Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda franchise, nor any of the Daytime Television shows that I mention. I do own this story, though!

Chapter 2: Wheel of Misfortune

If there was an "I hate Tuesdays" mug out there, Zelda would've bought in a heartbeat.

She scowled discreetly into her cup of coffee as she took a sip, half-listening to the latest intern rant to her about her newfound hatred of their boss.

"I mean, have you seen his clothes? The guy wears a bubblegum pink suit and expects us all to go along with his dictatorship!"

Zelda barely nodded, more because she was falling asleep at her desk than to encourage the insults, but the intern didn't even notice as she continued with renewed vigor.

Zelda honestly had no idea why the new girl was even talking to her. It wasn't like they were friends or anything. They were around the same age, and she sometimes saw her in the hallways of the university, but they only exchanged a polite hello because they knew they worked together. But now, Tatl seemed to have moved past being mere-acquaintances to making Zelda her one and only confident in the woes and frustrations of being Ingo's personal assistant. Normally, she wouldn't have minded talking with her co-workers but a lousy night's sleep coupled with a two-hour long lecture from her least favorite professor only made her want to take a long nap. And to top it all off, it was only 12:30, and her shift ended at 6:30 in the afternoon on Tuesdays.

She stifled a yawn as Tatl began again.

"He doesn't even make sense half the time. One minute he's complaining to me about how the coffee here sucks, but then he wants me to bring him four cups of it." Tatl popped her gum, shaking her head angrily. "Maybe he's bipolar or something. He asked me to organize the storage room by size and shape today, but as soon as I finished he told me I needed to throw it all out! Who does that?"

Zelda took another sip: "Ingo."

Tatl suddenly leaned onto Zelda's desk with her elbows, her voice getting quiet. "You know what I think?"

Zelda glanced up, resisting the urge to sigh. "What?"

Tatl gave Ingo's office a dull look before going back to Zelda. "I think he needs to get laid," she muttered.

Zelda snorted into her cup, nearly dropping the mug onto her desk. "What?" she choked.

"You heard me." Tatl popped her gum again, twirling a blonde curl around her finger. "He wouldn't be nearly as awful if he had a girlfriend." Her eyes suddenly narrowed on something a little ways from Zelda's desk. "Speak of the devil-"

"Tatl!" Ingo barked, as if on command. He stomped in front of Zelda's desk in all of his pink glory, holding a rather large stack of papers in his calloused hands. "What the hell do you think you're doing over here? You're supposed to be-"

Tatl held up a hand. "In the storage room," she said, cutting him off. She pushed herself off of Zelda's desk to face their fuming boss, crossing her arms with a sudden, sunny expression. Any trace of her previous rage had dissipated. "I was just talking to Zelda here about the new coffee machine and whether or not I should put the old one into storage. It still works, right?"

Ingo's mustache seemed to twitch as his eyes narrowed: "It does."

Tatl clapped excitedly. "Well, that settles it!" She put a hand on an impressed-looking Zelda's shoulder, giving her a gracious smile. "I guess I'll just put in the back as a spare, you know, in case the new one breaks down. Thanks for the idea, Zelda. I owe you one."

Tatl turned on her heels and pushed past their boss without another word. She threw Zelda a wink over her shoulder before she disappeared down the hallway. Zelda felt a smug smile tug on the corner of her mouth from behind the safety of her cup. She had to give the girl some credit; she was one hell of an actress. Plus, anybody who could speak so plainly to a furious Ingo – let alone be a new face in the office - was a saint in her eyes. She decided that the new girl wasn't half bad. Maybe they'd end up being friends.

Ingo shook his head angrily. "She's been here for two weeks and I'm already considering firing her-"

"And go through the process of getting another assistant? Ingo, you've had-"

"That's Mr. Ingo to you, Harkinian." He growled.

Zelda resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Mr. Ingo, you've gone through at least five different interns in the past month. Tatl's the best one you've had so far. She's doing her job just fine. I think you should keep her around."

"She's callous, short-tempered, hard to work with-"

There was a soft, foreign laugh; "Kind of like you, Ingo."

Zelda jerked her head to where the new voice had come from, laying her eyes on the Director and Chief of Police herself with the ghost of an amused smile on her lips.

Ingo was her boss, but Impa Knight was her boss's, boss's boss. There was no higher position than hers; she oversaw the entire Castleton Federal Police Force, along with the smaller law enforcement branches in Kakariko, Death Mountain, the Gerudo Desert, and in the Zora's Domain. She was scarily calm and collected, with knowing red eyes that seemed to see right through you. Her intimidating demeanor, coupled with her overall brilliance and genius fighting techniques made her the perfect candidate to lead all of Hyrule's law enforcement branches. Zelda had only seen the woman in magazines and press interviews, and her cheeks lit up in embarrassment at meeting someone so important on such a rough day.

Today, Chief Knight's silver hair was tied in a neat, no-nonsense type of bun, with a one long braid that reached past her shoulders. She had small paint lines around her eyes, but that wasn't out of the ordinary; she was one of the last remaining members of the Sheikah race, and the markings were a way of announcing her heritage. She was unorthodox in her uniform, foregoing the police hat and jacket for a tight, navy jumpsuit with a matching silver armored vest and boots.

Ingo sputtered, red-faced, nearly dropping the stacks of papers in his arms as he struggled to throw up a hand in salute to her. "Chief Knight, I-I didn't expect you to be here until later in the afternoon," he stammered.

Zelda snickered into her cup at the sight of her suddenly flustered boss, though she quickly sobered when the Director began to speak.

"I apologize for any inconvenience – I see you are unprepared, Mr. Wright – but I arrived from Kakariko last night, and I decided that I would drop in early," the Sheikah replied coolly. She looked Ingo up and down, looking at him curiously. "I hope my unexpected has not caused you any problems?"

Ingo shook his head vigorously. "No, not at all. It is always a pleasure to have you."

Chief Knight nodded curtly in return. She turned her attention to a surprised-looking Zelda. "I'm afraid we haven't been introduced," she said, extending a hand. "What is your name?"

Zelda put her now-empty cup before she shook her hand lightly. She noticed how calloused it was. "Uhm, I'm Zelda Harkinian. I'm just an officer here. Nice to meet you, Chief Knight."

Zelda thought she saw a flicker of recognition in Impa's eyes when she said her name, but it was gone as quickly as it came; leaving her wondering if it was ever there in the first place.

"Pleasure to meet you as well, Officer Harkinian." Impa said kindly as she pulled her hand away. She curiously glanced down at Zelda's desk and over the mountains of paperwork that covered it. "What department do you work in?"

Ingo was watching Zelda like a hawk as she replied, no doubt to make sure she didn't say anything that would tarnish his name: "I'm in the Response and Services branch, but I've been doing a lot of paperwork for Human Resources lately. Mr. Ingo needed some extra help looking over all the reports, so he called me in to help."

"I see." Impa glanced at her mug, then to scrutinize Zelda's face, making the blonde feel a little self-conscious. She had tried her best to look presentable that morning, dabbing the bags under her eyes with concealer and applying a few extra coats of mascara to brighten her face. She had even put some blush on. She thought she had looked okay, minus the slight purple hue underneath her eyes; her freakishly pale skin made even the tiniest bags look like bruises, and concealer could only do so much. She really wished she had gotten more sleep. Zelda hoped that she couldn't tell how awkward (or tired) she felt as she fiddled with the handle of her mug, trying to keep her eyes trained on the Chief of Police's.

Impa searched her face for what felt like ages before another smile, this time a real smile, graced her face. "You look like a bright girl, Officer Harkinian. I expect good things from you."

"Uh, thanks, Chief Knight!" she replied, surprised. She didn't think that her resume was that impressive. Why was the Chief and Director of the entire Hyrulian Law Enforcement system being so nice to her? Zelda was baffled, but she decided that the silver-haired lady wasn't nearly as cold and impenetrable as the press made her out to me. She was grateful for her kindness, and respected Chief Knight all the more for it.

"She's under my direct supervision, Chief Knight," Ingo suddenly piped up. Zelda smothered the urge to scowl at how eager the man looked to please the Sheikah. He rarely showed interest in any of his employees – only talking to one to argue, insult, or order them around – and Zelda was no exception. Sure, he gave her more work than the others, but that was because he knew that she could complete them better than her other coworkers. So why he was vouching for her good work now was beyond her.

"Is she now?" Impa said thoughtfully. "See to it that you take good care of this one."

Ingo glanced at Zelda before giving Impa and overly-sunny grin. "Oh, of course! She's the best one I have!"

Kiss ass, Zelda thought begrudgingly.

Impa nodded to him curtly, before a low buzzing sounded from the Sheikah's pocket. "Ah, that must be Nabooru. She's expecting me for a meeting while I'm in the capitol," Impa explained, pulling out a sleek smart phone from her breast pocket. Her eyes narrowed at the screen before she tucked it back into her pocket, bringing her attention back to the two in front of her. "It's been lovely chatting with you both, but I'm afraid my Co-Director is getting impatient and I must go." She said apologetically. She extended her hand towards Zelda. "It was nice to meet you, Officer Harkinian, and I look forward to speaking with you again."

Zelda nodded and smiled as she shook her hand. "Me too."

Impa pulled away, turning to the mustachioed man beside Zelda's desk. "Mr. Wright, I do believe we have a meeting scheduled for 3 o'clock. Please, refrain from being late."

Ingo saluted her rigidly. "I wouldn't dream of it, Chief Knight!"

Impa bowed slightly before she turned on her heels and disappeared down the hallway as Zelda waved at her. Ingo didn't drop his salute until the Director's silver hair swished out of view.

As soon as she was gone, Ingo's eyes immediately narrowed on Zelda. "Harkinian, I do believe we have a meeting as well." he hissed.

Guess he's done being Mr. Brightside, Zelda thought dryly. She racked her brain for a moment before coming up empty-handed. "We do?"

Ingo Wright rolled his eyes, as if she had asked a stupid question. She couldn't say that she hadn't, though. "Yes, regarding your little call to pick up a criminal that wasn't there last night?"

Zelda felt shame wash through her at the memory. "Right," she said miserably.

"Be in my office in five minutes, Harkinian. And don't be late."

Zelda gave him half-hearted salute as he turned away from her. "Aye aye, Captain."

"I heard that!" he snapped over his shoulder.

"You were supposed to," she mumbled to herself. As soon as he was gone, Zelda leaned back in her office chair and ran her fingers miserably through her loose hair.

She really didn't want to go to Ingo's office and recount what happened all over again, but it was mandatory. It was part of their policy in the Police Force that any officer who made a call for back-up or requested any kind of assistance while out of uniform had to come in for a follow-up meeting with the head of their department; unlike the usual impersonal reports they had to send in when something happened on the job.

Unfortunately for her, Ingo wasn't just the head of her department, but he oversaw all of the goings-on in the office as the Head of Staff. He didn't have nearly as much power as Chief Knight or her Co-Director Nabooru, but he was quite important when it came to the entire office. Going to him kind of felt like you were going to the teacher; not quite as bad as seeing the principal, but still pretty bad.

Zelda smoothed the pleated skirt she had opted to wear that morning and stood up, smothering her dread. She didn't bother closing her laptop or finishing the report she had been working on before she tucked her chair under her desk and made her way towards Ingo's office.

Once she reached his shiny, glass office doors, Zelda wondered whether or not she should knock. He was expecting her, so she really didn't think she needed to ruin the spotless surface of the door with her fingerprints. Plus, there was a rumor going around that anyone who touched Ingo's door would get their fingerprints scanned by the forensic department in order to root out the suspects for punishment. It was extreme, but nobody questioned it. Ingo was over-the-top that way.

In the end, Zelda didn't need to worry about a potential print scan because Ingo viciously threw open the door and ushered her inside his office as soon as she lifted her hand to knock.

"You're late, Harkinian," he growled as the two entered his office.

Zelda glanced at the clock behind his desk, raising a brow. "It's been 4 minutes, Mr. Ingo. You told me to meet you in your office in 5." she said as her boss plopped himself into his big office chair.

"You should've been here in 3, then."

Zelda resisted the urge to roll her eyes; typical Ingo.

She had only been in Ingo's office a few times, as he mostly came to her desk if he needed anything. It was medium-sized, and sparsely decorated. There were a few surprisingly pretty pictures of farmland in frames with pitchfork decals, along with some bookcases and chairs that looked more like barn stools than brown sitting chairs. She had never asked where he was from, but judging by the country theme she was getting from his office, he probably grew up in out-of-the-ways Kakariko.

Sit," he commanded harshly, gesturing towards the stiff looking chair in front of his desk as he adjusted himself in his far-comfier looking seat.

She quickly obeyed, finding herself fidgeting with the hem of her skirt while Ingo searched for the report Zelda had typed up that morning about the incident. She eyed his pink ensemble, feeling a smile at the corner of her mouth. He was wearing the bubblegum-colored suit that Tatl had complained about, with a neatly ironed green button-up poking out from under his suit jacket. Ingo usually avoided wearing a tie, but today he had a brown bolo tie hanging from his collar. Overall, his outfit would have been on a professional edition of What Not to Wear.

"Ah, here it is," Ingo said as he whipped out the report from under a stack of papers. His eyes quickly raked over the surface of the paper, leaving Zelda to pull her gaze away from his suit with a new, bitter taste in her mouth that wasn't because of his outfit.

"So, it says here that you apprehended two men in one of the alleyways behind the Emerald Post Office, is that correct?"

Zelda bobbed her head. "Yes, Sir."

Ingo raised a bushy brow. "And you failed to detain either of them?"

The bitterness in her mouth worsened as she idly played with her hands, replaying last night's events in her head. "Well the first guy threw a Deku Nut and fled before I could properly arrest him. I had the second guy in handcuffs but he somehow broke out of them and disappeared in a flash of green light about a minute before Officer Barnes came to the scene-"

Ingo threw up a hand, and Zelda immediately silenced. He twisted the corner of his mustache as he flipped to the next page. "Officer Barnes said that you looked rather dazed when he entered the alleyway. Is there any reason for that?"

Zelda furrowed her brows. From the way he said the word 'dazed', it sounded like he was implying something…

"What exactly do you mean by dazed? I just got blinded by some weird bomb; of course I was a little dazed-"

"It was a simple question, Harkinian. No need to get sharp with me."

Zelda nodded slightly, starting to get annoyed. She just wanted to go home and take a long nap instead of suffer through another conversation with Ingo. She really hoped the meeting wouldn't take too long, but her boss was infamous for long meetings.

Ingo's eyes narrowed at the bottom of the page, and he frowned. "You wrote that both men seemed to take quite an interest in the necklace you were wearing. Tell me about this – and do spare me the details."

Zelda was glad that she had made sure her necklace stayed put under her blouse the whole day; she didn't want anyone to see it, especially not Ingo. She could feel the cool metal on her chest as she began to speak. "The first man asked me for the necklace, and the second guy wanted to see it after I told him that Guy A was after it."

Ingo didn't say anything - just nodded - and Zelda watched as the minute hand on Ingo's clocked drop another tick mark.

He closed the report rather quickly and placed it onto his desk. "I don't know what happened last night, Harkinian, but I'm guessing the two guys were just some petty muggers after a young girl's jewelry." He concluded curtly.

Zelda gaped at him, the feeling of annoyance getting replaced by a wave of shock. Had he even read her report? Ingo was usually so meticulous about reading reports where he could almost recite them by memory, but judging by the way he completely disregarded how urgent Zelda had made her report sound, she guessed he barely glanced over it.

"But, I specifically stated in my report that they weren't just some muggers. They never even tried to go after my wallet!" Zelda argued, shocked that he missed the point of her entire report. "I think there's something going on that the police haven't caught onto yet, like a growing crime operation or something, not to mention that hero kid-"

"Look," Ingo interrupted coldly, "You've proved yourself to be a trustworthy employee, and I'd really hate to see such a bright girl get fired for dreaming up something worse than an attempted robbery. We've seen numerous cases like this in the past, and I can promise you that this isn't anything out of the ordinary. Forget about it, Harkinian."

Zelda clenched her jaw stubbornly. "I thought you were supposed to look into this kind of stuff, not just write it off as a young girl's fantasy," she muttered bitterly.

"That's enough, Harkinian," Ingo hissed, his coal-colored eyes narrowing dangerously. "I'm not writing it off as anything; I'm just saying that we have bigger things to worry about than two low-life criminals who have probably already been arrested by someone more capable than you."

The insult stung, but Zelda managed to bite her tongue before any rash comments stumbled out of her mouth. She could feel her cheeks heating up with anger.

Ingo glanced at the watch on his wrist. "I have a meeting with Chief Knight in an hour, and a lot of paperwork to get done before then. I suggest you head out of my office and finish your shift," he said curtly, not bothering to look at her again before he brought his attention back to the papers on his desk.

Zelda nodded mutely, clenching her jaw as she took her cue to get up from Ingo's stiff chair. Her cheeks burned with annoyance, and any sign of her previous exhaustion was thrown out the window as it was replaced with sheer irritation at how little Ingo seemed to care about her report. Zelda knew she wasn't an office favorite, but she would've have thought that Ingo would have at least talked to her about what had happened instead of brushing it off.

Zelda was halfway out the door when she called out an irritated, "Thanks for the meeting, Ingo," over her shoulder.

His response seeped through the cracks of his office doors: "It's, Mr. Ingo, Harkinian!"

-xoooOOOooOOOooox-

Zelda sunk cross-legged into the couch, furiously flipping through the channels that their cable service provided the little apartment, with a cup of noodles cooling off in front of her. After her so-called 'meeting' with her boss, Zelda had trudged back to her desk with a vengeance. She was furious that Ingo had told her that she was 'less capable' and she finished twice as many reports than she had meant to. She wanted to prove to him that she was very capable, if not more so, than the rest of her coworkers, and she'd be damned if Ingo didn't believe her by the end of the day. Still, she knew she had failed the day before, and that wasn't a blip that she could easily erase.

Now, all she wanted to do was find something good to watch while she ate dinner.

"Family Feud, TMZ, Judge Judy…" Zelda muttered the titles bitterly as they came on screen for a moment before she clicked them away. "Is there really nothing on?"

It wasn't late, so Zelda was sure that there had to be something good on. She'd even take an old rerun of the Maury show – and that was the lowest of the low for her. Zelda hoped that Who Wants To Be A Millionaire would be on, as that was her favorite show, but as she passed Channel 11, she knew her hopes were dashed.

Zelda heard the door to her apartment creak open, and the sound of keys dropping on the kitchen counter. She ignored her roommate at she plopped into the old, green recliner, opting to angrily flip through the movie channels instead.

Malon Peers kicked off her signature cowboy boots and flung them onto the couch Zelda was on with a yawn. "Man, am I beat. Have I ever told you how much I despise Mr. Gorman's lectures?"

Zelda wrinkled her nose, shoving Malon's boot onto the floor. "Only once or twice. The guy can make Macbeth sound as boring as waiting at the DMV," Zelda commented dryly.

Malon nodded sagely. "Never have truer words been spoken."

They both took Mr. Gorman's Advanced British Literature course at Castle Town University, and shared in the mind-numbing lectures that their professor put them through. Malon took the class on Tuesday afternoons while Zelda took it on Wednesday mornings, so Malon always gave the blonde some insight into what she'd be suffering through the next day.

Malon snuggled into the recliner, yawning again as she faced the TV. "Have you ever noticed how much he looks like your boss?"

"Don't mention Ingo," Zelda groaned, sinking further into the shabby couch cushions, dropping the remote onto the couch. She chose to watch the Wheel of Fortune. It was better than the sappy Hallmark movies that usually aired around that time of night; she never understood why Malon enjoyed them so much. Anyways, she kind of enjoyed guessing what the words or phrases were.

"Rough day at the office, Bud?" Malon asked sympathetically. "Did Ingo rip up one of your reports again?

Zelda picked up her cup of noodles, jamming her fork into the Styrofoam cup ruthlessly. "No, but he might as well have," she said as she slurped on her noodles.

Malon perked up, lifting her head off of the armrest. Zelda noticed how her roommate looked almost as tired as she felt. Chunks of red hair poked out of Malon's thick ponytail, and she could see small bags under her bright blue eyes. She must've had a rough night's sleep, too, Zelda thought guilty.

When she came home last night and recounted her story, Malon was a mess. She was angry with Zelda for not calling her sooner, and she panicked when she realized that Zelda had gotten stopped by not one but two strange men while she was alone. It didn't matter to her that Zelda was a trained police officer – Malon always reasoned that she was still just a teenager. Zelda had to sit on their cold kitchen floor with her for a whole twenty minutes before Malon could calm down enough to go to bed. And that was without telling her about what the man in black had whispered in Zelda's ear before he disappeared.

When Zelda met Malon during her freshman year of high school, the two had immediately bonded over their White-Out complexions. After all, it wasn't everyday that you met someone who was equally as pale as you. Not to mention that the two had managed to skip a grade and were the youngest in their class. It wasn't surprising that the two spent the next four years bonding to the point that when they graduated, they moved into a small apartment in Castle Town together. Zelda had never had anything akin to a sibling; meeting Malon was like a breath of fresh air to her only child life. Now she was the sister that she always wanted, with a kind, boy-crazy, motherly personality that Zelda appreciated completely.

"What happened?" Malon asked curiously, now sitting up straight.

"He just told me to forget about it," Zelda muttered bitterly, twirling the noodles around her fork. "He said that we had 'bigger things to worry about than two-low life criminals' that probably had already been caught by someone more capable than I."

Malon frowned. "Well, we always knew he was an asshole. Did he really just write it off like it was nothing?"

"Yep," Zelda replied, popping the 'p' for emphasis.

Malon settled back into the shabby recliner, sighing with annoyance. "I don't know what to tell you, Zellie. I would tell you to report him, but if he's the Head of Staff there's not really much you could do without going to the head of the police, or getting yourself fired."

"Meh, whatevuh'," Zelda said, her mouth full of noodles. "I'm over it now," she finished, swallowing her food.

"If you say so," Malon yawned. She eyed the lady on screen critically. "Man, Linda isn't very good at this. She's used up almost all her vowels and she still can't figure it out."

"Like you could do better, Mal," Zelda chuckled, gesturing her fork between the TV and the redhead.

Malon threw a throw pillow in Zelda's direction without taking her eyes off the TV. "Oh shut up. Not everybody is a pop-culture nerd like you," Malon grumbled as the pillow bounced off of Zelda's knee harmlessly. "And the answer is 'The New York Times Crossword Puzzle,' so ha."

Zelda set down her half-finished dinner onto their glass coffee table, snapping her fingers dramatically. "Snaps for Malon, everybody."

Malon rolled her eyes. "See, you totally are a nerd. Who snaps for people, anyways?"

Zelda stood up from the couch, throwing the throw pillow back at her roommate's stomach before she wandered into their kitchen that was attached to their quaint living room. She opened the fridge, sticking her head in so she could search for something cold to cool of her tongue from the hot noodles. "Cool cats, that's who. Have you ever been to a poetry slam?"

Malon laughed as she pulled out her ponytail. "Definitely not, but I think Mr. Gorman said that we could get some extra points on the midterm if we went to one. Also, feel free to get me some iced tea while you're in there. I'm parched."

"Although I doubt Mr. Gorman would ever give out extra credit points, I do think you should go to one," Zelda called from the inside of the fridge. She pulled out a can of lemonade and their pitcher of iced tea, placing them both on the counter as she shut the refrigerator door with her foot. She poured Malon a glass before she returned to the couch, handing Malon her cup.

"Thanks Zellie," Malon said as she took a sip. "Damn, we really need to thank Ilia for the recipe. Who knew homemade peach iced tea could be so good."

Zelda nodded in agreement. "The girl's a wizard in the kitchen; she knows all the tricks of the trade."

They sat in silence for a few minutes as they watched Linda unsuccessfully guess two more consonants before losing her turn to a promising-looking guy named Tyler. Malon was right when Tyler guessed 'The New York Times Crossword Puzzle' as the answer to the phrase, "What are you doing right now".

Suddenly, Malon bolted upright off the couch, nearly spilling all of her tea onto the floor in the process.

Zelda's eyes widened. "Whoa, Mal, are you okay? I thought we put in new mouse traps on Sunday-"

"There's a new boy in my Ancient Hylian class!" She squealed, clapping her hands excitedly.

Zelda stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to say, before rolling her eyes as she took a sip of her lemonade. "Goddesses, Malon. I thought you saw another rat in the house," she chuckled. "Were you too wrapped up in Linda's struggles to tell me about this as soon as you walked in?"

"I guess," Malon said, glancing at Linda's dejected face on the TV screen before turning back to Zelda. "I don't know how Linda's troubles became more important than the hottest boy I've ever seen, but they did!"

"Now you're just insulting the poor woman," Zelda defended, frowning at the redhead. "How could Linda be less important than some guy in your class?"

Malon stared at the blonde, wide-eyed. "Oh no, Zelda, you don't understand." She whispered seriously, as if she were telling Zelda of a top-secret mission. "The new guy is like a god-incarnate. I think Professor Shad swooned when he walked in, too."

Zelda arched a brow shrewdly, feeling a little offended that Malon would lower her favorite professor to that shameless level. Professor Shad was much more respectable than that, and Zelda would always vouch for his good character - not because she had a minor crush on him, or anything. He was just very knowledgeable on the subject, and Zelda appreciated his intellect above all else.

"Oh come on. Professor Shad has more decency than the rest of us college girls. There's no way he would swoon for a student," she responded coolly, more for herself than to anyone.

Malon shook her copper-colored head."You obviously haven't seen Link Fontaine then."

"Maybe that's because I focus on my studies instead of drooling over some boy?" Zelda suggested casually, throwing a blanket across her lap. The heating in their small apartment didn't always work, and it had been an uncharacteristically cold August. Her grey sweatpants and sweatshirt could only do so much for her. "Plus, I only had one class today before I had work, so my chances of seeing him today were shockingly low."

"Whatever, Zellie," Malon sighed as she sunk back into the recliner. She threw her legs over the armrest and adjusting her upper body so that she lay horizontally on the couch, stretching her limbs like a cat before she got comfortable again. Zelda always told her not to lay like that because it made her back hurt, so she made note to say 'I told you so' when Malon got up later with a stiff back. "Just because you have this whole 'boys are beneath me and all my smartness' doesn't mean a boy can't be sexy as sin."

"That may be, but my whole 'boys are beneath me and all my smartness' outlook on life has served me well so far," Zelda shrugging. "Tell me about him, then. I'd hate to be unprepared without an arsenal of witty comebacks if I ever meet him."

Malon ignored Zelda's sarcasm, instead jumping right into the new guy's physical description. "He's blonde, but not like your blonde. It's not as light as yours – it's more honey-colored. And he's got blue eyes that put ours to shame," she gushed.

Zelda rubbed her eyes absentmindedly as she watched Pat Sajak announce the next phrase that the contestant would be guessing. She liked to think that she never really liked the color of her eyes. They were a light blue, almost grey on some days, and were so unlike the oceanic colored eyes that her roommate had.

She really wished her eyes were green, or even a light brown. She ran her hand down her face, stopping to trace the cut on her cheek from the Deku Nut's shell. It had healed considerably overnight, but Zelda was sure it would leave a small scar when it had completely stitched itself up. Zelda still had the man's handkerchief, too. It was tucked into one of her drawers for safe-keeping.

"That good?" Zelda asked, frowning slightly, dropping her hand to her lap.

"That good," Malon repeated. "He's tall and muscle-y too. But not the gross steroid kind of muscle-y. He must work out a lot though."

"I thought it was on the inside that counted," Zelda replied innocently.

"Maybe so, but everybody's got eyes, and when a fine piece of Hylian wanders into your lecture hall looking like a god, you can't blame yourself for using them," Malon commented sagely. "And oh goddesses, that's without mentioning his smile." She threw a hand on her forehead, leaning over the side of the armrest to swoon dramatically. "You could make world peace with that kind of smile."

Zelda shook her head, laughing; good ol', boy-crazy Malon. "Must be one hell-of-a smile," she whistled.

"You have no idea." Malon sighed dreamily.

For some reason, Zelda thought back to the man in the green. She had thought he had a pretty nice smile too. Zelda half-wondered if she would swoon over his smile like Malon was doing, too. Definitely not, Zelda thought dryly. Her friends had always praised her for keeping calm around the male species, and there was no way some boy was going to change that for her.

"Well, I look forward to seeing him." Zelda returned.

"Good, you should. Maybe he'll change your hermit ways," Malon grinned, eyes sparkling mischievously.

Zelda rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that day, giggling. "We'll see, Mal. Did I tell you I met the Chief and Director of the entire Hyrulian Law Enforcement system?" Zelda said, casually changing the subject.

Sobering from her boy-talk high, Malon snuggled into the recliner with her eyes back to the TV. "Nope. Is she as scary as she is in interviews?"

Zelda smiled slightly. "No, actually. She was pretty nice. A lot nicer than I thought she'd be. I think she liked me, too."

"Maybe she'll give you a raise and you could be Ingo's boss? Ha! Wouldn't that be funny?"

"It would be," Zelda chuckled.

After that, Zelda watched the rest of Wheel of Fortune by herself after Malon retreated to her room to go to bed.

Zelda forgot to say "I told you so" when Malon complained about her back hurting the moment she stood up from the couch.

Author's Note: First things first; I don't think you people understand how hard it was for me to right this. When I said Chapter 2 was being edited, I lied. I had like 2 paragraphs already written. So, instead of sitting myself down to finish it, I decided that I had to vacuum, wash my sheets, polish the furniture, clean my bathroom, stalk people on Tumblr, and then do my hair (?) before I could actually write anything. It's a blessing and a curse to clean when you procrastinate.

Thank you to all my wonderful reviews/reviewers. I was so terrified to read any of what you guys had to say that I completely avoided this website until like an hour ago. But y'all are so lovely and so nice. I hope you enjoy the chapter as much as I had trouble writing it!

-callmeordinary

(Sorry my author's notes are so long. I'm sure none of you care about my procrastination, but I thought you should know. Anyone who tells you it's easy to write is a dirty, dirty liar.)