With two down and one to go, Miss Calculated has settled back down into her previous location next to Willy, sighing before continuing further."As you may have guessed when you were filling it out, the paperwork for registering pets as part of the family roster is a bit over-the-top to try to dissuade people from registering each and every last goldfish and hamster they decide to raise. And, since animals aren't even expected to have ID chips, I'm gonna have to double down when proving he isn't already registered to someone else, and if he is, then we then have to go through a whole other set of procedures to change that fact, even if they are deceased." While bemoaning her pending busy work, Miss Calculated taps her index finger on top of the closed folder resting on her lap a few times. Towards the end of her statement, Willy's tail abruptly stops wagging when she mentions being

Thankfully, before anyone else has a chance to notice, Lucas manages to control his facial expressions. He's already annoyed enough without having to explain why.Once the call has ended and Miss Calculated shares Lakshmi's contact details with Lucas, she can't resist chuckling a bit while thinking it back over."Really, nothing should be a surprise anymore if it involves Lakshmi. Sometimes I can't help but think that they actually have the most powerful and impressive power in the world. On more than one occasion it has proven to be rather far-reaching, if it even has any restrictions at all, and it's all passive to boot. For all we know, everything that happened this morning was just leading up to you becoming a source of funds for them. For example, Something as simple as Mash deciding not to follow me to work today would

"Well... I don't know about RIVAL, we basically just met. Uh, anyway, Hi Nat, this here's my sidekick, Jackknife, and... Well, my dog, Willy." As Lucas tries to widen the interpersonal relationship gap between himself and Miss Masher, she snorts, crosses her arms, begins to sneer, and gives a condescending chuckle."Well then, I guess if you want to just admit that you're not as strong as me, then I guess it wouldn't be fair to call you a rival, after all." Making a verbal below-the-belt jab, Miss Masher deals a critical hit to Lucas's alarmingly fragile ego, getting the exact kind of reaction she wanted."I WILL KICK YOUR ASS IN AN ARM-WRESTLING CONTEST RIGHT HERE AND NOW! LET'S FUCKING GO!" When Lucas immediately pounces on the very obvious bait, Jonathan facepalms with an audible smack, an

'Uhhh, that didn't sound so good.'[I fear this table isn't long for this world. If you are going to insist that the positioning at the moment it breaks determines the victor, you should do what you can.]'Oh, good idea. Let's go!'Realizing that this match will be decided by an inch and is going to be getting cut off very shortly, Lucas musters up all of the strength he can possibly bring to bear, offsetting Miss Masher's advantage and even claiming a tiny bit of his own.As she had been caught off guard at first by this sudden burst of vigor, her elbow almost lifts when she shifts slightly to attempt to reclaim her lead. Legitimately wanting an accurate result from the contest, she directs so