fandomhigh | Young Entrepreneurs; Monday, Period 6 [ 02/02 ].

After pushing the desks of the classroom together and putting out the coffee and donuts as usual, Turtle went to the blackboard and wrote on it three quotes:

“Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.” --Confucius

“Never treat your audience as customers, always as partners.” --James Stewart

“The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit.” --Milton Friedman

Once everyone had come into the room, she called the meeting to order with a little bang of a gavel.

She couldn't believe she hadn't thought about a gavel until now.

"Take a second," she began, "to look over these quotes. What do they all have in common? They are all about dealing with other people. As Young Entrepreneurs, dealing with people is something that you'll do an awful lot. There are lots of ways to do this, but almost every successful model of business suggests what these quotes are suggesting: you business partners are just that: your partners. Respect, virtue, and the desire for both parties to benefit is essential in a successful venture."

"...right?"

"I don't know," Turtle grinned a little, reaching for a donut, "you tell me. We've got some very different minds in this group. Do you think the egalitarian type of approach is more successful? Or is it all just optimistic hogwash, and to be successful is to be cutthroat? Let's just have have a good roundtable, yeah?"

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"Deal, I can do that," he said. He'd probably do it anyway. "I hope you like it but I won't be upset if I lose."

"Well," Turtle said thoughtfully, "I've so far only encountered two types of pie I can't stand, so your odds are good."

"Coconut and...?" Ned would have attempted a guess but there were just so many things he could have guessed.

"Mincemeat," Turtle said, her face contorting into an expression of complete and utter disgust. "Blarg."

"Note to self: cancel the mincemeat pies," he said, teasing. "I think I've made one of those before. It wasn't a big hit then either."

"I'm not even sure I'm comfortable considering mincemeat pies pies at all."

"You will never see a mincemeat pie in the club, I promise," he said solemnly. "I swear on my rolling pin."

"Which sounds like a pretty solemn oath," Turtle noted, finally reaching for a fork so that she could finally dig into that pie.

Ned tried not to stare because staring while people ate was kind of creepy.

Turtle wouldn't have noticed, because she was being very thoughtful in her chewing.

"Not bad!" she finally concluded. "No apple. Not even quite raspberry, but still not bad!"

Ned's smile widened and made a note to remember that one for the future. "I'll still do you up an apple pie for next meeting. There's a few different variations I can try."

"Whoa, now," Turtle said, holding up her hands. Well, one hand and one hand holding a fork with a speared bit of potato pie. "Careful. Don't you know it's unpatriotic to experiment too much on an apple pie?"

She was...mostly joking.

"It's not experimenting!" Ned promised quickly. "They're just baked differently. There's a deep dish apple die I wanna try."

"Oooooooh."

Clearly, Turtle approved.

"Lots and lots of apple," he said, nodding. "Patriotism with a little extra on the side."

"You know," Turtle mused around another bite of pie, "sometimes, with you in club, I wonder why I even bother with the donuts."

"People might get tired of pie," he said and hid a blush behind his hand.

"There is no such thing," Turtle informed Ned, very matter-of-factly, "as tired of pie, Ned."

"You think?" Well, that'd work out great for Ned if it was true.

Turtle's head bobbed with conviction. "I know."

"Well, I can't argue with that," Ned said, nodding right back.

Young Entrepreneurs; Monday, Period 6 [ 02/02 ].

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