“Where is everyone?”

“Ma’am?”

“Are you deaf, or just plain stupid? I asked you where everyone is.”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am; I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Do… you… speak… English?”

“Yes, I do.”

“And am I speaking to you in English?”

“Yes, Ma’am, you are.”

“Then how can you possibly fail to understand what I mean, when I ask where everyone is?”

“I understand what you are saying, Ma’am; but I have no idea whom, if anyone, you are expecting to see here.”

“You know who I am, yes?”

“Of course, Ma’am.”

“Then you must know that I am expecting to meet some very important people. My assistants told me they had received a message from Francois, saying I should meet him and David here, today, for what he called a ‘private chat’ before the official summit. I come here and find that it is raining, which was neither forecast nor authorised, and there is no sign of the men I am supposed to be meeting. Where are they?”

“Did you actually see the message, Ma’am?”

“No, I didn’t. I trust my staff to pass me a simple message; I don’t need to see the damned thing.”

“Have you checked the date, Ma’am?”

“It is the first of April.”

“Are you familiar with the French expression poisson d’avril?”

“Bastards!”

I wrote this in response to Kreative Kue 46, issued on this site earlier this week. Feel free to join in; just follow the link.