Max as a Mayor can only end disastrously. (w/ Isabelle | Max Mayor AU)

[sorryilied]

Being a Mayor sure was rough.

To be fair, Max had never asked for this. But the role of mayor was cheerily thrust upon him by the secretary, Isabelle. Clearly he had to be the mayor because they were awaiting that very person to appear. But he wasn't - and after taking the role, he'd found out that the person who had intended to take it was fine with the arrangement. So he rolled with it.

And, well. Max was not a great Mayor. He was active and he was attentive, so the townsfolk loved him. Maybe he wasn't the greatest at getting things done, but he was cool and personable.

If there was one good thing about this, according to his dad, it was that being mayor was making him far more responsible and accountable for his actions.

Still, at least half of the townsfolk were happy with the new mini skate park that was built on the outskirts. Small, but usable, since nobody wanted to completely populate the town with industrial things. But a few things like this wouldn't hurt.

Honestly, Isabelle was the person that was keeping everything afloat. Despite being Mayor by accident, his hide had been saved by the other more than once when he tried to make a decision and failed to follow through the right way.

--

It was another morning, and Max was walking into Town Hall to see if anything urgent had come in. Things had been rather stressful recently, and all he could hope for was that it'd be a slow day.

"Good morning, Isabelle." He closed the door behind him while greeting his assistant - she always got there before him, no matter how early he tried to arrive.

Comments

[secretarypup]

"Good morning, Mr. Mayor!" Isabelle greeted from her desk at the front of the town hall. Did she ever go home? ...Where did she even live anyway? These were questions for greater thinkers of our time. Somehow, despite her insane schedule, she was smiling and happy. "Ready for another day of making our town a better place?" she asked cheerily. Isabelle really was the one that kept everything going. She had a list of responsibilities a mile long, and she navigated the bureaucracy of running a town like a professional. Nothing seemed to slip past her. She knew he wasn't exactly mayor material, but here he was, and she was going to do her darndest to support him.

[sorryilied]

What would he do without her? ... No, really. What would anyone do without her?

"Sure, I guess." It was sincere, and the smile was there; but he seemed a bit tired. "I'm always for making things better." He walked over to his chair, past her desk and behind his.

It'd been the same start to the day, same as the days and weeks before it. But his response was no less sincere than it was when he started, despite his reluctance to accept the position as mayor. And though he could go on without asking this question, it slipped out before he had the chance to even think twice.

"How do you keep up that level of energy day in and day out? It's... actually kind of amazing."

[secretarypup]

"I just love helping people, that's all," Isabelle told him, going to fetch a coffee pot from the coffee maker and bringing it to Max's desk, offering him a cup. But upon noticing the look on his face, her expression quickly turned to one of concern. "Mr. Mayor... Are you okay? Have you been getting enough sleep?" she asked.

[sorryilied]

"Been tryin', at least." He tried to reinforce the smile to not worry her. "I'm fine, promise. Just a little disoriented this morning, I guess."

He accepted a cup of coffee, drinking a bit of it before continuing. "You know, you can call me Max. 'Mr. Mayor' is a bit too formal when it's just us here." Sure, it's what people liked to call him when he was outside, but it was kinda weird to keep being called that by his closest acquaintance when nobody else was there.

[secretarypup]

"Well... Okay, Mayor Max," she said finally, giving him a smile. "But if you're not feeling well, you can take a day off! I don't mind at all!" she reassured him.

[sorryilied]

"No! No, it's fine. Really. I want to do this. I wanna help as much as I can." Well, 'Mayor Max' was better than 'Mr. Mayor', at least. He decided not to push further on just calling him 'Max' for now.

[secretarypup]

Isabelle seemed pensive for a moment. Then, she smacked her hands together in epiphany. "I know what to do!" she exclaimed with a smile. "I have all my work caught up for now, so we can take a bit of a break! Come with me, I'll show you something I like to do when I feel overworked!" she told him, taking his hand and pulling him out of his chair. She didn't wait for him to protest or ask where they were going. No time for that!

She led him out the front doors and across the train tracks into the shopping district. There was a small shop on the strip that Isabelle led him to, her hair decorations jingling all the way. "Welcome. Mayor Max... to the spa!" she threw her hands out to reveal the place to him at last.