The underworld office

5

In the morning I let Eugene sleep. It wasn't a big deal that he would skip school for one day. It must've been hard yesterday.

When I was walking towards school Luke caught up with me.
"Where's Eugene?" he asked me.
"Um... he's just been feeling a little down so he stayed home today." I said half true...
"Alrighty. If you need any help just ask... I'll try my best to help you." He smiled.
"Thanks but that's unnecessary..." I replied with a smile. It was sweet of him to offer us help.
I stayed at school a little longer to finish some work I've been putting off for a while so when I returned home the sun was almost setting. No one was home but I assumed Eugene just went out to clear his head up a bit. So I just waited for ghosts to come to pick me up. I shortened the time drawing. Suddenly my eyes blacked out.
"Hi, newbie!" Said River when I woke up.
"Oh hey River." I replied.
"Ooh what have you been doing? Can I look?" She started peeking to my sketchbook.
"Sure... I guess." I replied.
"Wow these are great... Can I bring them to the office?" She pointed to the portraits of the ghosts from the office.
"We're heading there anyway..." she said and grabbed my sketchbook." I had that thing for a long time so it was full of my drawings. There were lots of bad ones but they were unique in their own way...

When we arrived at the station we went to the office. But when we were about to enter the office I noticed Eugene's red hoodie peeking from behind the corner. I went over there to see if it was really him and I found his collapsed body on the ground. He had a pulse so I assumed he had to leave his body. "Um... River?" I called out for her.
"Yes, newbie. What is it?"
"You might come here and help me a little..." I said as she was coming closer.
"Oh no... Boss won't like this..." she said quietly. "Come on, we'll take him to the office." She grabbed my brother and I hurried up to open the door for her.
"...'Lo." I said awkwardly and River stepped in.
"Boss..." she said and Boss turned to her. "We might have a problem." Boss immediately turned to me and glared at me.
"No, our Newbie doesn't have to do anything with it. She found him passed out near the office." River said. "His soul is probably out there."
"We're not going to do anything so far..." Boss said, thinking. "We'll see how it is going to turn out."
Suddenly River started panicking.
"Oh no, no, no..." she turned to Boss. "He needs help but...b...but..."
"What?" Boss asked.
"I can't go there... I would turn into a monster..." River started sobbing. I got up to leave and look for Eugene but Boss stopped me. "You're staying here. I don't need any more trouble... Ma'am could you please?" He turned to Joan. Ma'am? He's got mad respect for her...
Joan nodded and rushed out of the office. Soon after, Boss also left. I went to comfort River that was sobbing in the corner.
"It's okay River..." I said.
"No... it's not. If something happens to him I'll be regretting it for the rest of eternity but..."
"He'l be fine... there's Joan there. And he shouldn't have called you to such a place." I tried to calm her down. Even Kitty joined and sat on River's lap.
We just sat there for a while when Hayden pointed out. "Look, it's Joan. And Eugene!"
When the door opened. Joan said. "I've got the little sweet pea..." and all the ghosts went to hug Eugene in relief. River started apologizing for her not coming.
"Tsk. You think I came here to hear a little thanks." Said the grumpy old lady. "Anyway, our sweet pea seems to have learned a little lesson today... Do you want to hear it Boss."
Eugene gasped when Joan mentioned Boss.
"...Yes. Let us see..." he sounded angry. As he could be.
"Let us see what you learned after you come to the place you were told to never come back to, leave your body without any fear and make us watch over it..." he angrily paused. His anger was practically in the air. "call River to a place she cannot enter..."
"...you can leave out the part about me..." River interrupted him.
"You stay out of this..." he said to her.
"...okay." She replied.
"River complying to Boss doesn't really feel like River..." noted Hayden but Joan shushed him.
"...all that troublemaking. Let us see what you have learned." Boss turned turned to Eugene. He glared at him angrily. Eugene was silent.
"...Boss," he started carefully. "Were you worried I would've started to prioritize the underworld over real life?" He asked.
"...what if that's the case? What if that's the case, what are you going to do." Asked Boss in return.
"I...I..." Eugene started stuttering a little. "I want to stay as a ghost in real life... I don't want to die."
"Why, you want to feel worthy here since you get ignored in the mortal world?" Sid Boss angrily.
"Boss! You don't have to be harsh like that" scolded him River. Eugene didn't say anything for a while. "That's not what I wanted." He finally said. "I found some self worth in the underworld... but I haven't changed in real life a bit. I don't know what I should do to change... that's why I want to work here." He paused. "Maybe...maybe then I'll know how to love myself..." Finished Eugene.
"Well, it seems like it is going to take you a while to find the answer."
Eugene looked at him. "...Answer?"
And then the one thing I thought I would never see. The Boss laughed.
"Are you taken over by the monsters? You're more mean than them, though." River joked and Boss smacked her with his fan. "Ow, that hurts you know?" She shouted.
"Eugene..." he said and put his hand in his pocket. "Take this..." he handed him the guardian flower. "Since you have gotten this back, there is one more case I need you to help me with." He said, seriously.
"Boss..." started Eugene but Boss interrupted him.
"Come back tomorrow night for one last time."
"Thank you..." Eugene said.
"Addie!" Boss turned to me. He handed me the second guardian flower.
"Thank you." I replied. "You're both going with me tomorrow." Boss said. "Now go home." I grabbed Eugene's body and we both headed home. "You know..." I turned to him. "I'll still have to work there three times..." He looked at me shocked. "Why...?" He asked. "When he kicked you out he wanted me to pay off your debt but it must've been a full length and now it cannot be changed. So just you know."
He didn't say anything for a while. "What am I supposed to expect from working with Boss?" He asked me suddenly. "I don't know." I told the truth. "I don't think we will be beating monsters tomorrow. But it won't be a disaster... I hope." I added. It was true. I didn't really know what to expect from him either.