Sitting by the open window, the sunlight streamed on her face, as she gazed into her book, eyes flicking from side to side under her round-rimmed spectacles. A faint sound of jazz wafted by from her record player, Lucius curled under her feet. Julianna had not a care in the world. But as the sun retreated into slumber, Julianna's eyelids did too. Her novel, 'Man's Search for Meaning' slowly wriggled from her grip and fell into her lap. All was silent.
---
Tick, tock.
Julianna awoke with a jolt, sitting upright in her chair. What time was it? Oh dear, was she-
The clock read 7:36pm.
"AHHH!"
Lucius scrambled away in fright as Julianna grabbed her purse and keys. How could she be late? Oh why, why today? She was supposed to be at Collause Building in the city at 7:00pm! She did a funny little jig while forcing her feet into some worn boots, and shoelaces untied, bolted for her car. Flinging her belongings into the back seat, she reversed hastily and dashed with squealing tires into the night like a maddened drag racer.
---
"You are late, Julianna." Cap boomed.
"Yes I am, sir!"
Julianna hastily settled down and leaned in next to Carlos, who was also part of the committee. "What'd I miss?" She whispered. "Nothing much, but things are hearing up now."
"Angus, that's ridiculous. You would be charged with arson if that happened!" Scott snapped. "You Scorpios with your know-it-all attitudes, eh? Shut your mouth, or I will!" Angus fumed. Cordelia raised her hand. "Actually, that would be Cap. He's the know-it-all here." "Excuse me?"
Julianna was getting tired of this. "Aries! Scorpio! Cancer! Capricorn!" Sh called. They all snapped their heads to Julianna. "Can we please leave this for now? We have a large situation on our hands regarding the safety of the signs." Julianna reached into her bag for her notes. Only to find...
They were all completely destroyed.
Julianna, more than anything, wanted to scream. So she did.
"LUCIUS!"
Groaning in frustration, she slumped back into her seat. "Who's Lucius?" Ally said, rubbing her hands together with glee. "Is he an ex?" Julianna paid no attention. "My papers are missing." "Yes, 'missing', of course," Ally snickered, signing quotation marks.
"Julianna, everyone's proposed their ideas, except for you. We need your input, otherwise it will not be included." Cap sighed. Julianna didn't know what to do. She turned to face her members. "Does anyone have notes?" She asked. The group stared blankly at her. "Great... now what-" "Wait! I've got notes!" Flooding with relief, Julianna finds a member waving his clipboard in the air. She quickly snatches the board from him and skims over the scrawny writings on the page:
----------------------------------------------------------------
HOUSE SUMMIT
ISSUE: Losing connectivity between international districts. Denying access to vital information, and excluding the Australian Zodiac Organisation.
PROPOSALS:
Aries: "Cut all connections, build better defence and facilities. We're not going to share with anyone. Who cares if the economy collapses!"
Taurus: "Perhaps a food package?"
Gemini: "Tell them their opinion is wrong! That'll shut them up."
Cancer: "Show mercy. Maybe until they feel sorry for us?"
Leo:
Virgo: "Guys, relax. I'm sure we can solve this later."
Libra: "We, uh... don't know, yet?"
Scorpio: "Wait for them to provoke. We will strike then."
Sagittarius: "Yeah, as if we can actually do anything about it."
Capricorn: "We probably can't trust them."
Aquarius: "Tell them that aliens are coming, and we have the right technology to defeat them! They'll come running scared!"
Pisces: "Make peace through art."716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBxsN2wNvj
----------------------------------------------------------------716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsbHcBVVsE
There was nothing written by the Leos. "These are terrible..." she mumbled. Julianna rose to her feet. "These are all horrific! Some of you didn't even try!" She yelled, glaring at Lauren from the Libra Committee. "These are dumb responses. No wonder the international groups are excluding us."
"We must disregard these options-" "What, because you think your ideas are better than ours?" Angus roared. "I wasn't finished. I suggest we create a peace treaty. We can offer the other groups gifts and whatnot. But the main point of this exercise is to rebuild the relationships." The signs murmured amongst themselves, some nodding along too. They all disband and the room falls silent. "Cap, what do you think?" Julianna asked. "I think we can do this, Jul. But we're going to need the leadership of the Leos to help." Cap strides to Julianna's side and places a badge in her hand. "We're counting on you, Jul." She accepted it after many awed looks and denies. She finally faces the group, her new badge and face shining with pleasure.
"Let's do this!"
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