Authors Note:
To all the people who follow this story, sorry for not updating for so long! Lara and I got extremely busy with school and summer and everything that happened in the last seven months, and I only realized yesterday that we were becoming one of those fanfictions, and that would not do. I promise to update as much as I can now, as we are finally starting to actually get into the plot *squeal*.
This is an EXTREMELY short chapter, but we needed to introduce the plot in a way that didn't go on and on, and I like it anyways. Lara and I love seeing reviews with constructive criticism and your thoughts on what should happen next, so feel free to talk to us!
The shop bell rang, Amy giggling as she turned the sign on the boutique door from CLOSED to OPEN. "Another day at the shop, Miss Tyler," she said gaily, swinging her bag over her shoulder and heading towards the staff locker room.
Rose couldn't help but smile. Amy had been living in her mom's guest bedroom for almost a week, and Rose was really starting to get used to her sarcasm and energy. "Alright, Miss Pond," she bantered lightly, feeling her boots squish into the damp carpet. Boss must've spilled something last night, she thought subconsciously. "You take the blessed duty of cleaning the restrooms, and I'll man the ship."
Amy pounded her converse into the floor in mock fury. "That is so not fair!"
"Someone has to take one for the team, Amy."
"Fine." Rose watched as Amy grabbed the plunger and sponge, then trudged into the bathroom.
"Thank you, Miss Pond." she said sweetly.
Amy didn't even groan in reply.
Almost an hour later, Rose watched as a ten year old boy raced between the aisles on a scooter, waiting for his mom to exit the shop. Rose sighed. If Jackie was there, she would have screamed at the poor kid, telling him to stop wasting time and do something useful. Rose had gotten the blunt of the rampages through most of her childhood, and, more recently, the Doctor had started receiving them.
"Excuse me," a woman with a mousy face and large pink glasses rapped her knuckles on the counter, snapping Rose back into reality. "I'm sorry to bother you, Miss... Tayler, but we've run out of toilet paper in the ladie's room."
"Oh, don't worry. My colleague, Miss Pond, she's out cleaning the women's room. I'm sure she'd be able to help you," Rose replied politely.
"There was no one else in the bathroom," the woman said plainly.
"No one? You're sure? No tall woman, twenty-something, loads of ginger hair and a short short denim skirt?"'
"No one." The woman took off her glasses, wiping the lenses on the hem of her cardigan.
"Thank you, ma'am. I'll get right on it."
Rose felt her heart in her chest. Amy was supposed to be in the women's room, cleaning up. Was something exciting, something alien finally happening? Rose forced herself to push the adrenaline down into her stomach. It would be far from fair for her to wish an otherworldly attack onto Amy.
Still, her heart beat erratically as she left an intern to monitor the cash register, then headed towards the ladie's room to investigate. Upon entering the tiled entryway, Rose's eyes were forced to readjust; the overhead lights flickered, basking the room in an eerie glow. There was a foam ceiling tile laying on the floor in front of the second stall, and the whole room smelled of cleaning supplies. Rise frowned, her eyebrows contracting tightly above her nose. Where was Amy?
Rose cautiously stepped over the ceiling tile and pushed open the stall door. There, she found the plunger and sponge, which Amy had earlier, laying haphazardly on the edge of the toilet bowl. It was highly likely that Amy was taking a five minute break, that she wasn't missing. But, there was also a chance that Rose trusted her gut and had an adventure, for the first time in months. Finally, her curiosity won out. Rose inhaled deeply, familiar adrenaline pumping through her veins, and climbed into the air vents.