*lets you retreat (and it feels like a retreat, in more ways than one, and how she wishes she knew how to help you)* *just raises her eyebrows a little with classic Esther skepticism* *dryly* You've already tried that, sir. It didn't stick. *pauses* Unless that bout with playing hooky was just the first step...?
*nods firmly in response to your first question, and shakes her head just as quickly at the second* I'm fine. I look like a trainwreck, but it's all superficial. Really. *hesitates a moment and adds, if only to reassure you* The other girls and our floor manager had me off the floor and iced before that jerk hit the pavement outside. It's not as though I was by myself.