in case. “ men, right ?? your kids are so good, though.” she smiled to the people behind her, feigning sincerity.
