Page 121 of Give Me a Shot

He smiled, his heart beating fast.

“Off we go, then,” he said, leading her inside.

—

Guided by the smell of coffee, they found Lana and Doug at the table in the break room. Lana was blowing across the top of a steaming mug held in both hands. Doug was beside her, clacking away on his laptop. Lana grinned broadly as soon as Mo and Jess walked in.

“Hello, hello!” said Lana, standing and rushing over to squeeze their arms. “So,” she said, looking at their clasped hands. “Is it official? Can we all stop pretending like we don’t know?”

Mo didn’t do a good job of concealing his discomfort with Lana being Lana. Jess just sighed.

“All right, Lana, yes. Mo and I are together. Do you feel better now?” she asked.

“Oh, so much better,” Lana said, clapping her hands. “Isn’t this wonderful?” she asked, turning to Doug.

“Of course, Lana,” he said without looking up from his laptop. “Come, come, you two, sit down.”

“Wasn’t the Faire spectacular?” Lana asked. She launched into a lot of chatter that Mo just did not have the ability to pay attention to. He was doing his very best to stay calm because walking into the building had brought home the fact that if the Faire hadn’t been a success, he didn’t know what else they could do. He loved the Folk School too much to see it disappear.

As he sat down with Lana and Doug, Jess poured a cup of coffee from the maker. She picked up another mug and raised it in Mo’s direction to ask if he wanted one, too. He nodded and tried to smile. He realized he’d folded his arms. He took a deep breath, loosening them to rest his fingertips on the table.

“Guys, look at this,” Doug said, turning his laptop so that Mo could see the screen.

“People were posting about the Faire all weekend long. There’re even a couple of posts today,” he said, looking smug.

“Really?” Mo asked, nodding a thanks to Jess as she sat next to him, sliding him the mug.

“Oh, yeah,” Doug said. “I’ve been paying attention since the beginning.Hashtag MFSchoolRenFairehas been doing great. Everybody loved it.”

“Told you,” Theo said from behind Mo. He and Jess shifted in their seats to look at Theo as he walked into the break room. He’d come into the smithy once over the weekend, and Mo had been surprised that he’d gone so far as to change his hair for the event. He hadn’t changed it back.

“I knew it was going to be a success,” he said, joining them at the table and opening a bright blue energy drink.

“You’re still wearing your hair…style,” Jess said, raising her mug to her lips. Mo could tell that she’d tried to sound neutral, in spite of the laughter that was trying to escape.

“Yeah,” Theo said, grinning slyly as he finished his sip. “Haven’t been home yet. Made a friend near the end last night. She was into the hair.”

“Ah,” Jess said.

“The magic of a Faire,” Lana said, smiling. “You two weren’t the only ones who fell under its charms.” Theo’s face lit up as he followed Lana’s gaze to Mo and Jess. Mo didn’t want to get into it.

“People aretalkingabout the Faire,” he said quickly. “But that doesn’t mean that it was a success.” He looked at Doug while turning the mug between his fingertips. “What has Wendy said? She was tight-lipped with…me.” He’d almost said “us” but didn’t want the others to continue on that path.

“She wasn’t very forthcoming with me, either,” said Doug. Jess squeezed Moe’s thigh under the table.

“I’m sure it will be—”

“Hey, everyone,” Wendy said, rushing into the break room, cutting Jess off. “How are you all?” Her smile was broad, and she seemed enthusiastic.

Maybe things aren’t bad.

“I have great news,” she said, taking a seat. She put her phone on the table in front of her. “To get straight to it, after all the expenses, we reached fifty-five percent of our goal.”

Mo’s stomach dropped.Fifty-five percent?

“How is that great news, Wendy?” Jess asked. “That’s not nearly enough.”

“It’s…perfect,” Doug said, creepy smile blooming as he leaned forward. Mo felt like Doug was about to high-pressure sell him a house infested with termites. “We’ve had so much good press, so many new student sign-ups. So many patrons asked when the next Faire will be. We can make it a twice-yearly event. During the summer and…at Christmas, maybe.”

---