Par for the course of the state of things, Memo was working when he got the text.
He smiled at the idea of Lars’ carbonara, wondering if it was anything like the gooey, cheesy, starchy mess that Alex made. Really putting the
carb in carbonara.
So the next three days were filled with anxiety, but it was almost a welcome respite from the guilt, shame, and dread that cultivated in his gut as a result of their jaunt through cyberspace hell. He agonized over his dish to pass like a suburban white housemom glaring down the deadline of the annual church charity potluck.
His mother, though decidedly not white, usually just brought tacos.
But Guillermo had discovered, in his recent brush with
happiness, that being in the kitchen was a big stress reliever for him. And so it went that he managed to turn one of his biggest hobbies into a stomach-grinding, self-doubt wondermess.
Alex made macarons, partially because the man was a baking fiend, and partially to free Memo from the dietary noose rapidly tightening around his neck.
He settled on empanadas. Cheese and pulled pork, separately, to accommodate any vegetarians in the crowd (sorry vegans). It was a nice mix of cultures and he’d decided he’d spent enough time stressing out about this. We’re not even going to get in to how much time he agonized about what to wear.
So, two tupperwares in hand, he slips in behind
Hailee Jacobs , fashionably late (read: as on time as his anxiety would allow), and beaming like the sun. He greets
ollie morales and heads off to the Table of Offerings, putting one container down near the desserts (vanilla and chocolate macarons painted ranger gold with edible gold dust) and his duo-plate of empanadas, divided in the middle and marked with little toothpick flags near where the savory options were.
Everyone was greeting everyone else and Memo had a little sinking feeling that he didn’t actually know that many other rangers…
Laurence Anderson , obviously, and
annalise henderson , but a large majority of the organization was going to be strangers to him. Then his normal Guillermo Positivity Programming kicked in (oh, it was a joy to have that back after so long) and he figured there was no time like the present to rectify that!
He was, at present, the only Fortree Ranger in attendance. And he took comfort in seeing that a great majority of his comrades in arms looked just as anxious as he currently felt.
He grabs a plate and takes a little offering of most everything, though he’s too nervous to really eat; he figures he’ll take a birdie bag home for Alex. Heading straight for Lars to check in with him (since he has firsthand experience with dealing with people who Care Too Much for Their Own good) he sets the untouched plate of food at an empty chair.
“Hey, boss,” he says, voice light and warm,
“need any help with that?” He gives a smile to
Josh Devlin , not wanting to interrupt his eating, and turns back to scan the crowd for
annalise henderson once more.
wearing> 300 words of bullshit. memo brought cheese empanadas, pulled pork empanadas, and alex's macarons
> goes to talk to lars & see if he needs help
> just vibin. open 4 interactions. the boy is an anxiety monster
LILYCOVE HQ's meeting room is at the far end of the building, down a hallway lined with smaller office rooms. upon entering, you get the vibe that this is more of a get-together than a stiff-lipped meeting. 
[break][break]in the middle of the room, the extendable meeting table awaits. the chairs are unreserved, save for the one at the head of the table where lars's envelopes are stacked. 
