I jogged down to the bus station, mentally preparing myself for the horrors of work. Being a mall cop sucked, but it payed well enough. The main issue wasn't criminals per say, it was the teenagers. From bitchy girls getting into cat fights to testosterone filled boys trying to fight me, the teens were the worst. The bus pulled up to the stop and I climbed on. At least I don't have to go home between school and work. Advantages of carrying a little extra weight in your bag. Aka work clothes. I spent most of the ride thinking about what to study for tomorrow. I have Field Medicine, Science, History, and Creative Writing. I'll study most for history and science, a little for field med, and no study needed for creative writing. The bus pulled up to the mall, I walked into the building. I headed straight for the security office. "Ah, Ghost! Good to see ya!," called my supervisor, he watches the cameras and tells me where I need to go. "Good to see you to Grim," I waved as I walked past him to the female employees locker room. I was the only girl on this shift, but apparently two other girls also worked in the security department. I quickly changed into my uniform. "Hey," I called as I put my bag in my locker, "Is Glimmer still out?" "Yeah," sighed Grim, "He's out until his kids are a month old." "A month? Really?" I complained, putting my earpiece in, "His kids haven't even been born yet. That means more than a month." I sighed. "Temp replacement?" I asked hopefully. "Nah, sorry Ghost. All alone for the next month or more." "Damn," I muttered as I slipped the last of my gear into the tool belt of my uniform. "Where do you need me," I asked turning my radio on. "Uhh," he scanned the screens, "Food court. Nothing is going on yet and that's a good central location." I nodded and walked out the door. I heard his voice over the ear piece a few moments later, "I keep meaning to ask, what's with the names?" I laughed slightly, "You don't know?" "No," he sighed. "Well," I said, "The name relates to each person somehow, kinda like an inside joke. You are called Grim, because you tell us where to go, you lord over who gets in trouble who doesn't. The malls very own Grim Reaper." "Ahh, what about Glimmer," he asked. "The first time I saw him he had just gotten a bucket of glitter on him. He was Glimmering under the lights," I smirked. "Puns for days with you," groaned Grim,"What about you?" "I got my name from Glimmer, apparently I am very sneaky and can appear out of nowhere." "You can. I'm going to stop talking until I see some trouble," Grim yawned. I looked up at a camera and nodded, knowing he'd get the message. I began to do rounds of the food court, located on the second floor, very center of the mall. One floor above, one below, a great landmark. Mallmark? Idk. I was about thirty minutes into my shift when my radio crackled to life. " Hey, uhh, Ghost?" Grim sounded worried. "Yeah," I asked. "I need you to get to the pretzel cart in the first floors south wing, and fast." He spoke urgently. "Roger that," I said. I took of in a sprint toward the south wing. When I was told to be fast, that meant running and small acts of parkour. Fun, but let's hope the situation isn't too serious. I whipped around a corner and headed for the nearest staircase. I skipped half the stairs, jumping off the railing, running all the while. The pretzel stand came into sight, and the problem was plain to see. A costumer was visibly angry, shouting at the poor guy working the stand. Anytime anyone tried to interfere, they got screamed at too. I slowed to a jog, then a speed walk, headed for them. "HOW DAMN HARD IS IT TO MAKE FUCKING PRETZEL BITES YOU IDIOT," the teen boy yelled. The other teen in the situation was visibly freighted as he replied, "W-well sir, we don't c-currently have the i-ingredients for the p-pretzels you want. The sign d-does say that we've sold o-out." "I DON'T GIVE A FU-" "HEY!" I interrupted, "What seems to be the issue here?" The pretzel vendor looked like he was about to faint from happiness, where as the screamer looked like he wanted to fight someone. "Well," snarled the costumer, "I was trying to get some of my favorite pretzel bites, but he refused to sell them to me." The vendor spoke up, " It does say on the menu that we are currently sold out, and I told him that multiple times." "Let me get this straight," I said calmly. "After being told that the food he wanted wasn't available, he," I motioned to the upset teen, " became angry and verbally abusive towards the pretzel vendor and anyone who tried to help." Multiple people around the area nodded, and voiced their agreement. I turned to the costumer who caused the ruckus, " Sir, I must ask that you leave the area. As long as no other incidents occur today, you will not be kicked out of the mall or arrested. However, if other incidents occur today, depending on the severity, you could easily get kicked out of the mall or arrested. Do you understand?" "I understand," he grumbled. I turn to face the vendor, when I feel a sharp pain across my cheek. Mother fucker just slapped me. That is an arrestable offense. "I understand that a bitch needs to be shown her place. This is a mans world sweetheart," he smirked. " You do realize that by slapping me you have just commented an arrestable offense. Will you come quietly?" I asked in a sickly sweet voice. His response was attempting to punch me, I caught his arm. "Cuff him and bring him to the office, I'll watch him till the cops can pick him up," Grim's voice spoke in my ear. I twisted the boys arm behind him, attaching a cuff to it. I cuffed his hands behind his back, easily, he was more focused on hitting me than escaping. I held on to his shoulder to keep him from running as I turned to the vendor. " You ok," I asked? He raised an eyebrow, "I should be asking you the same thing. I'm fine, thanks to you." "No problem," I replied, "I better get this guy to the security office to wait for the cops." The pretzel guy seemed startled,"Don't you need to record my experience?" "I'll be back after I drop him off, how did you know about that anyway?" I replied. "My brother is a police officer," he looked sheepish. I nodded, and began to lead the now surprisingly quiet teen away. We had just finished walking up a set of stairs when he wrenched himself out of my grip and body slammed me. I lost my balance and fell down the stairs. Lucky I only fell about halfway down, as the staircase spiraled with a platform in the middle. Ow. God DAMMIT. I stood up, checking for injuries. Nothing broken, nothing sprained. Ton of bruises. I felt something wet drip down my forehead. Blood. I walked up the stairs, scanning for the escapee. "Where did he go?" I asked Grim. "Holy hell! Ghost, are you ok?" Grim panicked. "I'm fine, where did he go," I replied, annoyed. "He ran north," Grim sighed. I didn't bother replying, I wrapped a black bandana around my forehead and dashed off to find the teen.
