Monster Tricks 8 (not the worst idea)
Rat watched nervously as mates tried out the latest work, his eye's following spike as she briefly rose off the small half pipe into a kickflip before calmly descending back down to earth.
"So, what do you think?"
"Well I feel like it's a bit lacking to be honest" Josh replied with a snicker as he watched his friend squirm, earning a jab to the shoulder.
"Knock it off Josh" Spike said as she sat down next to Rat on the worn out couch that had been in his garage since she'd known him and gave him a mock punch to the shoulder. "It works great".
"Nice"
"But something tells me that's not what has you on edge" she continued.
Rat sighed as reached over to his skate-board and began to tinker with it. "Was it that obvious?"
"Sorry man, we know you too well" Josh answered as he sat cross legged on the ground across from his mates.
"That and you always work on your board when you want to avoid talking about something" Spike pointed out with a grin.
"I do?"
"Quit stalling and tell us what's up" Josh stated, making Rat's face go a shade redder.
"I kind of was offered a job"
"That's great!" Proclaimed Spike.
"Yeah," Rat replied nervously.
"And that response wasn't so something is up".
"Is it a crummy job?" Josh asked
"No"
"Pays poorly?"
"Don't think so"
"Is it illegal because I got to be honest I don't see you fitting into the world of organised crime that well" Josh said, receiving another smack from Spike as a result.
"What, he wouldn't. If he tried to be a drug mule he'd probably confess to the first person who spoke to him in a stern voice"
"It's a job at the complex," Rat said.
"The one El's works at?" they asked in unison.
Rat nodded before going back to his board. "One of the agents who worked their rang me up earlier, said they wanted to hire a local to help the residents with integration and set them up with visiting spots around town"
"So what's the problem?" Josh asked.
"What do you mean, what's the problem? A job that important should go to someone more qualified"
"I'd say you're a pretty qualified Rat," Spike countered. "You've lived here your whole life so you know the area well"
"You have shown your comfortable with demi humans" Josh pointed out.
"And have the closest thing to experience with this job thanks to you showing Elmia around" Spike finished as she leaned back in her seat. "With her being an available reference to boot".
"I still think it should at least be given to someone who has a better degree than just a high school diploma" Rat muttered glumly
"You were going to take classes at the community college" Josh offered.
"Till i couldn't decide what to take and chickened out"
"Alright, that is it" Spike announced, getting up to her feet and pulling rat to his as well. "We can go round and round all we want with this little debate but we all know that won't solve anything so go skate around for a bit and clear your head"
"But I just thi-" he started before the glare his friend gave him caused his mouth to quickly shut and his head to nod as he made his way to the door.
"How do you do that look?" Josh asked in awe.
"Come from a long line of cops, it's probably genetic".
Rat gilded along the street, a low hum coming from the wheel's rolling against the pavement underfoot that he would always find soothing. He didn't really know where he was heading, just content with rolling around and tricking off any of the good spots he happened to pass by.
"Man, i'd kill for a skate park round here" he thought to himself as he cleared a small set of stairs in the town square. "Even a small one would be nice".
Quickly, he skidded to a halt and kicked the board into his hands. He couldn't take this job, he just couldn't. He'd screw it up for sure, he couldn't even pull off being on hall monitor duty when he was 6. Not to mention this job would probably affect both the town's reputation and the complex's likelihood of sticking around, an over the top image of its residents being exiled from the town flashed in his mind and made him grimace.
The chirping of his ringtone made him jolt out of his self deprecating thoughts and rummage through his pocket for the source.
"Hello?"
"Hello Rat, it's Elmia"
"Oh hey El's, what's up?" Rat asked as he flicked at one of the wheels on his board.
"Well, Spike phoned me and said I should call you, is something wrong?"
At that statement Rat wanted to groan at how much Spike was meddling but instead he shoved that particular wish to the back of his mind before responding. "It's nothing, I just got offered a job and I'm not sure if I should take it".
"Why is that?"
"It's kind of a position that could affect a lot of people, I'm worried i'd screw it up"
Elmia paused at that statement, her initial concerns having morphed into something almost resembling deJa vu. "And why exactly do you think that would happen?".
"Because I do screw things up" he replied, somewhat exasperated.
"I'm afraid I have to disagree with you" she said, "you have been incredibly competent with every task i've seen you attempt"
"That's just small stuff, anyone can do that"
"Possibly, but your the one who went and helped when asked"
Rat went silent as he thought about the statement. "You honestly think that's enough?"
"I'm not sure but what I do know is that you have to take the opportunities given to you and see how they unfold, or else you'll regret it" she replied in a solemn voice".
"Crap, your right"
"I-I-I am?" Elmia stuttered, the composure in her delivery instantly gone.
"Yeah, you are. I'm practically biting myself in the ass now"
"Well I wouldn't go that far" she responded, the surprise from hearing that statement evident in her tone
"Thank's El's, I gotta go and apply for that job but I owe you one" he said as he ended the call and clicked on the agent's phone number in his contacts.
"Hey, Agent Whitman, you got a sec. Okay, great, I was wondering if that job was still available".
"All right, thank you all for showing up" a woman named Nadia said as she addressed the small crowd of Liminals gathered in the complex's rec hall, she was head of the buildings on site staff and someone the residents had come to know quite well.
"I know you all have things you want to do so i'll try to make this quick, we have finally hired someone to help with showing you guys around the town and help get you more acclimated to the area".
A wave of murmurs spread across the small crowd at that statement, mostly from the nekomimi twins who somehow managed to make the act of whispering, quite loud.
"All right, settle down, I get you've all been cooped up for a while but please be mature about this". She continued to explain what this would entail but not everyone was listening, Elmia had been thinking about the conversation from last night and for some reason he couldn't get his voice out of her head, how miserable he had sounded when he talked about himself felt uncomfortably familiar.
"So without further ado, please welcome Horace Redman"
At that, her head whipped up to look as a familiar looking man awkwardly stepped onto the stage and gingerly waved to the crowd, a look of shock painted across her features.
"Hi there" he began skittishly
"Oh, this'll be good," Tana muttered to her, one of her classic Cheshire cat grins spread as wide as possible across her face.
"So" he awkwardly continued. "You all know what my job is, starting officially in a few days, got any questions?"
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Elmia practically yelled, earning an odd look from the rest sans Tana who just started laughing.
"Oh, hey El's"
"Don't you hey El's me, if I knew this was the job you were talking about, I would have helped you"
"Um, Elmia" Rat tried to interject.
"No, i'm serious" she continued as her hand gripped at her skirt. "You had me really worried and you didn't even think that I, a resident of the complex wouldn't be able to tell you that you'd be perfect for helping us"
"You finished?" rat tentatively asked.
Elmia took a deep breath and smoothed out the creases she had freshly made in her clothes before replying. "Yes, I apologize for getting upset"
"Thanks, I think your neighbors might want some context"
"Elmia could only blush crimson as she turned to face the sea of confused looks and one very loud laugh that sounded annoyingly familiar.
"Tana" she groaned as she covered her face with her hands.
"I'm sorry" she choked out between laughs, "This is just too damn good".
Sorry I haven't uploaded in a while, I was finishing my college course and that took up my free time. I don't really do these afterword things but I wanted to say thank you for anyone still reading this.
