rehearsing for my "no fairy" shift at a dance event in ten days

"No"

"No, thank you"

"I don't want to"

"Thank you for asking! Not at this time"

"No but thanks so much for asking"

"As much as your invitation appeals to me, I must respectfully decline"

"My sources say no"

"No but please ask again later"

"I must humbly decline"

"No but I love you"

"No and I love you"

"I really want to but no"

"I'd rather not"

"This isn't a good time for me"

"I'm not in a good place to say yes so I must say no this time"

"I don't want to say no but I'm saying no anyway"

"I need to decline but I hope we can try again sometime"

"You're wonderful and also no"

"Very kind of you to ask. My answer is no"

"Not at this time"

"Not right now but I can give you a different answer if you ask again in about 45 minutes" (lol - my shift is an hour long, I imagine I might run into this a lot, especially if Finley actually shows up)

............

I might have to ask Josh to role play this with me at some point, it's really hard.

need to channel my inner Christopher Walken

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a flower in a secret garden

The rose is without 'why'; it blooms simply because it blooms.
It pays no attention to itself, nor does it ask whether anyone sees it.

—Angelus Silesius, The Cherubinic Wanderer (Cherubinischer Wandersmann)