One Shots and Challenges

When the Boys are Away...

A/N:  This was written for the weekly challenge.  Like before, maybe it will get tweeked and published as a chapter of another story.  Enjoy!

POV: Sang

I'm bored! Everyone is gone on Academy missions except for me. I have been accepted into the Academy. I have completed more than half of my training, but they still left me here. I could have done something, anything.

As I listen to the theme song for Family Feud, I wonder what I can get into today. Maybe I will go up to see Uncle at the Diner and work a few hours. I have already worked about 25 hours this week, which is way more than usual. I got a good haul of tips from it too. I decide to get dressed and head on out. I send a quick text to the guys telling them where I am and lock up.

Traipsing through the woods is relaxing, but it is over way too soon as the Diner comes into view. The Diner looks nothing like a church now. I wonder what God thinks about His house becoming a diner. I guess it is food for the soul.

Walking through the front door, I see several waitresses and wave to them before going back in the kitchen to see Uncle.

"Little Bird, what are you doing here?" Uncle gives me a huge hug.

"I was bored and was wondering if you needed help." Even I can hear the pleading tone in my voice.

"Well, someone is already manning the register, but you can mop out the freezer. It seems that someone spilled some ranch dressing or something and didn't clean it up last night." Not the best job, but it is something to do.

I go to the freezer to survey the damage. There is a white mess on the floor, and it looks like someone stepped in it since there are footprints coming out of the freezer. I move the shelves, which are luckily on wheels and got to the mop and bucket. I get to work humming while going in one direction then another across the floor of the freezer. It doesn't take too long for the floor to be clean. I rinse the mop, change the water, and start on the rest of the floor of the kitchen, making sure the Wet Floor sign was visible at all times.

One of the waiters, Craig, comes in to pick up a tray of food and starts to slip on the wet floor. He looks like a tap dancing monkey the way his feet are flying all over the place. All he needs now is a pair of tap dance shoes and he'd be set. After he gets his footing, Craig looks around. Everyone is staring at him and trying very hard not to laugh. If he would have fallen, I would have felt very bad. Uncle can't hold it in any more and lets out a loud, belly laugh which starts a chain reaction with the rest of the employees.

I finish the rest of the floor and pull out several more signs, but I don't think there will be a repeat performance today. I go over to Uncle to see if he has anything else for me to do, but he doesn't. He sees my disappointment and makes me a hot fudge sundae with whipped cream and a cherry that I happily eat, knowing that North won't be around to complain about the sugar content.

I head back home, but along the road instead of through the woods like I usually do. I see a United States Postal Service truck coming down the street toward the Diner. I move further off to the side of the road as it zips along and almost hits me. I know that people call it Snail Mail, but the guy who's driving that truck does not need to counter that sentiment all on his own. The USPS truck comes to a stop about 15 feet away from me. I keep on walking. The mail carrier gets out and shouts,"You need to watch where you are going! You can't be in the road like that. I almost hit you."

I turn around slowly. "Sir, I was on the side of the road, not in the road. You need to learn how to drive!" I turn back around and continue on my way. The truck starts back up, and I hear it speed up the road away from me. Still a little nervous, I hurry towards Nathan's house. I pull out my phone and keys just in case. I have learned a lot in the way of self-defense, but I am still small, and I am no match for a someone in a vehicle. I hear the mail truck just as I am opening the front door. I don't think that he sees me, but I close and lock the door anyway. Then I hide in Nathan's room and keep quiet. Sure enough, I hear a banging sound on the door. I access the camera for the front door and see that it is the mailman. He continues to bang on the door and yell. He is making enough noise that Erica calls my phone. She knows that I am at Nathan's house. She knows a lot now.

"Sang, honey, are you okay? What is that mailman doing?" She is a lifesaver!

"Erica, I was walking home from the Diner and he almost hit me when I was on the side of the road. Then he yelled at me, so I yelled at him back. What do I do now? Everyone is out doing something else and won't be back until later." The banging has stopped. I pick up the iPad and access the cameras. He is circling the house. I sneak into the bathroom and shut and lock the door. "Erica," I whisper, "he's walking around the house."

"I'm calling the police." She states vehemently. She does NOT know about my ghost status.

"You can't. What if the police find out my parents aren't around? I will be taken away." I try to reason with her.

"I'll call Uncle. Maybe someone can come help out."

"Okay, honey, call me when you get finish with that call. I will be on standby." I love Erica!

I hang up with Erica and call Uncle. He agrees to send someone down. Then I call Erica back and wait. This waiting is like watching paint dry, boring. The mailman is still circling the house, trying the doors and windows, and stepping on my Chrysanthemums! How dare he! About 3 minutes later, I hear a roar of an engine and use the camera to see Marc and Raven walking around either side of the house. Raven gets to the mailman first. The scene is actually comical because it looks like the mailman is about to pee himself. He is escorted to the waiting truck while Marc rings the doorbell. I tell Erica that everything is okay and hang up. I explain to Marc what happened, and he agrees that the guy was up to no good, especially since the mail truck is not even a real one. Some just painted it like a mail truck. It actually belongs to a Chinese restaurant called Chopsticks. The use the truck for deliveries and reported it stolen several days ago.

I thank Marc and tell him to thank Raven and go inside. The police are actually coming, and I don't want to interact with them. I sit down on the couch and watch Netflix for a while and once again, wait. I'm bored.