Masked 🎭✔️

Chapter 3

"I don't know. I just think it would be....weird? I just meant that you can say that you're proud of me."

She decided to push the whole matter out of her mind. She was probably seeing things where they weren't there.

She beamed proudly, "Well then, I'm proud of you."

He smiled happily. "Thanks. You know.....you're the only person I was genuinely excited to tell."

"Oh yeah?" She said happily.

"Yeah. With everyone else it's just been champagne and pictures and fake smiles. They all told me they're proud of me which I know they don't mean. They're just happy they'll be getting a lot more revenue in now."

She laughed happily and shrugged. "Well that's true. What's your revenue to me? I just like the fact that you're so happy and that you achieved something this big."

"See? That. Exactly that."

She smiled. "You know, since you've flattered me so much already...let's go out and celebrate."

"Celebrate how?"

"Let's go have ice cream! I think I saw an ice cream booth on the way here. My treat." She said getting up from the bench and making her way to the gate.

"That sounds wonderful. Let's go!" He said as he got up and followed her. He sounded as excited as a kid at the sound of ice cream.

She smiled at that innocence. She knew that he was probably rich enough to have any number of ice creams delivered to his room if he wanted but this wasn't about the ice cream, it was about what he had achieved.

They walked on the road alongside each other on the road.

"Aren't you worried about what they would think about our masks?" He asked suddenly.

"Meh" she shrugged. "I don't care what other people think of me."

"Says the woman wearing heels she doesn't like."

She looked at him suddenly with a grin. "Do you only notice my feet if you wanna stamp my toes??"

"What do you mea--" he started speaking as he looked down to see her feet, "Oh, sports shoes, huh? Nice!"

"Yup" she said smiling.

"What, you planned the whole ice cream thing before hand?"

"Nah not really. But I am grateful to be wearing sports shoes now that we're walking." She chuckled.

"Wait does it matter to you what other people might say about our masks?" She asked him.

"Well..I might have if they knew who I was. You know, given that I have a reputation to maintain and all that. But then they don't know who I am because I'm wearing the mask so I don't care what they think about me wearing the mask" he grinned.

She laughed, "Came full circle on that one, huh."

He shrugged. "There's a whole in my bucket dear Liza, a whole" he quoted.

"Hey, you know that rhyme!" She exclaimed.

"Who doesn't" he smiled.

"Well...you remember it!"

He laughed. "Yeah we're probably the last ones on earth who remember it" he said sarcastically.

"We probably are" she deadpanned. "You know what we should do?" She said excitedly. "We should sing it at the top of our voices till we reach the ice cream booth."

"What? No!"

"Oh come onn! It'll be fun!" She pleaded.

"I will not be seen singing a nursery rhyme at the top of my lungs in public!" He said, exasperated.