~The Shy and The Stubborn~ (the santa clause)

Chapter 7: a bad feeling

A/N: here's another one boys, just short and sweet this time. I'm sorry I haven't been able to put out many chapters at a time, I'm doing tafe rn and also struggling with trying to get a job n stuff. being an adult really sucks, but i hope y'all enjoy the new chapter!

-

"Another one?? Really??"

Justice didn't like the weekends, they were filled with too much mystery and wonder, too much left to the imagination. She liked her schedule, and without schedule she was lost. So Justice often times tagged along with her friends on whatever their weekends may entail, whether that be something as exciting as going on holiday all the way down to accompanying them grocery shopping. She was glad they only got a weekend of one day: Sunday.

Today, she'd decided to meet her friends Max and Jaime at the Urban, for a nice cup of coffee plus any baked good of their choosing.

Maxine had seen the bruise on Justice's wrist, and was enraged.

"It's fine Max, really," Justice sighed monotonously, pulling her sleeve back down her arm properly to hide it, "hardly feel it."
"What did he do this time?" Max asked, like a mother all protective and such.
"He didn't do it on purpose, he was helping me up and grabbed me a little too hard. It's really no big deal," Justice reassured her, taking a sip of her piping hot mocha.
"Sounds a little like he doesn't know his own strength," Jaime pointed out, stirring his own coffee with was all nice and frothy how he liked it, "I think you should say something."
"I'm not really in the mood to stir anything up," Justice sighed, rubbing those tired eyes of hers, "I'm tolerating it for now, and if I can no longer go on to tolerate it, then I'll say something. Okay?"
"Alright Jus, if you say so," Maxine gave in, leaning in closer to her friend and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "you look so tired hun."
"That's because I am," Justice huffed, stirring her coffee again even though it had already been so, "just a lot of issues at work, and with it so close to Christmas I've certainly had said work cut out for me."
"Yeah? What's that all about then?" Jaime pried, keen to know just what this new life of hers was like.
"I'm sorry, I'd tell you but I'm afraid it's all confidential," Justice explained, carefully finishing that lovely coffee of hers, "Bernard's had me on strict rules ever since I started working right beside him. I can't even tell you guys, and you know that's bad since you guys rarely mouth off to anyone else in the factory."
"Yikes, I never thought it'd be so tough working so close to him," Jaime cringed, shaking his head, "I always thought the work load would be less higher up."
"Believe it or not, Bernard does more for us than you could ever know."

-

Following Bernard around the factory, Justice felt like a lost hopeless puppy dog, like Bernard was a treat attached to a string and she was being lead around by it aimlessly, able to focus on it and only it. 

Only, it wasn't just Bernard she was following, it was Curtis and the toy Santa as well - she just felt more grounded focussing on only one of them, and she was Bernard's personal assistant after all. 

Curtis had given the toy Santa the dusty old rule book, and he had been reading it while they all walked around the factory together, the toy shouting "Ho, ho, ho!" every few moments followed by words of encouragement that were along the lines of "you're doing a wonderful job!". Perhaps a little too enthusiastic, though Justice couldn't say, she wasn't overly enthusiastic herself. 

"You're doing great," Bernard praised the toy, his hands behind his back. "you could dial it down a little on the ho-ho-ho's but otherwise, you're gold."