CHAPTER SEVENTY – THE MENACE IS BACK

Scarlett hummed thoughtfully, pretending to mull over the offer as Sam looked on with comically widened puppy-dog eyes. But she knew even before Lucy slid into the vacant chair on her opposite side that she would wholeheartedly accept - if for no other reason than to bask in their comforting camaraderie for a little while longer. "Well?" Lucy chimed in, unsuccessfully smothering her impish grin. "Come on, my shift at the hostess stand starts at 1:30. The least you could do is let us stuff our faces before then." "Oh alright, you incorrigible browbeaters," Scarlett finally relented with an eyeroll of fake exasperation. "It looks like I'm buying today." Her two dearest friends whooped raucously, trading a triumphant high-five over her head that made her shake her own ruefully. Of course, they all knew full well she wouldn't dream of actually footing the lunch bill today - not after the ordeal she had just navigated. "Just try not to clear the whole dessert cart this time, hm?" she