Joseph's head was on the desk. His eyes were closed. Just the slightest bit of drool escaped from his lips. Beside him, Laswon sighed, and played with his phone.

The sun cast a shadow of Lawson, and an even longer shadow of Joseph.

The Assistant rotated his head, letting his rusty gears voice their complaints. 'this is why', he mused, 'teenagers are always the protagonists of fantasy stories. the protagonist has to grow with the story, in order to meet the challenges imposed upon them. but those old have already been set in their ways.'

His phone buzzed and woke him from his reverie. 'So', was the first text sent by Pyrezi Terope, the text that wielded the banner to herald the onslaught of messages that would follow, 'How is the new president?'

'fine.'

'Really? XD'

'his naviety is both a strength and a flaw. but new blood is needed in this political landscape. fresh water to wash away the murk'.

'Okay whatever you say boss', which was followed by a custom sticker of Terezi Pyrope who had two fingers over her head in a standard teehee pose. Lawson forced down his gag reflex and did not comment on her choice of sticker. It would lead to something meaningless that would only waste his time.

'what is your purpose in messaging me?'

'Whaaat?'

'I just wanted to check in on ya.'

'You and the president both.'

'No ulterior motives.'

'How could you accuse me of such a thing?'

'very well. i will be muting you now.'

Lawson kept his phone. No point trying to lure the cat out of the bag if it did not want to leave it. He opened the door and took the dish from the surprised chef who just got there and took it into the Oval Office. Lawson rapped the table smartly and waited.

...

Joseph stirred. "What's that?"

"Fried rice with dried shrimp and onions. There's a lot of calcium in dried shrimp. The calcium will help you think clearly and calm your feelings, too."

"Well, okay then! Thanks, Lawson!" and Joseph proceeded to launch himself into the meal with gusto. The Assistant checked his wristwatch. A perfect 20 minutes had passed, plus the 14 seconds of the conversation and him settling back into his seat.

The Assistant raised his head and stared at him. The sun seemed to settle behind Joseph's back, seemed to settle down a little bit further into the darkness. 'shouldn't I be glad that this president can still grow? not that he has a teenager's mindset, but...'

Lawson, the Assistant, thought with a hope that burned to go against the sun, 'Imagination and Ideals are the guiding lights of humanity. Joseph, I will help you to achieve your Idealism.'