Chapter 17 | Page 11d: Down Periscope

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Budget overruns.

Two words guaranteed to make any executive meeting feel like you’re walking into a firing squad.

But Cassie Cruz knows how to keep her cool under pressure.

Instead of excuses or finger-pointing, she walks into the meeting with composure, professionalism… and just enough confidence to impress the boss. As the CEO of Evil Inc (Dr. Whoosh himself) makes clear, that kind of poise goes a long way in the corporate world.

Of course, when the meeting ends and the laptop closes, Cassie finally lets herself enjoy the moment.

Mission accomplished.

Down periscope.

Sometimes the real victory is simply keeping your head above water in a tough meeting.

Or below.

Transcript

Panel 1:
Dr. Whoosh (on laptop, to Cassie Cruz, who is in her office): “Budget overruns usually come with excuses. You brought composure and remarkable poise.”
Cassie has an emotion cloud — caused by Project SMILE — over her head that depicts a cucumber with sunglasses, with snowflakes hovering around it.

Panel 2:
Dr. Whoosh (on laptop): “I wish more people handled tough meetings the way you just did, Miss Cruz.”
Cassie Cruz: “Thank you, sir.”
A small submarine periscope pops up from under the desk.

Panel 3:
(No dialogue.) Cassie gently pushes the periscope down, leans back, and her emotion cloud turns into fireworks.

Alt Text

Three-panel black-and-white comic set in an office. Cassie Cruz, a professional woman with a bob haircut, glasses, blazer, necklace, and low-cut blouse, sits at a desk with an open laptop during a video meeting. On the laptop screen is the CEO of Evil Inc., Dr. Whoosh, speaking to her. In the first panel, Dr. Whoosh says, “Budget overruns usually come with excuses. You brought composure and remarkable poise.” Cassie sits upright, listening politely; above her is a small emotion cloud (caused by Project SMILE) showing a cartoon cucumber surrounded by snowflakes. In the second panel, Dr. Whoosh continues, “I wish more people handled tough meetings the way you just did, Miss Cruz.” Cassie replies, “Thank you, sir.” A periscope from a submarine pops up from under the desk. In the final panel, Cassie leans back slightly and gently pushes the periscope down. Above her, the emotion cloud features a large explosive burst with stars and smoke, appearing where the pickle character had been.