"What are you doing

  in here soldier?" The administrator started to back out of the broom closet with the quickly grabbed copy paper.  The man didn't answer just squished up his eyes harder and his face turned bright red.  The woman put the paper on a desk in the corner of the office room.  Slipped back into the little space while popping a piece of chewing gum in her mouth.  "Is there something in your eye, Sir?" His head rolled into a no and a yes. 

  "Let's step into more light since you have a firearm.  Okay?" 

  He followed her.  "Is it a sliver or something? I mean I saw you working on the outbuilding earlier." 

  Hands went up to rub the eyes. 

  "Did you get it?" 

  Again the headroll.  "It's not a sliver," he said after a big deep breath. 

  "What else could it be? Did you sleep in poison ivy?" 

  The man chuckled.  "Not last night." 

  "What then?" She looked closely at his eyes.  He ducked his. 

  "Missed my kid's birthday." 

  The administrator gently sighed. 

  "So I feel like I failed everyone." He focused on a cinderblock. 

  "Do they live close by?" 

  "Isn't that like aiding the enemy?" 

  "The Courts wouldn't do that." 

  "What are you kids thinking about for dinner?" 

  "Not hungry." 

  "What if I'm paying?" 

  "Is ending tariffs on enemies 'aiding' them?" 

  "Whoa.  Other people actually think about this stuff too?!" 

  A rifle through a purse for a highlighter and TO DO list. 

  "What do you think?" 

  "Above my pay grade to think that hard...But 

  "What?" 

  "A lot of things are a matter of timing." 

  "Like deciding what to do with war booty?" 

  "War BOOTY?? Are we up to all that paperwork already?!" 

  "Maybe we should eat in."