Put That Kid Down

Chapter Twenty Five

"We're here for Max Thakur," said the thin man with Max's cold green eyes.

David's smile froze on his face. So this was Max's father. He held an air of boredom around him like a cloak that dissuaded chit-chat and small talk. Even now, he was checking a midrange watch with pointed impatience.

"You're a few hours late," David pointed out pleasantly. "Did you run into trouble on your way here? Need any help fixing damage to your car?"

"No, thank you." This was Max's mother, her thick, dark hair a reflection of Max's, though hers was tightly restrained in a neat braid down her back. She smiled at him, almost kindly, "We just had a few important matters to address before we could make it." Well, Max had to pick up charm from somewhere.

"I see." His tone implied he very much did not, but David's smile was second nature and it appeared nearly without strain as he gestured them ahead of him. "He's in the dining hall. We were very worried when you didn't show on time. Most of the other campers were picked up as soon as their parents could get past the fog banks earlier today. You know, with the dangerous creatures that seem to be roaming about, now, it's understandable that they were all in a hurry to get their kids home."

The Thakurs came to a dead stop just past the doorway as they came to the realization that it wasn't just Max waiting for them in the hall.

"So of course," David continued past them as if they hadn't done anything remotely out of the ordinary, "I had to contact my friend, Sal, to check that there weren't any car accidents on the main route in." He clapped the sheriff on the shoulder with friendly gratitude. "In a town this small, we all know each other, so if there were any strangers that had run into trouble, Sal would be the first to know!"

Sal pointed at him in agreement with a scone, "You know it, David."

Neither Thakur seemed willing or able to address the situation just yet, and Max eagerly leapt to fill the gap.

"But there weren't any accidents. No problems with the road," he leaned forward, a predatory glint in his eye from where he sat beside an aging woman at the nearest table, half-eaten scones and empty plates in front of both of them. "So David did the neighborly thing and invited the Sheriff up for lunch - and the honorable Mrs. Eze, too, since the two of them had been making plans just then, anyway." Max shrugged, echoing David as he reiterated, "Small towns, you know? All the good people know each other."

He got a fondly exasperated hair ruffle from Mrs. Eze for that. Even a smart kid like Max turning on the charm for an hour or so did eventually get seen through, but that didn't make the judge any less amused by his efforts. Sal, on the other hand, kept an eye on him when he wasn't distracted into enthusiastically explaining his rating strategies to David for his tourism sites.

"Can I show them around the camp, please, David?" Max asked innocently, turning away from his parents as he awaited permission. "Would it be safe?"

"Well..." David trailed off, glancing at Max's parents with a trepidation he didn't have to fake.

Mrs. Thakur took a step in front of her husband, hands clutching her purse a little tighter, "I'm afraid we don't really have time for this-"

"Right," Max said, visibly deflating and holding one arm across his stomach as he curled in on himself pathetically. "I know you have much more important things to do. This doesn't matter."

Finding themselves abruptly on the receiving end of disapproving raised eyebrows from Mrs. Eze as she straightened her posture into something strangely imposing, Mr. Thakur spoke for them both as he backtracked, "But of course we'll make time."