“You know, that’s not a completely horrible idea. I mean, so long as you don’t try to snort the glue like the last guy, then I think that this arrangement might work out.” Her policy had used to be something along the lines of: you break it, you help fix it. She had thought it would solve all her problems and keep her from doing the work, but it only added to it. The more things people broke, the more work she had to do. The culprits weren’t half as competent as she had given them credit for, and she had drawn the line when she walked in and saw an idiot with the Gorilla Glue bottle up one of his nostrils. “Welcome to the team, Grasshopper.”
“I’m trying to cut back on my glue intake. If I don’t? I might not be able to kick the habit until it’s too late,” he grinned trying not to look as hopeful and hinging on her answer as he–in fact–was. Even his toes curled into the soles of his shoes as he awaited her approval. Or to be–righteously–shot down and clumped with the other klutzes that made her work pile a mountain of fix-its and oops!es that caused them. Cracking a joke seemed the easiest way to put his nerves to rest. It sort of worked. At ‘Welcome to the team, Grasshopper’–Blaine practically beamed with happy relief and hazel eyes sparked with excitement. “Thank you. I promise. I won’t make you regret it as much as Glue Up The Nose Guy.. Um. Did it get stuck up there? Because that’d be an awkward hospital visit I’m sure he’ll never live down. Might serve him right. Okay–what do you want me to do first, Boss?”
“You have? I’m not sure that makes me feel better, Emma. It’s not like I need to add to your To-Do List.” Blaine cringed. He was already ‘the new kid’ trying to fit in and being accepted into the theater crowd so early on was a dream come true and he liked Emma. A lot. Now, he was just another clumsy mess giving her yet another project. Unless? Blaine looked at the pieces of the prop and bit his lip. “You know,” he shrugged and scrunched his nose in a ‘hear me out’ kinda way. “I was pretty good at helping with sets and props at my old school. I could stay and help you catch up? I wield a mean bottle of Gorilla Glue,” he grinned before laughing softly trying to get over his embarrassment with a baiting hum of a chuckle.
pianokeysandbowties 