Under Pressure

@herc-demirci​

“You could write a memoir.” Atticus chuckled, glad he had decided to reach out to Atta. It was a nice day and she was always terrific company. “All of us, as ill-starred as we are, might learn a thing or two.” He scratched his beard and squinted his eyes at her. “Does that mean you didn’t agree with me when I said there was a fifty-fifty chance?” Atty nodded, evidently delighted at the suggestion. “Neverland it is. I’ve been meaning to buy some of their amaranth cookies for a while now.”

“I’d call it All I Do Is Win,” Atta grinned, “but the joke is that the whole thing is just a recount of my terrible luck.” She shrugged. “Oh, that sounds good. I think I might try a lemongrass shot. Maybe a lavender lemonade.”

@attacapell​

“Okay, but did you know that name for the shape of Pringles is called a ‘Hyperbolic Paraboloid’?” She had taken up her tablet only to check on an email– Meg looked up at Atta and flashed an abashed smile before setting it aside, poking at her food with the fork. “I can’t recall the last time I had lunch here, but I guess it’s not half bad.” The mall’s food court was graciously set on an outdoor area, with the tables nearby mostly empty, it was a welcomed change of scenery from City Hall.

Atta stopped mid chew to stare back at her. She swallowed, the answered.  “Why would I know that?” Looking down at her salad, Atta couldn’t help but nod. “I was a little worried about the quality, but I think the new owners made some good decisions about who they let open up here. The strawberries in this are super fresh.” She reached for her water bottle. “Any updates from this week? Is the city going to shit again?”

“I was walking by and remembered I still owe you a coffee from last time.” He said with a little smile. “Now is as good a time as any to remember why I refrain from betting.” It had been a goofy little thing settled by a coin toss– as always, he had lost.

Atta let her shoulders fall as she realized who’s stopped her. “Because I always win?” she teased, eyes sparkling. “I’s so satisfying, being right all the time.” She pulled her purse strap up higher on her shoulder. “Neverland is havng a buy one, get one day today, want to go there?”

“Oh right.” Héctor breathed out and chuckled a bit more awkwardly than he had intended to. “Thank you for that!” He exclaimed with sincere joy, nodding along to Atta’s words. “Well, of course! Leaving aside the fact that it’s probably all alive thanks to you, we’d love to have people join us and have some fun. What do you say? I promise you we’ve pulled together a lovely, lovely evening.”

“You’re welcome,” she answered, his bright smile warming her up to a small grin. Atta looked over the flyer in her hand. She wasn’t one for parties, but she knew the event would boost local morale. “It sounds fun,” she said, her expression still mildly stoic. “Okay, I’ll come. What kind of food are you serving again?”

“I hate to say it, but it was this week’s highlight.” He shrugged. It’d been a week; apparently all of his clients had suddenly decided to be compliant in regards to regulations. “Dear god, have they nothing better to do than destroy the local environment? Give me a call if you need an army of TPOs to conveniently appear.” Rick clicked his licks and looked down at his watch. “Well, I don’t know about you but I need a drink. Join me, will you?”

She shrugged. “Seems like it. I think we might have to go straight to restraining orders.” Atta’s focus flickered between him and the clock hung above the doorway behind him as she calculated the risks and benefits of blowing her work for the night off in exchange for a chance to relax. “Sure,” she finally said, clutching her papers close to her chest. “Where to?”

“Oh, I was just thinking…” Tulio stopped for a moment, thinking about how fast she’d been going to the exit. Maybe this wasn’t the best time to discuss next week’s activity plan. “You know what, never mind. We can talk about it on Monday.” He assured her, looking back at the City Hall building with a little smile. “Right now the weekend has officially stared.” The amount of relief in his voices surprised him a little.

Atta’s heart sank a bit as he dismissed his train of thought. She valued his opinions and ideas, so to see him change his mind struck a chord. “I’m not busy,” she tried to reassure him, “but if you want, we can wait.” Atta followed his gaze, silently admiring the cotton candy colored clouds that framed the faded brick building. “Should we celebrate?”

“I was thrown in contempt for failing to control my client.” Richard let out a little amused laugh. “She screamed the key witness was a, and I quote, money hungry imp; I had no other choice but to agree with her. Thought I’d pay the fee on my way out.” He shrugged before hearing Atta’s reply, responding with a knowing look and a groan. “Can’t say I envy you. Never been a fan of the crackpot convention; what is it they’re eager to try and chew your head off for this time?” Dick remembered the last time he went to one of those halls– he’d just moved to Costa.

Atta nodded knowingly. “Sounds like a fun day.” She flicked through the stack of papers in her arms. “The trees in downtown getting too tall to see the neon signs, or something,” she joked. “I don’t know, I haven’t read it yet.”

“Good! Then you can join me for lunch, I won’t take no for an answer.” Meg replied in a loud, sunny voice that echoed in the hall and completely contrasted the look of dismay on her face. She tried her best to ignore the fuming brunette that screamed after her and basically tugged the blonde woman along until they were outside the door. “Sorry about that. I was only trying to keep my pretty head on my tense shoulders.” She groaned out. “You don’t happen to have a cigarette on you, do you?”

“Oh... okay.” She looked quickly over her shoulder, worry spread across her face. “Um, no--” Atta forced herself to keep walking, “I don’t smoke. What happened?”

“Common courtesy. You can be at ease now.” He shrugged, looking around the place. “I had to clean up after some– well, unfortunate events. Thought I’d catch you in your office, ask how things are going around here.”

Atta’s shoulders gently released most of their tension. “Oh? What happened?” Her phone blipped, and she pulled it from her bag to check her calendar. “Fine, I guess. Hectic as always. I need to prepare for a town hall tomorrow.”

“Well, in that case…” He said excitedly, he’d been handing out flyers for the last two days in all the places he could think of and he was handing the very last one to the woman. “There’s going to be an International music showcase in the community center tonight at eight; it’s going to be so good! There’ll be cool decorations, food and drinks… and amazing music, of course. Guaranteed!”

She nodded. “I know... I approved it.” There was a moment of silence in which Atta’s brows knit together as she tried to understand where the conversation was going. “Oh, you want me to come?”