Cracked

Comfortably sitting in the study, waiting for Mr. Perry, Betty was thinking the day over. Picking up a book, she wondered why the name Betty had been chosen for her because she hated the name Betty. It wasn’t her real name. Her real name was actually Meg, and she was an information gatherer. Under cover as a health consultant for Mr. Perry, who was the owner of all the electrical companies going under in the United States, her mission was simple: see how Perry was taking bankruptcy. While she relaxed in the chair, she also wondered when Mr. Perry would arrive.

As she sat, a loud noise broke into her train of thought. Wildly swinging from the gold chandelier above her was--none other than--Mr. Perry himself. Hooting like an owl and flapping his wings crazily like a bird as he swung back and forth, he kept clawing at nothing with his feet. His clothes were torn, he had half a beard, and he kept screaming, “They will never find me in this jungle.” Above Meg’s head, Mr. Perry, who finally spotted her, let out a howl of rage, and started grabbing books off the shelves, as he chucked them at her head.

Calmly observing the man, Meg watched as he rocked back and forth. “After all your scheming and bribing your way to the top, you have finally cracked, you old tyrant,” she thought. “Although I think I like you better this way anyhow.” Standing up slowly, Meg curtsied and called up, “I shall take my leave now, Mr. Perry,” and with that she turned, smiled to herself, and exited the room. As she walked down the hall to the front door, she planned her report in her head. She didn’t have much to tell the boss, because Mr. Perry could be summed up in four short words. Cracked, but quite delightful.