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"We’re not," I lied "Not at all"

When five o’clock calanced nervously around the airy loft, not e ould be the first to leave Did we exit together? In pairs? Would Lukas disan flipping through pages in search of the answer

"Meeting!" Lukas called out frohtly lit roo to take our places around the table Instead of boxes, the table held six brown paper bags this time, a name scribbled on each

Lukas took his spot at the head He steepled his fingers and closed his eyes for a"Petra Polly believes adaptability is the heart of creativity"

Six heads nodded in unison Maybe Petra wasn’t so bad There was truth to that assertion Not a complete truth--creativity was a coh

"And speed is the heart of adaptability," Lukas continued "The client should not have to wait for your precious inspiration We’re picking up new clients all the tian distributing the brown bags "I visited the farmers’ market earlier and picked up one item for each of you By tomorrow, I’d like you to create an effective ad for this product, adaptable to all platforram ad We’ll reconvene to share our work, then I’ll rate the ads according to Petra’s rubric for effective communication"

Create an ad in a day? Effective ads required a lot of thought, and those thoughts had to marinate Lukas watched too many reality shows

I wondered if we’d all slink away to study our products in private, but no, forThey tore into their bags, pulling bunches of radishes, spinach, and green onions and fresh-baked bread Triued a bouquet of daylilies to her ample chest Jackie s sank intoas much as a newborn With an equally heavy heart, I revealed elatinous circle, brown so dark it was allistened like an oil slick "What’s this? A cow patty?"

"There’s a label," Lukas said, his jaw clenching "You’ve got an chocolate beetroot flourless cake

Some instinct rose up and told me Dandelion Girl was responsible for this stomach churner "Would anyone actually eat this?"

Lukas smirked "It’s your job to ensure they do" He directed his attention to the group "Toood luck, but you shouldn’t need it"

Excited by the prospect of getting to work, the good e pasts, overwhelmed by all I had to carry--Petra’s book, the odd cake,aardly, the box nearly sliding out of my arms

"Let me help you with that"

Dandelion Girl Her dark forear neon pink, and the carrot had half slid out of her hair

"I’ve got it," I said through gritted teeth