Harpers

Boss- “Welcome to the Hidden Strings, young man.”

Recruit- “I’m in?  That’s great.  Can’t wait to tell my mom.”

B- “Wait . . . I think you forgot that we are a secret society.”

R- “Don’t worry.  My mom can keep a secret.  My sister and brothers can’t, but my mom is safe.”

B- “That’s not for you to decide.”

R- “Who decides?”

B- “Me and I say no because we deal in very delicate situations.”

R- “But my mom-”

B- “She could be killed if your membership is none to the public.”

R- “Oh . . . Then I won’t tell her.”

B- “Good. Now, here is your insignia pin and a cloak with our colors on it.”

R- “Won’t people know I’m a member if they see me wearing this?”

B- “Nobody knows we exist, so you will be safe.”

R- “Then nobody would believe my mom if I told her.”

B- “We aren’t leaving this topic, are we?”

R- “I would like to tell someone about this honor and I don’t have a wife.”

B- “A wife would still be a no.”

R- “Fine. By the way, people do know you exist.”

B- “What?”

R- “Yeah, the Hidden Strings were outed two months ago by some reporter.”

B- “Who could have done that?”

R- “Some guy who was accidentally delivered a membership packet that was meant for the person who used to live in his apartment.  Seems all hideout locations, finances, members, and secret signals were included.”

B- “That’s why we never heard back from that one guy. Maybe we should hire more office staff to keep our books updated.”

R- “I don’t think you should worry.”

B- “Why not?”

R- “People are too busy dealing with personal issues to care about a group that seems to only exist to prevent the sale of black market musical instruments.”

B- “That’s both a relief and kind of hurtful.”