Fictober Prompt 23: "This time, do what I say."
Taking Down the Boss
Norma had been searching for Mission Critical Assets when the howling started. She jumped, almost afraid her skeleton would tear through her skin. Quickening her pace, she marched through the forest toward the yelling, a strange cacophony of shrill, animalistic wails.
She came out to the parking lot of the Lumberjack Diner, where the screeching reached a fever pitch. Shadows raced across the windows. As she approached, a familiar shriek echoed from within. A short figure toppled, her arms flailing. Chairs and tables clattered, following the stomping of hooves and the girl's frustrated cry.
Rolling her eyes, Norma realized she shouldn't have worried. Sam had this coming for quite some time. With a flick of her wrist, she pushed open the front door and watched the chaos unfold.
The animals employed by Sam were in full revolt. The goat rampaged behind the counter, knocking over bowls of what appeared to be wet dirt. A bird pecked at Sam's head, incessantly tweeting harsh insults. Hiding underneath one of the many overturned tables were a cowering rabbit and a fawn with weak legs. Both of their ears were folded back. When they realized Norma had opened the door, the animals bolted, and Norma jerked out of the way in time for them to scamper to their freedom.
Leading the charge was a squirrel. It jumped on Sam's blouse, chittering at the top of its lungs. Its tail twitched in a manner Norma deemed dangerous for a critter. The squirrel crawled on Sam, joined by two other squirrels hovering menacingly over her while the bird continued poking her head.
"Fur Lancelot, what's the big deal?" Sam blurted, her back pressed to the ground. "Is this about the acorns? Because I did tell you a whole bunch of times that I needed those acorns cracked!" She gasped as the squirrel tried to bite her nose. "Hey! Jerk! That's mean!"
Norma decided it was time to make herself known. "Okay, I can't stand another second of this nonsense," she announced, pushing her glasses up her nose.
Sam beamed the moment Norma spoke and flashed a devious smirk at Fur Lancelot. The critter seemed to wince, folding in on itself, its tail flicking from side to side. The bird flapped its wings and took flight out the door, soaring over Norma's head. And tiring of the goat as it rampaged throughout the diner causing a clamor, Norma snapped her fingers. She ignited a spark of flame in front of its nose. She spooked the goat so thoroughly that it shot over the counter and right through the door, wheezing all the way.
The squirrels, aware of Norma's power, retreated. They scurried to the front door without a second thought. Sam barked at them to go, hurrying to her feet and shaking her fist after them.
"Traitors! We could've - aw, forget it," Sam huffed, waving her hand. "Those bozos weren't cut out for the food service industry."
"Well, I suppose not. They are animals," Norma replied, lacing her fingers in front of her waist. She examined the destruction left in the wake of the animals' attack. Utensils and stained napkins littered the floor. The table and chairs legs had been smashed by the goat, leaving wood splinters scattered on the tiles. Several puddles of pancake batter smudged almost every surface of the room, surprising Norma as she wondered just how many bowls Sam had filled.
A smoky odor lingered. When Norma remarked on it, Sam yelped. She levitated to the counter and quickly turned off the oven. She yanked it open, then broke into a coughing fit as black smog rushed out and hit her squarely in the face.
"Dang it, Fur Lancelot! You couldn't have staged your workers-rise-up schtick later today?" she bemoaned, telekinetically having out a metal tin. On it was a loaf of completely charred, inedible bread. And as Norma expected, Sam tried tearing off a piece of it, only to sigh when she failed.
Norma nodded at the door. "So, that squirrel led the animals against you?"
"All I said was, 'This time, do what I say,' and all of a sudden, the animals went wild!" Sam snapped, throwing the bread in the nearest metal trash can. She gave it a kick for good measure, the bread rattling from within. "The squirrels kept giving me uncracked acorns, and I couldn't get any new milk from Fran, and Mrs. Thatcher was so unhelpful! She just kept licking her paws after I told her to wash them." Waving the smoke away from her face, she sighed and rested her arms on the counter, her hands pressing into her round cheeks. "And here I thought I knew them well enough to give them therapy sessions."
"Right," Norma flatly replied, shifting her gaze around the restaurant. She didn't spot anything she needed to complete her mission. Even though she was a Junior Psychonaut, she still had a duty to finish her intern assignment. She also didn't want to further agitate Hollis, who had been absolutely annoyed when she realized Norma had relegated her duty to Raz on his first day at the Motherlobe. "So, have you seen any Mission Critical Assets around here?"
Sam shrugged. "Eh, I dunno. I was trying to manage my employees if I wasn't being clear."
"Well, I can't really fathom why you'd want to bring this dump back to life," Norma said, gesturing at the filth on the ground and spiderwebs clinging to the ceiling.
"For the animals, of course!" Sam exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. "We were going to make this place our own!" Her grin faded, and she slumped back over the counter. "That is, um, 'til they decided to ditch me. I wasn't even being that harsh when I asked Fur Lancelot to crack open the acorns. Heck, he had already messed up five times before I said what I said."
As Sam pressed her forehead to the counter, Norma pursed her lips. She glanced at her hand, then raised it and patted Sam's shoulder. "I guess take this as a learning experience," she said when Sam looked at her, "to not yell at the workers you want to organize."
Sam uttered a sigh from deep within her. She cast Norma a tired smile and straightened her back, nodding. "Yeah, yeah, that's true. As a boss, it's my job to make every animal feel like work is a second home," she proclaimed, and she pushed herself over the counter, grinning at Norma. "Good chat, Norma. I'm ready and raring to go. Oh, mind helping me clean up?"
Norma sucked on her teeth. Although she was fine with the smoke, she couldn't imagine herself with a wet mop cleaning up the dirty sludge and broken ceramic shards from the bowls. "Oh, so sorry, Sam," she said, mustering an apologetic quality to her tone, "I would help, but I have Mission Critical Assets to retrieve."
Sam blinked. "Hold on. I thought you had Raz do it for you."
"Yeah, well, Hollis gave me a new list after realizing just that," Norma huffed, and Sam cackled, waving her off. And although she left with a frown, Norma's wave was genuine.