#bergen_county

"She's gotta be like, 60 by now. When was that show even ON?"

"Ancient Egypt, Pharoah hota Waaazsupppp ruled" A nod somber

"Uh." A shrug, she doesn't try to decode. Sandwiches await

To the subway they go, the crowds are light, and they come find a balding man named Bruce ready to serve them, "Hello, welcome to Subway. "

"I'll have a veggie sub with extra cheese, cukes and sprouts, chips, soda, and..." She looks over at Rikki, and attempts, "If you were going to order a sandwich to throw off a cliff, what would that be?"

"the Shrimp special" She eyes the seafood medly

"to watch it drown "

"...and a Shrimp special!"

"Uh.. yeah..." Bruce says wondering if these kids should be told drugs aren't the answer. He instead preps them

She peels a couple bills out of her wallet and pays, including tip. To Rikki, "Goldfinch is doing well, but we're still covering setup costs. Sallie May's projections show that we might be actually profitable sometime in the third quarter? I think? Math is... ugh. Blech. But I trust her figures, y'know? Until then, I'm buffering the sandwich fund with tutoring on the side. A win like this show would certainly HELP, though."

"You're going to give it to that protectttion rracket? Mmm" But despite her words she's busted her ass at gathering dross for it

"Not ALL of it, no. But I've not been taking a salary from classes done at Goldfinch, so this will help with the bills. Did you know that it's over a hundred bucks just to TAKE the GED test?" Piper rolls her eyes as she fills a cup with iced tea. "If I hadn't promised Vali... well, I'll be glad to get it over with."

Sandwichees in hand. Tea gathered.

"Make Vali pay for it then, U know teachers get the big bucks"

She snorts. "Vali has a newborn to worry about."

"Oh right. Well, he's El Montano right ? Make the Chief pay his bill" A grin inn their corner table

She chuckles, taking a bite of her sandwich. "I don't think any of them - of us - are raking in the big bucks."

"Mae be you are wrong" Sly

Piper leans in. "You got some dish? Spill the tea, girlfriend."

"Knight's fart cab? With Adam gone, gguess who runs the biz?"

"Oh! Well, SURE." Whispering conspiratorily. "Everyone - well, maybe not everyone, but I know that Sally Mae has got her own trust fund now, basically. But she's a DeBuke. She's not really River Vale, is she? I figured she was going to go back to the farm, someday, sooner or later. They seem pretty insular there."

"Not that I wouldn't miss her. She did us a huge solid in helping secure financing for the Studio."

"Ah, but she has Elfy ffeverr, girl, Legolust, Spock itch" a reminder

She makes a face. "That must be rough. Not like she can bring HIM home to momma, right?"

A shrug

Piper frowns, and takes another bite of her sub. "What about you?" Changing the subject. "Found anyone to date? Or if not Mr Right, perhaps a series of Mr. Right Nows?"

"Oh, Romana keeps trying to hook me up. My last date? " She whispers "Shrimp Pooka who insisted I call him King Prawn"

She snorts, laughing! "Tell me you didn't!"

"Is that vengeance?" Pointing at the shrimp sub

A wicked smile and bite into it, then a happy swallow

She tucks into her own sandwich for a few more bites. "So what do you think of Goldfinch, and how she's coming along?"

"I like it better than the ski lodge" She answers "No 'you must be this tall and this honorable ' to ride"

A small grin. "Hey, I like some of those rides."

SNERK

And , if Piper timed it right, the pooka might have snorted her drink mid laugh