In Need of Assistance? (TF2)

Three: Bullseye's Knock-Out

        "Who's first?" I slam my binder down on the table, causing everything on top to shake. Everyone turns around to look at me from where they are in the common area.

Scout, who's sitting in front of me, points his spoon at me and swallows his food. "Mmm, for what?"

"Wait, we have cereal?" I mutter, Scout nodding but then shrugging to gesture for me to answer his question. "Oh right. Uh, for file update interviews."

"Mind explaining what you're on about, Luv?" Sniper speaks out from the couch, sharpening a moderately-sized sword that I just so happen to be vastly threatened by.

"Since you guys never turn them in- or even do them for that matter-" I snark under my breath, "one of the first things I have to do is update your personnel files for The Administrator. Once again, I'm here to organize you guys."

They all look at one other for any contenders. Sniper scoffs and picks up his blade to look at his reflection. "Is this like what that stupid bloke was doing with Miss Pauling?"

"Who did what now with Miss Pauling?"

"Bloody director," Sniper snarls.

"Baby man was very annoying. Did not want me to talk about Sasha," Heavy says unprompted, clearly irritated by the mention of this director character. The tone shifts to annoyance. No one looks very willing to volunteer after that, so I make an alternate proposal.

"How about we take on the personal stuff slowly, y'know?" Confusion creeps into the room again. "We'll get to it when you guys are ready to share that kind of stuff."

"Kinda prefferin' we just don't do it at all," Scouts adds, staring into his bowl of milk as he stirs with his spoon. "We've been doing just fine without 'em."

I nod. Of course you've been doing fine without them if you never took upon that responsibility. None of them seem pleased with me even mentioning the paperwork in the first place. Are they ever going to warm up to me? Medic and Engineer have been quite accepting of this change, but Scout, Spy, and Heavy have lost the excitement of possibly getting a new teammate because they more than likely sorted out that I'm not a mercenary like them. Sniper is the one I'm the most unsure about; he's a mixed bag of behaviors, attitudes, and temperament. Our eyes catch up with each other, and he sheathes his blade rather aggressively, picking up his gear and heading for the plaza.

"I'm going for a smoke before heading up," he informs bluntly. Spy follows him out, flicking his lighter in his hand.

It's time for me to go before I unintentionally start something. "Physical evaluations are unavoidable, but we shall plan that for a later date when I consult Medic. I'll be around... Call if you need anything," I quietly but sternly say, shaking my PDA in my hand before clipping it to my belt on the opposite side of my gun.

I turn away, but I can feel their looks piercing into my back like needles. They all observe me from behind as to not alert me of their visual judgment. My composure quickly dissipates as I feel I've gotten far enough away to take a breather. Air rushes in and out of my mouth to slow my heart down, a hand over my chest as if I'm trying to reach in and hold it still. Sinking to my knees, I set my binder down to alleviate my arms. Should I call Miss Pauling? She'd know what to do with them, right? Was this how it was for her when she first started coming into contact with them? I'm so under-prepared for this. Working with mercenaries? What was I thinking; going from a stupid, monotonous office job to fieldwork with a bunch of guys who kill people for a living? I think I'm legitimately brainless for believing this would all go as smoothly as filing paperwork does.

The phone I'm supposed to use to call long distance hasn't arrived in Resupply yet, and I think I'm going to go crazy if it doesn't come in soon. I haven't been able to contact anyone for the past 2 days; I was literally only given a PDA yesterday during the clean up by Engineer for the sole purpose of calling one of them over to deal with bread monsters since I'm seen as useless. My mouth is dry. I swallow hard. I did catch wind of there being a payphone around here, so the only thing left to do is find it. This could prove useful in the long run as I can also map out this entire fort's directory while I'm on the hunt. Obviously, I could just ask them, but it'd be awkward to make a reentrance and ask for something after making an equally odd exit. It'd be best not to bother them anyway, not without consulting Miss Pauling about how to ease my way into having working relationships with them.