Chapter 350: Chapter 350: Occasional Perks

You know how sometimes you can be in the worst mood ever, just ready to take off the head of the next person who rubs you the wrong way while knowing without a moment of doubt or hesitation you'd be in prison if you actually acted on the impulses that rewired your brain when you were in said worst mood ever? Yeah, that was me, on the brink of tossing my hands and walking away for a bit before I did something I'd regret.

Except, of course, there were also times moods like the one that plagued me could actually be turned around by a simple smile. The beaming young man who approached me had that kind of energy around him and, despite myself, I found by the time he'd entered the foyer and crossed the short distance to my computer I'd gone from wanting to commit murder so I could just get some peace and quiet (because peace and quiet waited in the Big House, right?) to managing to actually smile back. And mean it.