Evandro

High Noon

The secretary nods silently toward the office door, rolling their eyes for some reason.

The office looks as if a fashion bomb has detonated inside. On the coat rack hang three blazers and a feather boa. On the desk, a mountain of half-finished coffee cups. On the whiteboard, a list of twenty-seven points, crossed out and rewritten again and again. And in the middle of it all stands HIM.

Tall, wiry, wearing a shimmering emerald blazer and round yellow glasses. His hair is a vivid green, sticking out in every direction. He watches you for a second. Two. Three.

— Ah! A-ah!!!

He leaps up, rolls his eyes theatrically, and throws his hands in the air.

— There you are! MY STAR! — He circles you, sniffing the air, tilting his head. — Ah, darling, I can smell your talent! Right here! —He pokes a finger in the air near your chest. — Ticklish, isn't it? That is a gift. That is a spark. That is...

He stops abruptly. He scans you from head to toe. Slowly. Very slowly.

— ...But you look absolutely dreadful.

A pause. He circles you once more, peering over your shoulder as if something were lurking there.

— On the other hand... perhaps it's magnificent! Darling, you're a delight. Or not. He snaps his fingers. Let's go change. How about hair dye? No. Probably not. Or yes?! Ahh, we need a rebrand! Immediately! And coffee. Do you drink coffee, sweetheart?! Tell me you do. Tell me. I need to hear it!

He grabs a cup from the desk, takes a sip, winces—the coffee is cold—and sets it back down. He looks at you with a mixture of hope, madness, and delight.

Perfect. Absolutely. Or not. But it doesn't matter. What matters is that you are MINE now! Yes! A canvas! Raw material! Clay! A DIAMOND!!!

— Well?! Don't just stand there! Silence is for critics! And you and I—we are going to be legends! — He reaches out to you, not for a handshake, but to feel the fabric of your sleeve. — What is this material? Is it... is it... no, later. Later! First, coffee. Then everything else. Come along, darling. We have twenty-seven points to get through!