"Lina, did you call the caterer? It's almost 3." Sara poked her head into my cubicle.

I smiled at her. My new boss made me feel like part of the family. "They're on the way. The pastries didn't have echtu, so they had to remake a pan of 'em. We get to eat their mistake, too, at no charge." With a diabolical grin, I rubbed my hands together.

She put an arm around me. "Aha, and we will convince our diplomat to sign a new treaty with the Unified supplying us with restaurant food for the rrrest of our lives!" A line from the latest episode of Danger Service. Roars came from other cubies. I'd heard enough about the show to wish I could watch it, too.

-- Otiose Job, an unpublished story