MadnessJones: This chapter was written by CarreraCT and edited by me. We hope you like it :)

CarreraCT: We finally finished another chapter. Let's pretend it was just because Jones and I were having serious debates about how this chapter would go and not at all because I took forever to write anything. Enjoy!

Chapter 8

Medical Emergency

Wendy's new lifestyle of working for Kevin while also working under the tyrannical rule of her mother Sophie had no room for relaxation any more. For Wendy, the constant going back and forth while trying to keep her composure was pure torture.

Her original hope had been that if she was working full time then her mother would allow her to do fewer chores, but her mother wasn't so merciful.

Ironically, Kevin gave that mercy instead by agreeing to give her weekends off, granting her some form of relief. However, Sophie was not so kind. She made Wendy clean and work around the house every single day of the week, and actually increased Wendy's chores on her free days!

As the weeks rolled by Wendy was being ground to a pulp from her workloads, and it seemed like it was never going to let up. Perhaps she was just doomed to be a servant to her family forever. She hadn't even seen Frank in what felt like ages. Perhaps he was scared off for good because of Sophie.

Wendy was up once again up early on the weekend to begin working on her mother's newly grown tulips (which Sophie had made her pay for despite her brother's best attempts of deception). Her head was already spinning as soon as she opened her eyes.

She had begun to feel sick recently, constantly nursing a headache most days. However her mother was unwilling to give her time to rest, nor take her to someone to make sure she was okay, but she was getting plenty of ringing ears from her mother screaming at her to pick up the pace.

Wendy was a very strong-willed mouse, but even an iron will has its limits. Unfortunately, she finally hit her limit one morning as she lost control of her body and collapsed a second time into Sophie's tulips, once again ruining them.

Her mother was furious with her when no one came to cover for Wendy this time, but it became worrying that Wendy was not even reacting to her screams of disapproval when she came out and saw the damage. It became apparent Wendy was actually in serious trouble, which meant Sophie had lost her new income and her servant.

With much begrudging, she finally took Wendy to one of the many Toony doctors in the town. Sophie even made sure Wendy was carried since she couldn't get up. Well, carried by Leo anyways.

They arrived at a place called Funny Bone Emergency Room after finding out the owner had the cheapest rates in the field. Sophie barged in, slamming the door open so hard it swung into the wall it was hinged to. The brown cat at the reception desk woke with a start, flustered by the commotion.

"You! How much is it to fix this Toon?" Sophie spat out, almost disgusted that she had to spend her money on anything but herself or her son.

"Fix...?" The cat repeated; confused.

She was just a nurse that healed Toons, not fixed them like some sort of machine. Not to mention she had just been woken from a nap, and was now having to deal with this rude and callous cat.

"Yeah. Fix this blasted mouse for me. She fell unconscious while she was doing my...uh, her garden for some reason," Sophie tried again, calming down slightly so this dimwitted cat would just do her job already.

"Uh...well, I can try to Toon her up? Was she attacked by a Cog recently? Oh, my name is Nurse Nancy by the way," Nancy offered, not really understanding what had happened as she held out her hand.

Sophie simply crossed her arms in response. Usually Toons would come in panicking and crying out that their friend was depressed by a Name Dropper or Tightwad, or when some big invasion of a high-tier Cog took place in her area; not asking how much she charged.

"No, she's never fought a Cog. Or she shouldn't anyways. She stays home most days," Sophie explained impatiently.

"Oh uh...I don't know if I can help with that if it isn't depression caused by the Cogs. I can try for yo-" Nancy began but Sophie cut her off.

"Yes you better try! I need her to be back to her old self!" Sophie barked at the poor cat.

Leo, who had smartly remained silent the whole time, came up and showed Wendy's limp body. Nancy suddenly looked very worried for the mouse.

"Oh my! Yes, let's get her into the back room quickly before it's too late!" Nancy gasped.

Nancy then took Wendy from Leo and rushed her into the back room. She laid the little mouse out on a comfy chair that she had already reclined and began to examine her. Nancy pulled out her stethoscope and placed it on Wendy's head, chest, and stomach. (She had no idea what she was listening for, she just liked the motion). She scribbled down a few notes about her patient's condition, outfit, and fur color.

All the while that Nancy was writing, Sophie was glaring at the two; counting the time that Wendy could have been working rather than being here. She hated it even more since Wendy was on a very comfortable couch being taken care of while Sophie had to squeeze her squat body into a chair really meant for thin, tall toons instead.

She was hoping Leo was at least struggling like her, but he wasn't. This was partly because he was thin and only medium height, but mainly it was because he chose to stand and lean against the wall; silently watching the whole process and mentally taking notes.

Over an hour went by for them. Nancy was trying everything she knew. She had used happy music, snowflakes, allowed Wendy a bit of sleep, given her flowers and nuts, and even a few starfish for good measure. She even tried juggling and dancing for Wendy, but nothing worked.

"This is one of the worst cases I've ever seen. It's a miracle she is still here, Sophie," Nancy breathed.

"Mrs. Sophie to you! There must be a way to get her back. I need her!" Sophie whined.

"Well let me try one last thing. Perhaps she will like this," Nancy said as she bounced over to her freezer and grabbed an ice cream cone.

She chose chocolate for this one, a more hidden heath booster than the original vanilla ones that were all around Toontown Central. After all, desperate times call for desperate measures. She pulled off the wrapping and then stuck the ice cream into Wendy's mouth. Every Toon in the room waited with bated breath, hoping against all hope it would work.

For a moment nothing happened, but then Wendy's jaw began to move. It rhythmically moved up and down as she unconsciously ate the ice cream.

It was just what Nancy was hoping for. She gave Wendy another one when she had finished the first, and as soon as she did, Wendy's eyes fluttered open.

"Mmm...Mama?" Came a quiet and weak voice from Wendy's lips.

"No, it's Nurse Nancy, honey. You somehow became extremely depressed. You're in my office right now."

"Kevin?" Wendy muttered; still half asleep.

Nurse Nancy looked at her parents.

"I think she is asking for you, Kevin" Nancy said, making eye contact with Leo.

"Me? I'm Leo, Nancy," Tom corrected.

"Oh. Then who's Kevin?"

"It must be that brat of a dog. I knew I should have stopped him sooner," Sophie snarled.

Nancy wasn't sure what to make of that, so she decided to ignore it and question Leo.

"You should ask her about him. He seems to be a comfort to her," She advised.

"But her friend's name is Frank," Leo told her.

"Oh. Well then find out who Kevin is. If you can get a full name I could look him up on the Toon sheets and ask him to come help her."

"Yes, we will do that. How much for those chocolate ice creams?" Leo inquired politely, but Sophie looked very irritated by this.

"Oh, I don't know. How about 20 jellybeans for 5?"

The last thing Sophie wanted to do is spend anything on Wendy, but she did not want to lose her servant either. The thought then occurred to her that Wendy was working now, so why not just make her work more to pay for her ice creams? Seemed reasonable enough for her.

"Yeah, sure, we can do that," Sophie grumbled as she grabbed the required amount from her pocket.

Sophie only handed her 15 jellybeans, but Nancy didn't bother to count them, instead choosing to toss them into her jar on a table nearby; blending into the thousands already in there.

Once Nancy did that, she grabbed 5 ice creams and held them out to Sophie, who swiped them off her hands fairly rudely.

"Thanks," Sophie said almost sarcastically.

"Make sure she gets plenty of rest and happiness," Nancy reminded them as Leo lifted up Wendy again.

The two left the doctor's office at last and headed back for home, Leo holding Wendy, and Sophie snacking on one of Wendy's ice creams in front of them.

Wendy was barely conscious, but she could see her mother stealing her life line. She wanted to scream or shout or plead. Something. Anything. But she was still far too exhausted and worn out to make any noise but a small groan. Sophie didn't seem to hear Wendy's futile moan however, or if she did she chose to ignore it.

Wendy groaned again, waving an arm in Sophie's direction, but to no avail. She began to weep quietly. This was just too much for her. She was apparently meant to be sad forever.

Amazingly however, she felt herself being adjusted by Leo. He made her face him and laid her to where her head was on his shoulder comfortably.

Wendy began to cry helplessly anyway, and despite her weakened body and emotional state, she was shocked that Leo would do this for her. It was like he was actually trying to be a father for her for the first time as far as she could really remember.

He held her this way the entire trip back, which allowed her to get ahold of herself and calm down. Sophie had already had another 2 ice creams, but Wendy was beyond caring at this point. She was sure Sophie would make her buy them anyway so all it meant was less for her to buy in the first place.

Instead she watched as Leo took her inside the house. It was surprisingly quiet in their neighborhood, but maybe that was because it was getting late already.

Wendy was carried to her room and laid in her bed. It was not anywhere near as comfortable as that office couch she was in at the doctor's office, but it was her safe space. Leo left the room, which allowed Wendy to just focus on trying to heal.

She laid on her barren bed for a few minutes, but then Leo came back yet again, and laid an old blanket on it. It had several holes and was an ugly color of brown, but it was a blanket. Wendy snuggled in the somewhat-soft material immediately.

The day had been absolutely terrible for her. But then right at the end, it had changed a bit. She had never seen Leo like this before. She had been adopted about 5 years prior, and in all that time Leo was nothing but a husk of a Toon that allowed Sophie to walk all over everyone. What had changed?

Wendy tried to sleep for several hours, yet it was all to no avail. She was comfortable for once, but her mind was racing about her adoptive father. What made him comfort her now? This was not the first time she'd completely broken down like that.

Last time she had lost her composure was shortly after she was first adopted. She had to leave her friend Frank and the other kids at the orphanage, and she was feeling homesick. Sophie had given her a present, and Wendy was excited that her new adoptive mother cared so much. It was the first gift she had ever gotten. It turned out however that the gift was rusty gardening tools, and Sophie only gave them to Wendy so Wendy could work on Sophie's flowers.

Wendy had cried her eyes red that day. That so-called gift had dashed her dreams of a loving family, and it was devastating for her, but Leo had not been paying attention then. So why now?

She was about to fall asleep at last, but she suddenly heard arguing downstairs.

This wasn't unusual, but she heard her name muffled a few times and curiosity got to her. So she pulled her 'new' blanket off and cracked open her door just enough to hear them clearer. It was one of the perks of a small house.

"I am not giving her a break. She missed all day today and that's more than I ever should give. She has too much to catch up on," Sophie argued feverishly.

"But Sophie, she's very sick. If we don't ease up on her soon, she might fade away from depression," Leo said quietly.

"She won't. She knows better than to leave without my permission."

"She would leave without anyone's permission, even her own, if she gets too depressed. What if I took over for her tomorrow then?" Leo calmly suggested.

"No. You're an old cat. You can't handle what she must do, and I am not paying for you to see that overpriced doctor if you throw your back out or something," Sophie whined, already imagining the money she would lose if he got hurt.

"Then why don't I help her?"

"You will do no such thing! Wendy must do it alone and that's final. You understand, Leo?" Sophie growled, forcing Leo into an easy submission.

"Yes dear, I get it," Leo sighed in defeat.

Wendy could hear footsteps approaching, so she quickly shut her door, jumped back into bed, and got the blanket back over her.

Her door never opened, but it didn't matter. The moment she got back into bed, she was out like a light.

The next morning, Sophie swung open Wendy's door with a bang. Wendy didn't move, which irked the demanding orange cat quite a bit. So, she came to Wendy's bedside and shook the poor mouse back into reality.

"Wake up, you lazy mouse! Time for work. You've fallen way behind and ruined my garden too, so you better get started on that before you go to work," Sophie ordered with some bitterness in her tongue.

She grabbed Wendy from her bed and then grabbed her blanket, ignoring how hot Wendy felt.

"And don't steal my things, you little thief!" She cried out, waking up Wendy in a hurry.

"Yes...ma'am..." Wendy mumbled as her head bobbed around randomly with each step the two went down.

She was practically dragged out by Sophie as they headed downstairs and went outside. It was an annoyingly hot and humid morning, which was making poor Wendy's life even harder.

She couldn't deny it. She was very sick. She was hot, lightheaded, couldn't taste anything, and couldn't even pick up smells from her nose; which was a big warning sign for her. She also knew she couldn't tell her mother because she was very far behind on her chores. Her only saving grace was to get to Kevin as quickly as she could. He at least was easier on her, whether it was because he wanted to personally or not.

Her mother finally let go of her arm when they arrived at a wheelbarrow full of brand new tulips.

"Now you little brat, you're gonna replant all my flowers, and then you'll make sure never to ruin them again. You're going to work to make up what you owe me, don't worry about that," Sophie huffed as she turned away and went back inside before Wendy could even say anything back to her.

The little mouse only sighed and was about to start until a fit of coughs overtook her. She doubled over with each cough as it took all of her energy to expel. After 5 hard coughs, she sniffled and grabbed her shovel to dig into the ground. It was even harder than it was before to work, but she had no choice in the manner.

Her progress was, inevitably, close to a snail's pace, and she could sense Sophie glaring at her through the windows. She was trying to hold in her coughs so her mother didn't see her, but the urge to cough became too overwhelming as she dropped her shovel and a tulip to place her hands on her knees. A powerful cough rocketed out of her, forcing her to almost squat down.

"Alright, enough!" Sophie shrieked as she approached Wendy, "You're causing enough damage already. Just go to your job and bring me back more than normal so I can pay for your damage again."

She grabbed Wendy by her collar and threw her onto the road. Wendy was relieved by this for the most part. She felt she could ask Kevin for some help with whatever was affecting her.

Once her mother was out of sight, Wendy got out her new portal from her shticker book after setting it for The Brrrgh, and once the portal formed below her, she hopped through; watching it close behind her.

Meanwhile Frank has been watching Wendy all morning. The only thing Frank wanted to do right now was help her in any way. Sadly, he was banned from her home and he knew all too well Sophie was watching.

He witnessed Wendy's collapse the day before and he was just about to come out to save her, but Sophie came out too quickly, which revealed that she had been watching the whole time that day too.

Unsurprisingly, she came out again while Wendy was busy wheezing and coughing her lungs out just to scold her about her laziness or something he assumed. He also watched as Sophie forced her daughter to go to work despite her poor condition. Frank knew Wendy would do as she was told, and wasn't surprised when he saw the portal.

He was a bit sad he couldn't talk to her still. She was always gone now thanks to her mother.

Wait! He could just meet her at the playground and walk with her to her work thingy. Then they would be able to finally spend some time together!

With an excitement brewing inside of him, he pulled out his personal shticker book and called for his portal to take him to Toontown Central. He knew he could catch up to her since it had only been a few seconds since she left.

However, once he arrived he was dismayed to see the playground was packed full of other Toons. Wendy was an oddly small Toon, but that also made her stand out a bit. Normally Frank would still have no problem finding her.

Unfortunately, she was nowhere to be seen. While Frank was mute, that didn't affect how aware he was of who was around him. Not only could he not see her, he couldn't smell her scent either.

He thought it was extremely unlikely that she could have passed through without leaving any smell behind. Somehow he had missed her. He silently grumbled as he sat down at the steps that led up to the plaza for the Toon Bank, Town Hall, and Toon HQ. Where could she have gone?

Wendy meanwhile hopped through her portal to The Brrrgh. She had just saved herself at least an hour of time by buying that portal from the shady Bean Counter Cog. She was of course dismayed that none of the Cog HQs were accessible by this portal, but skipping two whole playgrounds was certainly something credible.

The tiny mouse scurried down to the Lawbot HQ as she had done for the past few weeks. In a weird sense, she was becoming used to the cold. After over a month of it, it sort of helped her wake up better for Kevin to be more...good? No. Useful? Oh yes, efficient!

She had learned that word recently from him, and apparently efficiency was a big thing for Cogs. If you weren't effient you weren't needed. She wished they were a little bit looser with such standards, but in the end it made them incredibly productive and capable of rebounding from devastating losses and defeats.

Regardless of whatever term described her, she tried to be punctual as she dashed her way through the tunnel at the end of the street and into the clean lobby of Lawbot HQ.

There was also another new system she was getting used to.

"Miss Jinxsprinkles. Stay where you are for me," A blue two-faced Lawbot ordered.

Wendy did as instructed and waited for the Lawbot to slowly make its way toward her. Compared to Toons, Lawbots were quite slow. By Toon logic taller should have meant faster, or at least the same speed, but for whatever reason bigger Cogs meant slower Cogs. He was significantly shorter than the Legal Eagle for sure, but he still dwarfed her.

"Ready for the next shift?" He asked calmly, and she nodded silently.

He then abruptly lifted her off her feet while holding his hands under her arms, almost like she was an infant with a full diaper, and began to carry her to the steps of the DA Office.

This was a new thing after her superior received complaints from the janitors about a particular assistant of his leaving messes after they had just cleaned the floor. Since she was technically under Cog rules, she did have to obey this humiliating new protocol.

It was awkward at first for her, and also for the Double Talker assigned to her, but it seemed though this particular Double Talker had gotten lessons from the Sellbots and was capable of small talk.

"So how's the morning going, DTL?" Wendy asked calmly as she was carried.

"Quite fine this morning. Very good efficiency today indeed." The Double Talker's left face responded.

"And you, DTR?"

"Could be better. Don't buy his exaggeration. Things can be better," Contradicted his right face.

Wendy never knew the heads were two different mindsets, and it was a bit weird at first. However the Double Talker had helped her get used to it by allowing her to refer to each face as DTL and DTR for left and right. It worked.

"What about you today, then?" DTL inquired curiously.

"Yes, anything new regarding your internship?" DTR added.

"Not much. Just trying to survive long enough to work, and then survive at work it seems," Wendy muttered; annoyed at her mother still.

However, a fit of coughs came over her, and she curled into herself to try to stop the hacking from interfering with other employees' work. The Double Talker stopped immediately, unfamiliar with the strange sounds she was making.

"Something the matter, Miss Jinxsprinkles?" DTL asked.

"No...no...I'm fine, I'm sure," Wendy lied, trying to mask her poor condition, but another coughing fit overwhelmed her again.

"I'm afraid I don't agree with that claim, Miss Jinxsprinkles," DTR protested.

"Don't worry about it, okay? Let's just get there already," Wendy insisted.

Wendy was stressed out due to her illness, but also worried about being late. She didn't want to be sent home early or not be allowed to work under the Legal Eagle. She needed to keep going. However, her body simply wasn't capable of continuing on, and she once again passed out.

Wendy awoke with a start in a bright room. She was about to move, but a cold hand held her arm down.

Wendy's head shot up to look at who was touching her arm, only to see a purplish-blue head wearing a hat with a red cross on it. The Cog's appearance wasn't the problem however, but rather that big needle he was pushing straight into her arm!

Poor Wendy was frozen stiff with fear as she watched helplessly. What was he doing to her?!

His eyes looked towards here and blinked robotically. Clearly this was a Cog, though Wendy was unfamiliar with this type. Wendy once again stared at the needle, and the glass casing of the syringe glinted forebodingly in the bright florescent lights. The Cog seemed to sense her discomfort, and put a comforting hand on her arm. His voice was surprisingly smooth.

"Easy, Toon. I'm just a medical professional. There's nothing to fear. Your superior told me that you work with us," The Cog stated calmly.

Wendy winced at the needle injecting its colorful contents into her arm right before he pulled it back out and stuck a bandage on it.

"W-what was that?" She nervously asked.

"Medicine. You have a nasty virus and it was not providing a break for your body to catch up," He answered blankly; surprised that she didn't know already.

The Cog was sitting on a rolling chair, which Wendy only noticed once he rolled from her bed to a desk to pick up a clipboard. The sight of a Cog not even bothering to stand up was so silly that it caused Wendy to smile for a moment. That moment died instantly when the Cog looked back at her with an expression that was an odd mixture of stern and concerned.

"So tell me," The Cog began, "Why did you come to work when you were sick? You have several sick days remaining."

"I didn't...I didn't know I was...sick?" Wendy replied, though not understanding what he meant.

"You didn't know you were sick? You're coughing like crazy. That isn't a sign to you?" He asked a bit rudely.

"No, I really didn't. I've never been sick before. Toons don't get sick," Wendy explained.

"Oh, really? No sickness at all, huh?" The 'doctor' asked sarcastically.

The drab looking Cog rolled back to his table and grabbed a rather thick book, bringing it back to where Wendy was laying. He then cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Flatunitis: A Toon that catches this virus will become flat as a pancake, either front to back or side to side, making it very hard for them to move around without being taken for a flight around with the wind," The Cog read.

Wendy scratched her head in confusion. That wasn't exactly a disease.

"Microtenis: This disease will cause any Toon to shrink down to a fraction of their original size for a random amount of time, usually between a week to a month, but can be as short as 30 minutes."

"But that's-"

"Growenmist: Any Toon effected by this will be between up to 4 times their original size. Lasts between a week and a month. Blocus: This virus causes any Toon to bloat full of air in a beachball-like state, rendering them completely immobile for the duration. Can be mild or severe."

Wendy actually remembered something like that. She had rounded out suddenly one day when she was playing with Frank, but she wasn't immobilized by it and it only lasted a few days. It must have been a mild case.

"Is my point clear, Miss Jinxsprinkles?" He mockingly asked. He knew he was right.

"How long have I been asleep again?" She asked, wisely changing the topic.

"A few hours. Tell me, have you passed out before?"

"Yes I did actually. The doctor woke me up with chocolate ice cream," Wendy explained.

The doctor however stopped writing and put his pen down on the clipboard. He couldn't have heard that right.

"Wait. Please tell me that's a Toon joke you have," He said flatly, visibly irritated by what he just heard.

Wendy didn't know what he meant and simply shook her head as a response.

"You feed each other candy when you're sick?" He asked, his voice rising slightly in shock and anger.

Wendy was worried he was going to depress her. She had to escape now! But it was too late. The doctor held her arm down and reached into his pocket.

Wendy didn't scream this time, but she closed her eyes and braced herself for depression. However, she heard what sounded like a bunch of tiny plastic marbles banging into each other and then nothing else.

She opened her eyes and looked back at him to see he was holding a bottle at her.

"You're going to have to take 2 of these each day for 2 weeks to get better, okay?" He instructed; calmer than his last sentence in an instant.

Wendy took the pills from the doctor, but rather than open it she instead threw the entire bottle in the air and opened her mouth to catch it! The Cog had quick reflexes however, and caught the bottle before Wendy could swallow it. Confused, Wendy looked up at him with a perturbed expression.

"I forgot you're a Toon. When I say two of these. I meant these," He corrected himself, letting two small pills fall into her hand, "Don't eat the whole bottle, got it?"

"Oh, okay. Wait, every morning? What will it do?" Wendy inquired, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Helps fight off that cough of yours. Here," The doctor explained.

The doctor got her a glass of water and made her take the pills in her hand. Wendy still looked a little nervous, so the Cog gathered up what little patience he had left and explained.

"You put the two pills in your mouth, then swallow it down with water," The doctor instructed, which she quickly did to please him, "Now then. Your superior has informed me you have no insurance, but because you're a Toon this was a pretty easy fix, and you're a child...Eh, I'll find a cheap rate for you. Probably will be taken out of your paychecks alright?"

The doctor then took out a briefcase and put away his clipboard and pen. When he opened it Wendy could see that there was practically a mountain of office supplies and medicines in there. Wendy was shocked that a Cog had such a cartoony briefcase to hold so many things, but there was no time to ask him questions. She was ushered out of bed and abruptly walked to the door.

"Wait! What's your name? Can we meet again?" Wendy asked as soon as they were outside.

"Afraid not, Miss Jinxsprinkles. I'm going home," The Cog declined, "Personally, you're lucky. If I hadn't been visiting here today, it would have taken days for a doctor to get to you with the proper supplies. Be safe, yeah?"

"Oh...okay, I guess," Wendy responded, a bit saddened that she wasn't able to befriend this Cog who technically had saved her.

"Now then. I'm off to do the rest of my work. You are free for the day so do what you need, but don't overdo it," He instructed as he left her behind, clearly done with the conversation.

"Wait!" Wendy cried out.

He stopped and looked back at her.

"T-thank you," Wendy stammered, a bit embarrassed.

He didn't know what to say to that, so he merely nodded before allowing his propellers to pop out and begin to spin until they were fast enough to pull him off the ground.

Wendy watched as the Cog flew higher and higher, until he was completely out of sight. In a way it mystified Wendy, seeing a Cog fly so high that no one on the ground can see them. Toons couldn't fly without an airplane, not even ducks. For something so heavy to be able to be able to fly, it felt almost...Toony.

She wished she could fly like that, but she was only a Toon. To fly, to be able to go anywhere she wanted, to be free. That errant thought reminded her, she had a free day now! No office work, no garden work, no work! That doctor saved her in more way than one.

Maybe if she could track down Frank, they could play for the rest of the day. But where could he be now? Wendy sighed, knowing Frank could be literally anywhere in Toontown at any time. Frank was a wanderer, and the orphanage didn't keep great track of the children, so he probably wouldn't be home until it got dark out.

Still, the last thing she wanted to do was go home. She had to find something to do. Anything. All she needed was a moment to think of something that she could do to avoid going home.