#feintler

There’s a pause as the man in the chair takes a drag from his cigar before he blows out the smoke.

“Talk about what?  How you’re trying to tear my plans apart and ruin my business like you’ve always wanted?”

The Lorax hesitates.  “What...?”

“Don’t play dumb.  You’ve been against me from the beginning, haven’t you?  I’ll bet you’ve come to talk me out of all this again, right?”

A furry, orange foot steps forward.  “Look, I know that’s not what ya wanna hear, but I need ya to understand the gravity of the situation.  The valley is—”

The Once-ler stands from his chair and turns to face the other.  A cold glare rests on his face.  “Here we go again with the valley.  I know how much you love your trees, but I need them for my business to work!  So what if a few animals have to move?  That’s just a sacrifice that has to be made to make way for the bigger picture.”

The Lorax takes another step, his hands held out pleadingly.  “C’mon, listen to yourself!  You know this isn’t right!  This isn’t you!”

“What do you know about me?  You never really cared about my happiness, did you?  You were always too worried about your precious trees to ever think about what I wanted, what I needed to be successful in life.  Well, now I’ve found success, without you, and I’m not going to let you ruin it.”  The darkly-clothed man turns away after a moment, holding a hand up to his head as if he suddenly has a headache.  He closes his eyes.  “I’m done talking with you.  Get out, before I call security to throw you out instead.”

Silence falls over the room as the two stand there, not speaking anymore.  Soon enough, the Lorax lets his hands down to his sides and lowers his gaze to the floor, defeated for now.  He disappears out the door, leaving the Once-ler alone once again.