High Horse
"Kari, this is the fifth time this week. Are you sure you're okay?" a boy with brown spiky brown hair frowned disapprovingly.
"It's the stupid machines, Taiki. They don't work, you need to get someone to fix them," Kari pounded her fist on top of a machine.
"Gah, this place is so ghetto! Grrrr!" a lanky, tan boy shook a disfigured pink stuffed bunny in his hands.
"Waaah…my bunny!" a child cried.
"I think we changed our mind. We don't want the bunny after all," the child's mom winced and they left the store.
"Jeremy, language!" Taiki snapped his fingers. "Okay, everyone! Team meeting!"
"Taiki, why do we need a team meeting? I think it's safe to say we agree that it's time you finally call corporate to get these machines either fixed or replaced," a girl with spiky, auburn pigtails crossed her arms.
"No, that's not the problem Angie…the real problem is that none of you are following the safety protocol for operating the machines! You are supposed to wear protective glasses and gloves any and every time you use the stuffer and stitcher," Taiki snapped the strap of his goggles.
"I wish you would stuff it," Angie made a face.
"I should honestly be writing all of you up because none of you are wearing your protective gear," Taiki said.
"But we are. Look," Kari held up her gloved hands.
"No. You have to wear both glasses and gloves," Taiki said.
"Are you serious? We put stupid stuffed animals together for a paycheck," Jeremy made a face.
"Yes, and it looks like you can't do it safely," Taiki held up the damaged pink bunny.
"Taiki, it has nothing to do with the protective gear and you know it! These machines are old, and we have to replace them! Can you not worry about the bottom line for once?" Angie huffed.
"We have to be number one in the district if we want to get our bonus, and we can't do it if you guys can't follow the rules. I'm sorry, but I'll have to write you all up if that's the only way you'll learn," Taiki shrugged.
"Unbelievable!" Angie threw her hands up in the air.
"I've never been written up before. Not even at school," Kari frowned.
"Start getting used to it. Ever since this guy got promoted to night manager, he let it get to his head," Jeremy whispered.
"I thought this was supposed to be a fun job where we would make stuffed animals," Kari held on to a stuffed animal carcass.
"Yeah, you'll probably never want to look at another one of them after this job. I used to like them too. He's such a stupid gogglehead," Angie stuck her tongue out.
"Great," Kari pouted.
"Hey Kari, are you okay?" Sora asked.
"I just got written up at work," Kari whimpered.
"Don't let it get to you, it's not gonna be the end of the world! Trust me, I get written up all the time, and I'm fine!" Davis said.
"But it's not fair. I got written up for a stupid reason. In fact, he wrote up the whole store because he wanted to be petty. That's going to look so bad on my career," Kari wiped a tear away.
"Wow, sounds like someone needs to get off their high horse," Sora frowned.
"Kari, I know that it's a shock to you, but you will be okay. I wouldn't be necessarily worried about it," Matt said.
"After all, I highly doubt you would consider Build A Buddy your actual career path," Izzy tilted his chair.
"I guess it's silly when you think about it like that. But my manager takes his job so seriously," Kari sniffled.
"You want me to kick his ass for you? I'll do it in heels too," Tai cracked his knuckles.
"No, that's not necessary. Besides, I have a feeling that my other coworkers are organizing a coup d'etat as we speak," Kari let out a small smile.
"Wow, is he that much of a jerk?" TK whistled.
"Think of Eagle Scout, but intensified by 10," Kari shook her head.
"Ew," Mimi wriggled her nose in disgust.
"I don't get it. You guys sell teddy bears. He sounds like he needs to take a chill pill," Matt winced.
"Speaking of, look at this dorkus," Davis subtly pointed to a lanky boy with neatly-styled blue hair. He was dressed in a security uniform and he was slowly riding in a Segway.
"Wow, I would say someone call the nerd patrol, but he literally is the nerd patrol," Tai remarked.
"Stop, he's just doing his job," Sora said.
"Which is what? He can't do anything. He's just a fake cop. Watch," Matt tossed his empty cup to the ground.
*beep beep* *vrrooom*
"Excuse me, but you just littered," the security guard pointed at the empty cup.
"Oooh, so what?" Matt stuck his tongue out.
"You work here?" the security guard tapped Matt's work badge with his pen.
"Yeah, what's your deal?" Matt said.
"Please pick up your cup," the security guard said.
"What if I don't? What are you gonna do…Joey?" Matt pressed the security guard's name badge.
"It's Joe. Officer Joe to you," the security guard said.
"Oh my god, just pick it up," Sora hissed.
"I'm asking you nicely, pick up the cup or I'll have to do something you're not gonna like," Joe said.
"Here," Matt kicked the cup across the floor.
"I'm sorry, but I have to give you a citation. You can pay this by cash or card at the mall office," Joe scribbled a ticket and placed it in front of Matt.
"Cute. This is what I think of your ticket," Matt ripped the ticket into little shreds and threw them on the floor.
"Very well. You're going to regret this decision. Just wait," Joe wheeled away in his Segway.
"What a clown. He's not going to do anything," Matt scoffed as he picked up his mess.
"How do you know?" Mimi asked.
"Look at him, he's a dweeb," Matt threw his litter in the trash.
"I don't know. Something about him tells me he's the kind of guy to follow up on his word," Sora said.
"Now that's an Eagle Scout to the max," Tai scoffed.
"Oh, I bet you think you're John Wayne, showing up and shooting down everybody…,"
"Matt! There you are, I've been looking for you!" Marcus trudged over to him.
"What's up, boss? Any good news?" Matt smoothed his shirt down.
"Actually, opposite of good news. We need to have a talk," Marcus hung us arm around Matt's shoulders.
"Oh no, what's wrong? Please don't move me back to soundtracks," Matt gulped.
"No, not that! Listen, I try not to get in people's personal business, especially when it comes to what they do on their breaks, but your behavior is completely unacceptable," Marcus shook his head disapprovingly.
"What do you mean?" Matt asked.
"I just had a talk with the security officer, nice guy by the way. He told me you were making a mess by the smoothie stand?" Marcus raised an eyebrow.
"I did not!" Matt gasped. "Look, I knocked a cup over to the floor, but I picked it up."
"That's not what he said. He told me that you were blantantly littering, and when he handed you a citation, you ripped that up too. Is that true?" Marcus hummed.
"He was being a jerk. Besides, those tickets aren't actually real," Matt scoffed.
"Actually buddy, they are. If you don't pay them, the mall has the right to either ban you from the property, or in your case, garnish it from your paycheck. Consider yourself lucky that you work here," Marcus said.
"What? That can't be legal!" Matt protested.
"But it is. Pay your tickets- in fact, try not to get any tickets in the first place. You're going to make our store look bad. I'm glad we had this talk," Marcus smacked Matt on the shoulder and walked off.
"I'm not," Matt frowned.
"I will not quit or get fired today, I will not quit or get fired today," Mimi whispered to herself.
"So it's virtually so easy. As Seen on TV. No refunds, no exchanges, everything is final sale," a burly man hovered over Mimi.
"So we don't have to do anything? Just sell?" Mimi pursed her lips together.
"Yep! Easy! Good luck," the man laughed and walked away.
"Okay…," Mimi walked around the kiosk and straightened the products.
"Hi, are you the As Seen On TV store?" a lady asked Mimi.
"Uh…," Mimi looked at the sign. "Yeah?"
"Great! I've been looking for this microfiber cloth that's supposed to absorb 30 times its own weight! I heard it's supposed to be very absorbent, since it's made with 100% flattened Spongebob fibers," the lady said.
"Oh that? Nah, my dad bought that and it didn't work. Save your money," Mimi scoffed.
"Really? Thanks for letting me know! Bye," the lady walked away.
"Hi, is this the As Seen On TV store?" a middle-aged man asked Mimi.
"Yeah…," Mimi looked up at the kiosk sign.
"Thank god! I've seen these pillows on TV and they're supposed to be the most comfortable pillows ever! And the best part of all is that they're made in Canada, cause I'm not supporting cheap labor," the man stuck his thumb down.
"I don't think you want to do that," Mimi winced.
"Why not? I'm a paying customer!" the man yelled.
"I'm doing this for your own good, but the pillows are not as good as you think. My dad bought them for the whole house and they suck! Also, the pillows are actually made in unregulated factories in Los Angeles, and then they're shipped over to Canada where they just stitch the 'Made in Canada' label on it. Aaaand, if that's not the worst part, did you know that the inventor of the garbage pillow donates a large portion of his money to the North Korean government?" Mimi shook her head.
"Are you serious? Thanks for informing me on all of this. I think I'll have to find a different brand. Thanks, little lady!" the man said.
"No problem!" Mimi beamed and hopped onto a high chair. "This job is gonna be a cakewalk!"
*vrroooom*
"Excuse me, miss!" Joe wheeled over to the kiosk.
"Hi Mr. Mall Cop! Can I help you with something?" Mimi sweetly smiled.
"Do you have a vendor's permit?" Joe lowered his glasses.
"I don't know what that is," Mimi frowned.
"I'm going to take that as a no," Joe scribbled on a note pad.
"Hey, listen! I don't own this stand! I just work here!" Mimi protested.
"Do you have an employee badge? Everyone who works at the mall is supposed to have a name badge or uniform. It's for security purposes," Joe tapped his pen on his notepad.
"This is my uniform?" Mimi nervously bit her tongue.
"Nice try. I'm sorry, but I have to write you a citation. You can pay it off at the mall office. We accept cash or card," Joe ripped a ticket and handed it off to Mimi. "By the way, until you're able to submit your vendor license to the mall office, you need to close up shop immediately."
"Are you serious?" Mimi gasped.
"Do I look like I kid around?" Joe looked down at her.
"You look like you have a stick up your butt," Mimi muttered to herself as she pulled the gates down to her kiosk stand.
"Thank you," Joe wheeled away.
"Screw you," Mimi flipped him off behind his back.
"Are you excited to work at Curly Q's?" a girl with blonde, curly hair squealed.
"Yeah! I love curly fries!" Davis exclaimed.
"We don't only do curly fries! We also do curly churro sticks, curly onion rings, curly fried zucchini ribbons- basically if you can curl it and fry it, we sell it!" a redheaded girl smiled. "By the way, my name is Suzie Q."
"And I'm Barbie Q!" the blond girl twirled.
"I'm Davis. Just Davis, no Q," Davis said.
"Well here, you're Davis Q," Suzie Q winked.
"That's kinda weird," Davis raised an eyebrow.
"It's okay, you'll get used to it!" Barbie Q smiled. Are you ready to learn how to make some of our signature items?"
"I've been ready!" Davis rubbed his hands together.
"Here, let's start with the fries, since they're the easiest in my opinion," Suzie Q grabbed a bag of fries.
*beep beep*
"Halt right there!" Joe blew a whistle.
"Oh god…," Davis muttered.
"Hi Officer! How can we help you?" Barbie Q leaned over the counter.
"Can I see the most updated health inspection certificate you have on hand?" Joe asked.
"Let me see where it is. I think Curly Q keeps it in a binder somewhere," Suzie Q said.
"Let your boss know that the health inspection sheet is supposed to be prominently displayed for everyone to see," Joe sternly said. "By the way, all of you are breaking health codes. None of you are wearing gloves or anything to hold your hair back."
"Uh…we wash our hands?" Barbie Q said.
"And we had hair nets, but they don't fit. Our hair is too big," Suzie Q frowned.
"Then tie your hair back. You included," Joe pointed at Davis.
"What the hell? My hair is too short for a ponytail!" Davis whined.
"Then I guess I'll have to write you all citations if you can't comply," Joe clicked his pen.
"No, that's not necessary! Davis, maybe we can do little pigtails," Barbie Q grabbed tufts of his hair.
"That's not a bad idea," Suzie Q pulled out some hair elastics.
"I look crazy!" Davis gasped at his reflection in the hand wash mirror.
"Thank you. This first time is a warning. Next time will be a citation," Joe said and wheeled off.
"Wow, what a jerk," Suzie Q scoffed.
"Someone should do something about him," Barbie Q frowned.
"I look like a troll doll," Davis groaned.
"It's not easy working at a store with a bunch of girls," Tai sighed.
"Tell me about it. Never did I think I'd work at a store that sold everything pink. I hate it, I'm so sick of that color," Izzy grumbled.
"Two strawberry apple smoothies," TK placed the smoothies in front of the boys.
"Thanks man," Tai delicately sipped on his smoothie, trying to avoid messing up his lipstick.
"Ugh…pink," Izzy grunted.
"It's what you ordered," TK looked confused.
"I know…," Izzy sighed. "Thanks TK."
*vroom*
"Oh boy, look who rolled in," Tai muttered.
"Looks like we've got a couple of loiterers in here," Joe approached the boys.
"What are you talking about? We're on our break?" Izzy shot him a dirty look.
"Loitering is defined as spending more than 15 minutes doing unproductive activity in one designated spot," Joe pulled out a small handbook.
"Well our breaks are defined as an unpaid half-hour in between our shifts we can take to do whatever the hell we want, so buzz off," Tai waved his hand dismissively.
"Insubordination and loitering. That sounds like a double citation to me," Joe pulled out his notepad.
"Look, we're being productive now. Now are we loitering?" Izzy waved his middle finger in the air.
"Disrespecting an authority figure…," Joe angrily scribbled on his notepad.
"That's not necessary! They were just waiting on me because I was making them smoothies!" TK said.
"Stay out of this, or I'll write you a citation for interfering with justice," Joe warned him.
"What kind of high horse are you on? You think you're all that because you're in that Halloween costume?" Tai scoffed.
"You might think my uniform is pretend, but you'll think twice when you have to pay these citations for real," Joe handed Tai and Izzy a pile of tickets. "We accept cash or card at the mall office."
"I'm not paying this," Izzy held up a ticket.
"Me neither," Tai crumbled up his tickets.
"Suit yourself," Joe said.
"What's going on here?" Mimi gingerly walked up to the boys.
"And you, don't think I didn't forget. Here's a citation. I saw what you did through my side mirrors," Joe handed Mimi a ticket.
"Are you serious?" Mimi looked at her ticket in disgust.
"Dang, my booklet is empty. I have to go," Joe rolled away.
"What did you do Mimi?" Tai smirked.
"More like what did he do…he shut my kiosk stand, so I gave him the finger when he wasn't looking. I guess he still saw. I still better get paid, cause I don't know how I'm paying off this ticket," Mimi pouted.
"No, don't pay that dumb crap off. That's stupid. By the way, how is he gonna make you?" Tai scoffed.
"That rent-a-cop is going down!" Matt stomped over to the gang.
"What happened?" TK looked concerned.
"The jerk ratted me out to my boss. Look at my pay stub!" Matt slammed his paycheck on the table.
"What? Is that even legal?" Izzy gasped.
"Yeah! I didn't pay my stupid tickets so he sent them to my manager and had them deducted from my paycheck! What an asshole!" Matt grunted.
"And he charged interest too? That definitely can't be legal," Tai shook his head.
"I think we need to knock him down a couple of pegs, and I think I know what to do. I'm gonna need some help. Are you guys in?" Matt asked.
"What's the plan?" Tai leaned forward.
"Forget it! I'm not going to be part of your shenanigans! I have a store to run!" Sora scoffed.
"Come on, this is a mall-wide issue and we need everyone's cooperation!" Matt pleaded.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not going through with it. Unlike you, I follow the rules. I don't see a problem with him, he's only doing his job," Sora crossed her arms.
"Of course you don't, cause you're a lame goody-two-shoes. It was my mistake thinking you'd be all about teamwork considering you work at a sporting goods store, where you sell sporting goods for sports activities, like sports teams," Matt tapped his chin.
"I already told you, you're knocking on the wrong door," Sora grunted.
"What if I told you that Kari's helping?" Matt smirked.
"Kari's going along with this?" Sora looked at him in surprise.
"Yeah, and he didn't do anything to her. She's just here to support the cause, like good friends would do," Matt pouted.
"Hmm, I guess if she's helping, I should too…fine. Count me in. What do you want me to do?" Sora groaned.
"For starters, can I use your employee discount to buy these?" Matt placed a carabiner, harness, and a rope on the counter.
"What's this for?" Sora raised an eyebrow.
"I decided to take up rock climbing…I just need your discount cause my paycheck is a little lower than usual this week," Matt pulled out his wallet.
"Okay," Sora said in suspicion.
"You came up with this idea on your own? I like it, I'm kinda tempted to use it on someone else," Kari smiled.
"Actually, this is all Matt's idea. They sent me here because they think I'm the person with the highest chance of convincing you," Izzy pulled at his hair.
"Wow, they were right. I wouldn't have listened to anyone else, unless it was Sora. They must really want to take this cop down," Kari said.
"Trust me, I wouldn't have come here if I didn't want to do it too. Look, he wrote up all of these tickets just because I was taking my lunch break at the smoothie stand. He's delusional if he thinks I'm paying this," Izzy pulled out crumbled tickets from his pocket.
"You flipped him off?" Kari gasped.
"He deserved it! And I don't think it warrants a ticket! Whatever happened to freedom of speech?" Izzy grunted.
"I'm going through a similar dilemma at this store myself. Maybe pitching in wouldn't be a bad idea. If we take him down, it would send a message to our manager. Do you mind if I ask my coworkers if they want to join along too? I think they would be happy to help," Kari asked.
"Hmm, why not. The more, the merrier," Izzy pressed his lips together.
"Great! I love this, a little revolution," Kari grinned.
"Psst, hey!" a lanky, tall kid walked up to the counter.
"Hi, how can we help you?" Barbie Q smiled.
"Hey, I'm Jeremy and I work at the Build-A-Buddy," the kid whispered.
"Okay, so you we give him a mall discount, right?" Davis stood by the register.
"Yeah…but no! I didn't come here for the food. You guys hate your boss?" the kid whispered.
"We don't really know. We don't see him often," Suzie Q frowned.
"Well, we hate our boss at the Build-A-Buddy, and we're starting a mall-wide revolution. We're gonna protest all authority tomorrow before close. All managers, mall cops-"
"Did you say mall cops?" Davis interrupted Jeremy.
"Yeah, especially mall cops. I've heard there's a newbie that gives out tickets like mono. ACAB," Jeremy stuck his thumb down.
"If it's the same guy we're talking about, he almost shut us down for not wearing gloves!" Barbie Q crossed her arms.
"No offense, but he probably should have shut you down," Jeremy pointed to a health inspection card that read "D-".
"We wash our hands, I don't see what the deal is!" Suzie Q licked her fingers.
"Yeah…anyways, here's a flyer. Keep a heads up for more info," Jeremy discreetly handed Davis a paper.
"Huh, interesting…," Davis rubbed his chin.
"Team meeting everyone!" Marcus whistled.
"What's up, boss?" Rina hopped over.
"So I've been hearing about this secret mall-wide protest that's happening tonight and I've got something to say about it!" Marcus pulled out a flyer.
"What's that? Can I see?" Matt snatched up the paper from Marcus's hand.
"Yeah, apparently a lot of the authority figures at the mall are a bunch of jerks so everyone is going to strike at the same time," Marcus clenched his fists.
"Huh, isn't that interesting?" Rina nervously laughed.
"Now, I hope that I never came across as that way towards any of you. If so, please let me know. I'm a huge fan of open communication," Marcus casually cracked his knuckles.
"I don't have a problem with you. Does anyone else?" Nokia smirked at everyone.
"No," Matt gulped.
"Great. I'm glad we had this talk," Marcus said. "Now onto the other bullet point, I'm interested in joining this little shindig."
"Aren't you an authority figure though?" Matt asked.
"Yeah, but mall cops are included in this and I've got a little beef with them," Marcus gritted his teeth.
"I told you they're relentless! What did they do to you?" Matt asked.
"That nerd gave me a ticket for smoking 29 feet away from the main entrance. He pulled out a tape measure and said I was one foot too close to the entrance! One foot! Can you believe that? He's lucky I turned a new leaf cause I would have beat him to a pulp," Marcus growled.
"So are you going to participate?" Matt asked.
"I can't, but if any of you want to, I'm not gonna say anything. I'm just going to pretend I didn't see or hear a thing, as long as you're not going after me," Marcus whistled and walked away.
"Sounds like a fair deal," Nokia shrugged and strolled off.
"Nice, free pass," Matt secretly grinned.
"This whole thing is so immature, who's actually going to follow through with this anyways? When it's crunch time, everyone's just gonna be a bunch of wimps," Rina scoffed.
"You think?" Matt gulped.
"Yeah. Maybe Marcus doesn't care, but there's a bunch of other stores that probably wouldn't be okay with this, and at the end of the day, everyone's just a bunch of kids. Whoever came up with this idea was an idiot," Rina scoffed.
"Yeah…an idiot," Matt nervously laughed.
"What do you mean call it off? Everyone at my store is already getting a head start on my manager! It's too late!" Kari gasped.
"Yeah, we're screwed! I already swiped several cans of glitter hair spray, we're not turning back now!" Tai yelled.
"Let me just say I told you so," Sora hummed.
"Hey, don't act like you're high and mighty! You're an accessory too," Matt whispered.
"How? I haven't done anything to help!" Sora exclaimed.
"Yeah you did! You gave me your employee discount to help out with my plan!" Matt smirked.
"What?! I thought that was for rock climbing!" Sora gasped.
"Sora, do you know of any rock climbing courses around here?" Izzy looked at her incredulously.
"MATT!" Sora smacked him on the arm.
"Guys, we're losing focus here! What are we going to do?" TK clapped his hands.
"Besides teach this guy a lesson he'll never forget," Davis laughed evilly.
"Alright, so here's what I got," Matt pulled out a mall directory with scribbles on it. "Now does anyone know how to drive a Segway?"
"What?" Tai choked on his smoothie.
"Why do you need to know that? What are you planning on doing?" Sora asked.
"I do! I can ride a Segway!" Mimi raised her hand.
"Okay, great! I think I've got it all put together now! So here's the game plan!" Matt spread out the mall directory.
"Is everyone at their stations?" Tai signaled.
"Roger," TK nodded.
"Do I have to be the loiterer?" Izzy rolled his eyes.
"Everything else seems to need coordination or strength. I guess that's why we're here, and everyone else is there," TK tilted his head to the side.
"Oh my god, the suspense is killing me…," Mimi wiped her hands on her skirt.
"Great, here's our favorite person now," TK smirked.
"Ahem, I see we have two loiterers hanging out here," Joe pulled out his notepad.
"Come on, leave us alone," Izzy grunted.
"Yeah!" Mimi added.
"And you haven't paid off your other citations yet, so I guess you haven't had the time to learn your lesson," Joe took his pen out from his shirt pocket.
"Just so you know, I'm not planning on paying any tickets you issue," Izzy said.
"Oh, I'll find a way to get you to pay. They don't call me Reliable Joe for no reason," Joe tapped the tip of his pen to his tongue.
"Who is they?" Mimi winced.
"Testing testing, 1,2,3!"
"What's that?" Joe perked up.
"Sup everyone! Tonight is a special kind of night, because we have a special message to send out to all of those buzzkills who run the mall. Give an extra loud shout out if you hate the mall cops!" Matt said over the intercom.
"Yeaaaah!" the mall cheered.
"Whoooo!" Mimi and TK hollered.
"Ugh, someone broke into the mall intercom! I'll be back for you guys!" Joe put his notepad in his pocket and walked towards his Segway.
"Not so fast!" Mimi hopped on.
"Hey, you get down from there!" Joe yelled.
"No!" Mimi screamed.
"Get off, or I'll make you get off!" Joe demanded.
"You're not making her do anything!" Izzy jumped up from his seat and slipped in between Mimi and Joe.
"Get out of my way or you're you're getting another citation!" Joe tried to reach over Izzy.
"Mimi, what the hell are you doing? DRIVE!" Izzy hissed.
"Funny thing, I don't know how to turn this on," Mimi giggled.
"WHAT?! I thought you knew how to drive," Izzy grunted as he tried to push Joe away.
"It looked easy. If Joe could do it-"
"Hey, the Segway is a hard skill!" Joe shoved Izzy down to the floor.
"What the heck is the matter with you?" Izzy yelled.
"Ahh! Let go of me!" Mimi kicked and bucked.
"Are you seriously unhinged?" Izzy struggled to pull Joe's arms away from Mimi.
"Ow! She bit me!" Joe yelled and let go of Mimi.
"You shouldn't have grabbed me!" Mimi hopped back onto the scooter.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Izzy winced.
"Oooh, maybe this button works!" Mimi pressed a big green arrow.
*vrrrrooom*
"Aaahhhhh!" Mimi flung backwards and fell backwards into Izzy.
"My scooter!" Joe chased after his scooter.
"Are you guys okay?" TK ran up to them.
"Where were you? I could have used backup," Izzy gave him a dirty look.
"I was implementing Phase 1," TK pointed to Joe's belt loop.
*booom*
"My scooter!"
"Oh no…I think that's my kiosk," Mimi whispered. "Do you guys think I'll be in trouble?"
"It's not looking good," TK pressed his lips together.
"Do we go now?" Sora whispered to Kari.
"Looks like it's our signal? It's confusing. I'm going in," Kari squinted.
"Okay, we've got this," Sora gulped.
"Ooops, watch out…," Kari said in a sing-song tone.
"Hey, you watch out where you're- ahhh! What's this sticky garbage?!" Joe yelled.
"Sorry! Someone sent us candy cotton instead of regular cotton! I have to throw it away, but you got in my way," Kari pretended to look disappointed.
"Ugh, well now I'm sticky and I have to figure out who's breaking into my office!" Joe grimaced in disgust.
"Careful! I got a defective product here that's leaking!" Sora held up a box of glitter hair spray and aimed it at Joe.
"Watch where you point that? It's getting all over me!" Joe huffed.
"Sorry!" Sora yelled.
"Whoa, what's going on? Why am I being lifted from the floor?!" Joe yelled.
"Come on Davis, keep pulling," Tai yelled.
"I'm trying!" Davis grunted.
"Attention everyone, if you could all direct your attention to the center of the court yard, near the smoothie stand?" Matt spoke over the intercom.
"What?! Is this a setup?! Get me down from here!" Joe yelled.
"Stop moving like that or we'll drop you!" Davis struggled to hold the rope.
"Take me down!" Joe demanded.
"As you can all see, this is an example of a sad, sad man who thinks he's better than everyone else because he wears a cop uniform. Well, we've all had enough Joey boy! We're not gonna let you down until you decide to hit the road! Why don't you get up on that high horse and leave town already?" Matt yelled.
"Yeah! You suck!" the mall crowd jeered back.
"Fine…I will. I just thought I was doing a good job, but apparently, nobody likes me. I'll quit, just let me down please," Joe sighed.
"Yayyyy!" the crowd cheered.
"One other condition! We're not paying any of those tickets you issued either!" Tai jolted the rope.
"Fine. No one has to pay the tickets I written these past couple of days. Happy?" Joe sighed.
"Yayyyy!" everyone cheered.
"Hold on a minute!" Sora ran up the stairs to the boys.
"What?" Tai huffed.
"You guys shouldn't be tough on the guy for just doing his job!" Sora yelled.
"Thank you," Joe looked up at her.
"Boo, you suck!" someone from the crowd heckled.
"That being said, you definitely let your job get to your head! No wonder people don't like or take you seriously!" Sora scolded Joe.
"Great, what do you want me to do? I already said I would quit!" Joe yelled.
"Guys, I feel bad. We can't force this guy out of a job…Joe, how about we let you keep your job, but you have to stop writing stupid tickets on all of us! You're supposed to work with the mall employees, not against us," Sora leaned over the railing. "We have a deal?"
"Deal. Now can you let me down?" Joe asked.
"You got it, chief! My arms are getting tired!" Davis immediately let go of the rope.
"Davis, you idiot! I'm stuck now!" Tai lunged forward over the railing.
"Uh…what's the number to the fire department?" Sora tried to pull Tai back.
The next day…
"So I didn't think mall jail was a real thing," TK paused.
"I can't be too mad. I guess the punishment fits the crime in this instance," Izzy traced his finger on the floor.
"I've never been to jail before," Kari cried.
"It's okay. This will train you for the real world," Matt pulled out a harmonica and started to play it.
"Hey, quiet down there," a burly security guard yelled.
"Did any of you guys get in trouble with your managers? Cause I did," Sora rolled her eyes.
"Nah. The girls at my job love me," Tai nonchalantly filed his nails.
"I haven't seen my boss yet. I hope I still get paid," Mimi frowned.
"Same. Never met my boss, but I imagine he's big and mean…like that guy," Davis pointed at an overweight, surly man.
"Hey, which one of you is Mimi?" the older security guard asked.
"Me?" Mimi timidly raised her hand.
"You. What the heck happened to my kiosk?" the large man aggressively pointed at Mimi.
"The security guard shut the stand down because we didn't have a selling permit," Mimi frowned.
"You mean the permit taped to the side of the register?!" the man yelled.
"How was I supposed to know it was there?" Mimi gasped.
"I don't know…maybe you would have seen it if you sold ANYTHING AT ALL! What gives?!" the man screamed.
"Hey, back off! What's your deal man?" Tai yelled.
"You know what my deal is? I leave my kiosk alone for a week, my inventory is exactly the same as I left it and there's a huge dent in my stand which the mall won't cover because I'm an 'independent vendor'! That's my deal!" the man yelled.
"Just curious," Tai nervously said.
"Am I still gonna get paid?" Mimi bit her nail.
"You got some balls, kid! Here! Take this, and never come back to work again! I don't ever want to see your face again, don't even talk to me! You no longer exist!" the man gave her a couple of $20 bills and stormed off.
"Did I just get fired?" Mimi gasped.
"Yeah, sounds like it," Davis grimaced.
"On the bright side, it looks like he paid you for the week," Matt shrugged.
"Damn, that job was so easy too…I guess time to check the help wanted ads again," Mimi sighed.