Going Crackers in the Dark

“…And then the entire PR department was spammed with the same Dragon Ball Z meme for a week,” said Victor with a humorous glint in his eye.

“What fun and games you guys have at work. Sounds more like a sitcom than real life, if I’m frank.”

“Aww, c’mon Taisa, that’s nothing compared to your Mr. Bean ideas…I mean, stealing sugar to do a bootleg waxing business? Pure gold. Couldn’t keep my lunch down from laughing when I heard about it,” replied Max.

Taisa blushed and side eyed the appetizer buffet before clearing her throat. “Well, sugar waxing is a very popular trend nowadays at salons; and isn’t cutting own on costs like the most important thing in business whatnot rules…?”

“Not like that, Tai. To be honest, though, I don’t think you should try your hand at any ventures for your sake… and the world’s.” 

“Too far, man,”said Max as he sheepishly eyed Taisa while she mournfully popped another appetizer in her mouth.

“Gee, thanks for the encouragement, Vic.”

“Well, at least you won’t have any customers to do any damage control later on.” Noticing her eyes widen and dart back and forth, Victor had a feeling she hadn’t told them the full story during their brunch yesterday. “Or do you?”

“… just one.”

“Aaaand how did that went?”

“I burned her toes.”

“What?!!” both men blurted simultaneously.

“I have so many questions I don’t know where to start,” muttered a bewildered Max.

“Look, it’s not my fault my flatmate has hairy toes… and that I have 0 experience with waxing. OK, maybe the last part was sorta-kinda my fault. Just don’t tell anyone about this if you want me to ever speak to you again.”

“To preserve your dignity, we shall never mention your business failure to another sentient being.” Added Max with a dramatic flair.

Suddenly Victor’s disposition changed from gleeful to grim as he looked over Taisa’s shoulder. Max’s expression also became more alert and leaned in slightly to whisper “Brace yourself, I think his unholiness is coming this way. Don’t turn around Tai! You’ll make it obvious we’ve spotted him.”

Taking the hint, she also started speaking in a hushed tone, “Spotted who? You’re talking as if you’ve seen the Antichrist.”

“You’re not that way off.”

“Victor is exaggerating a bit. He’s an old acquaintance from our college days. Let’s say we never saw eye to eye when it came to… everything.”

“He thinks he’s God’s gift to the software world. So what if he made a few start-ups that caught on, big whoop.”

“And that is exceptional, orr….? I thought start-ups pop up in your industry like mushrooms?”

Max tilted his head and nodded. “Yes, but not many manage to sell them for a 7, or God forbid, 8-digit figure.”

“Oooh, sounds like you’re envious of the competition . Such IT drama,” giggled Taisa.

Victor narrowed his eyes and scoffed lightly, all the while keeping his sights on the approaching figure. “Pfft. Hardly. He was a stuck-up, know-it-all ass even before he made bank. And he always had something personal against ME – and no Max, it’s not all in my head.”

“You’re all adults now. I don’t think anyone in the real world holds life-long rivalries with –“

“Why, hello there Xander,” said Max, the politeness in his tone not matching his inward thoughts.

Taisa slightly turned around to see that the person they have been idly gossiping about was right behind her. As he was way taller than average, she had to fully turn her body around to be able to see his face.

‘Double espresso guy?’

“Yea; long time no see ,” Victor strained to smile, but he was determined to prove that he could be mature when needed.

The man known as Xander stared expressionlessly at the two, and for a split second his eyes shifted to the extremely confused girl in front of him, before returning his focus on Victor and Max.

“I see the time management for these sorts of events still leaves much to be desired. Shouldn’t your panel start in 10 minutes?” The sardonic remark paired with his bored tone made Victor suddenly very aware of his own pulse.

Sensing that his friend might blow a fuse right before their biggest panel to date, Max decided to diffuse the situation and intervene. They were also running short on time as previously mentioned.

“Thanks for the concern, but the staff behind the scenes get things done pretty quickly around here. Vic, we should get going.” Max smiled warmly at Taisa and in turn she gave him two thumbs up.

“Yea, yea, Maxie.” Taking one last sip of his drink, Victor placed the glass down and patted Taisa on the back.

“Catch you on the other side, Tai. Xander.” At the latter, he curtly nodded.

She smiled at first, but as the two men were engulfed by the crowd, her features took on a melancholic turn.

As quickly as she entered her state, she was brought back to reality by the figure standing to her left. After a brief eye contact, he slightly jerked his head in the general direction of the moving crowd.

“I take it we are heading in the same direction ?”

“Uhh, yeah…” still stumped about this whole conjecture, she numbly followed him while trying to sort the many sprouting thoughts in her head. ‘What were the chances of him being here? Of him knowing Vic and Max?...I wish I had more time to eat another pastry puff. Well, those cheese crackers I swiped will have to do.’ While her train of thought derailed completely of track, they had already made their way in the back of the conference room, noticing this only when Xander abruptly stopped.

“Do you have any seat preferences?”

‘Does he always speak so devoid of all joy?’ “Umm no, not really. I mean, I know I don’t want to sit up front.”

Although her boys said they could reserve any front row place for her, she declined. Aside from using a smartphone, she knew nothing about tech and the sorts, so might as well cede the spot to someone that was passionate about the subject. She was only there for moral support.

Almost imperceptibly, his eyebrow quirked but said nothing.

“Oh, sorry I forgot. You must be actually here for the presentation, not for the appetizers. You can go on further in front; I’ll just hide out in the back. ‘Where I can enjoy my crackers unperturbed.’

“I’m not that invested in the matter.” Scoping out the room, he pointed to several empty seats in the back row. By the time Taisa could answer, he had already started walking towards them so once again, she just followed him.

Sitting down next to each other, a flash of disappointment crossed her face. ‘He’s sitting on the side of my cracker pockeeeeet. How can I eat stealthily now?’

“You sure you want to be all the way back here?” she asked while slyly eyeing her jacket’s pocket.

“I already know the things they are presenting, so there is nothing to interest me. Maybe they’ll prove me wrong with their ‘showmanship.’”

“Well, those two are known to be entertaining.”

“I could do without the cringe comedy.”

She let out an unladylike snort which attracted the attention of a few people in front of them. Bowing her head, a little, she still kept a sly smile. Vic was smart but he liked to make everything bombastic, and while some didn’t quite appreciate his flair for public dazzling, he always knew how to promote his ideas.

“Why are you here though? Do you like throwing away money on stuff that disinterests you?” unabashedly she fixed her stare on him.

“Didn’t pay for anything and just scoping out the competition.”

“Oh.”

Even though the room was filled with the voices of speakers and occasional crowd murmurs, she still had the feeling that they were sitting in awkward silence.

“I recognized you, you know?” she blurted out.

At this he raised an eyebrow, urging her to continue. “Yes… So?”

“That’s all. Just said it so you know I know you not just from your association with my friends.”

What could he say to that? The girl seemed weird from the beginning, but he hadn’t really talked to her that much up until now so his expectations were all over the place. She also confirmed that she was friends with two of the most obnoxious people he had ever met.

“What did you do with all the sugar packs you were swiping?” If a normal flowing conversation couldn’t be established, riposting with equal bluntness would be his tactic.

She visibly stiffened as flashbacks of roaring laughter kept echoing in her head. “I used them to bake a low-budget cake.” A feeling of satisfaction overwhelmed him; the puzzle had finally been solved. Not what he was expecting though; he thought just as much that it would be something trivial. But still, the manner in which her plan was carried out did raise a few other questions.

Hesitant but bolded by her curiosity once again, she leaned in her chair and looked at him with a sulky pout. “Was I that obvious?”

“You could have just not asked any from your customers and taken your loot after they had left. No one would have been the wiser.”

Her eyebrows almost reached her hairline. She looked straight ahead with her eyes wide as saucers and muttered: “I did not think of that.”