Chapter 1.10: Networking

   Pandora groaned when her phone started ringing again, and lifted it to her ear.
   'Yeah?' she grunted.
   'Pandora, baby! It's your agent!' the voice on the other end of the line declared.
   'Oh, hi!' she greeted, immediately perking up. 'What've you got for me? A drinks promotion? Make a fancy restaurant look good?' she questioned. Not that she was hoping to get a free meal or free alcohol. Definitely not.
   'Kind of, kind of,' the agent replied. 'You know Alan Stanley? The script writer? I think you would benefit from some networking. Go and find him, be seen with him. It'll improve your standing in the public eye, baby!'
   '...Great. Fine,' she sighed, hanging up. So much for a free night out at the Prosper Lounge. Instead she had to go and babysit some old fart.

   Inviting him over, she sat down on the sofa, flashing a look of burning resentment towards her youngest son, who had been plonked down on the floor without any toys to occupy him. She did her best to ignore his caterwauling, hurrying to the door when the doorbell rung. 

   She had been thinking how best to befriend Alan, and thought she had come up with a solid plan. Granted, as it was one of her plans, it could possibly backfire horribly, but hey, it also might not! Besides, even if it did, her agent told her to just befriend hi. He never said anything about remaining friends.

   'Good morning...Mrs de Venetia, isn't it?'

   'Yes,' Pandora replied, putting on her best smile. 'Please, come in.'

   'I must confess to being a little surprised by your invitation, Mrs de Venetia -' Alan began, stopping mid sentence at the sight of the glowing green energy that encircled the poisonous mage's hands, '- what -?'

   'Relax,' Pandora replied. Unsurprisingly and thanks to already being of a nervous disposition, Alan simply cowered.

   'You're going to feel nice and relaxed...'

   Far from that being the case, the elderly writer doubled over, clutching at his face. For a brief moment, he felt nothing but utter terror -

   - which was swiftly replaced with one of utmost adoration. He straightened up  again, clasping his hands to his heart, and gazed upon Pandora with softened eyes and a contented sigh.

   'See, I told you it wouldn't be so bad,' Pandora smirked, guessing that her scheme had so far worked.

   'How do you feel?' she gently asked. Alan then sighed, his expression falling, and turned away. He felt giddy and guilty when she leant in closer, as though concerned.

   '...Ambivalent. I...I'm still with Emmy,' he confessed, referring to the young actress he was dating. 'I thought I loved her, but...'

   His voice trailed off, and he shook his head. He glanced up, his green eyes meeting her glowing ones. She nodded encouragingly. 

   'We've been having some problems lately. This might seem foolish, but...I want a family. Children. But I'm an old man. It's still a possibility, or at least, it would be. But Emmy doesn't want children. She doesn't like them,' Alan continued.

   I know how she feels, Pandora thought, hiding a grimace. 

   'I've tried to talk to her about it, but she's so hot headed it ends up in an argument incredibly fast, and...I feel as though the two of us are drifting apart. Especially now that I've seen you.' Alan swallowed hard, as though gearing himself up for something. 'You're such a wonderful and beautiful specimen of womanhood...'

   Alan tried to steal a kiss, and Pandora gaped with mounting horror as his puckered lips came speeding towards hers. Resisting the urge to squeal "ew, gross!", she lightly laid a hand on his arm and turned her head.

   'I, uh...I think we should just stay friends,' Pandora hastily told a crestfallen Alan. 'Uh. Sorry.'

By the time Ignatius emerged from his bed, it was the afternoon. 

   Renatus and Ignatius stared at each other over the kitchen table. 

   'How was school?' Ignatius questioned. 

   'Fine. My class took our field trip today.'

   'The graveyard, if memory serves me right?'

   'Yes,' Renatus shortly responded. 

   'Learn anything of interest?' Ignatius pressed.

   'There is a huge cavern in the catacombs. One of the idiots in my class nearly fell down it,' Renatus replied, tucking his chair closer to the table, and flipped open his homework with a sigh. 

   'Only nearly?'

   'Yes.'

   'Shame.'

   'I got a memento from the trip, though.'

   'Mmm...?' Ignatius the conversational prompted.

   'A picture of the graveyard. It's really cool, the graveyard is filled with the souls of the deceased, and there's a statue of the Reaper! I think it's full moon, too. The moon is partially hidden by trees and the mausoleum, and it has an eerie greenish lighting, reminiscent of our full moons!' Renatus gabbled excitedly.

   'It sounds delightful. Perhaps you could hang it up in your room.'

   He affixed it to his wall carefully, letting the painting hang up over his bed, and stood admiring it for a few moments. 

   Downstairs though, Pandora turned around, and found Alan directly in her face. 

   'Whoa, personal space!' she grumbled, retreating.

   'If you wanna be useful, I could always do with a little...donation,' she grinned. Alan took the hint, and proffered his wrist. Pandora eagerly accepted, and bit down hard. 

   Alan yelped and when she had taken his fill, he was released. He sagged, feeling a little woozy, as Pandora happily licked at the leftover droplets around her mouth.

   'Hello, my boy,' Ignatius cooed, picking up Varius. He had started crying in the garage in front of his father's plants. With Ignatius catching up on his sleep during the day and Varius left to Pandora's mercy, he was starving and stinking. He tended to the baby, making silly noises as he gave Varius his bottle -

   - while Pandora stared at Alan...

   ...Only for him to become a frog a moment later.

   '...Perhaps it's time to tell him to leave,' Ignatius remarked.