Just as fast as he began, Wade raced along as he arrived in the streets of Pebblebrook. He arrived at the op shop from yesterday, panting like an Olympic athlete who'd just trained for 8 hours straight. As he caught his breath nearly a minute later, he grabbed his phone from his satchel and looked at the time...
10:11 am
A wave of relief crashed over him, and he exhaled, wiping his sweat up with an arm.
He took out the apology letter from his satchel, holding it at his side and taking a breath. He rebuilt his confidence bit by bit as he put a hand on the door to open it.
He swung it open with most of his body weight, standing at the doorway heroically. Suddenly, a crowd of older water and earth folk gasbagging at the front desk looked his way grumpily. Realizing he was the one who threatened to shut the place down, they all turned toward him with arms folded and frowns abroad.
Feeling unwelcomed from moment one, he slowly walked through the aisles to the desk with a sweat; the apology letter pressed against his chest.
He arrived at the desk, making his way through the crowd of grumpy old ladies.
"Excuse me- hehe- please excuse me." he excused himself as he made his way through.
He placed the letter face down on the desk, looking slowly from side to side in discomfort. The customer got too close for comfort, becoming nosey and leaning over his shoulder to take a look. Channelling his inner Ember, he shot them a passive-aggressive stare, holding the letter against his chest.
"Down here again, deary." a recognisable voice said.
Wade sharply turned around and looked over the desk; helmed by the same old lady that served him the day prior.
"Ah- it's you again." the old lady flatly realized.
"Here to give the shop another warning, I see." one of the customers perked up.
A chorus of scoffing erupted from the older customers, along with a wave of folding arms.
Wade tugged at his collar in dread of this becoming another Ashenwood case.
"N- no actually. I'm here to fix that," he admitted.
He took the letter from his chest and gently placed it down on the counter in front of the short little clerk. She struggled to reach up, barely managing to grasp it and take a look. She read it through, blankly looking up at Wade.
"We- I sincerely apologize for the mistake made yesterday." he apologized.
The clerk - unable to believe what was happening - looked it over again. Wade stood in his spot in wait, a bit uncomfortable. The eyes of old weren't helping his discomfort very much, causing him to sweat some more.
The clerk finished looking over the paper and looked up at Wade.
"Why thank you, deary." she calmly thanked.
Still not fully convinced, the customer's gazes only grew more prodding. Wade scratched his neck, looking at the stares from the corner of his eyes.
"Heh- you're welcome," Wade said.
Unable to bring herself to believe a thing he was doing, one of the customers sternly stood in front of him like a bossy parent, leaning forward and sizing Wade up. He leaned back as she did, stepping a foot back.
"I'm not sure what your deal is, son, but I don't think a mistake like this can be shrugged off." the customer scowled.
Wade let out a cool-keeping chuckle, averting his gaze.
"I- I'm sorry?" he stammered.
"Dang straight you should be. I ought to speak with your manager about this." the older customer pressed.
With his cool in threat, Wade let out a sharp breath, wiping up more sweat with an arm.
"He- uhh- sent me. I came here on his behalf," he confessed.
The crowd of ladies backing up the most unhappy customer folded their arms tighter, squinting at Wade in suspicion.
"Then tell him you can't just go around giving citations all willy-nilly." the older customer prodded.
Suddenly - almost as if one of them were sorry for the helpless waterman - one customer perked up in defiance of the argument.
"Maybe you shouldn't blame the boy, Doris. He's just doing his job." the customer remarked.
"Moreen?! Are you siding with this delinquent?" Doris retorted.
As the argument ensued, Wade stood helpless in his spot like a child, looking to and fro the debaters.
"Can't be all his fault. What if your boss told you to shut down a shop without rhyme or reason?" Moreen pressed.
"I'd tell him to shove himself up a drain pipe, for all I care." Doris barked.
"But that's how you get flushed out of a job!" Moreen exclaimed.
"Oh- why should I care? I've been retired for years!" Doris retorted.
As things began to heat up, Wade saw it as an opportune time to slip out unnoticed. Taking the chance with both hands, he slowly began to step backwards, gently ejecting himself out of the equation.
Thankfully, he managed to step out unharmed, closing the door behind him and sighing in relief. He wiped up his sweat in tandem, shaking himself about to calm his nerves.
He looked down at his phone to check the time...
10:20 am
"Roughly 40 minutes to kill." he thought.
His attention shifted to his surroundings. Little did he recall just how virtuous this occasion was; Pebblebrook was one of the nicest parks in town to explore, or so he'd heard. He stood in his spot, turning around 360 degrees to take in his surroundings. That was when he saw the sun shining right on him, sending rays all over the street almost as if a higher presence blessed it.
With time to kill, he let out a shrug and smile like a spoiled child, beginning to stroll along the street in exploration mode. He shoved a hand into his satchel and rummaged about, whipping out his Polaroid camera. He began to snap some pictures of the mundane; everyday things.
He walked up along the street, stopping and staring across the road at a rather nice Flower shopfront. He held the camera at his face at the ready with a smile. The shop owners caught on, waving at him enthusiastically. He captured the gorgeous moment just right, fanning the picture about and admiring it. He waved back at the shop owners in thanks, a big Wade signature gleaming smile on his face.
A renewal of sorts overcame him at that moment. Happiness on the job; something he seldom found. He looked about the gorgeous Pebblebrook street in that thought - it was almost as warm as one of Ember's hugs. He spans in a circle, closing his eyes and letting the moment in - sunshine rays of delight upon him.
He gently opened his eyes once again, staring at the street in front at a 45-degree angle. He quickly whipped his camera out, taking another picture. He held it up to his face, taking a good, long, hard look at it and chuckling mildly in appreciation.
He remained staring it at as he strolled along the street. He looked to his right, noticing a small little walkway with flora coating on either side. Seeing it as quite inviting, Wade strolled down it, looking from side to side in appreciation.
At the end of it lay a small courtyard; a stone fountain at the centre of it. He snapped a picture of the gorgeous space. He very gradually put the camera down, readjusting to reality ever so slightly.
"Do you like it?" a familiar voice queried.
Suddenly, Wade looked over to the left of the fountain. He could've sworn he watched as a vision of Ember finished sculpting a life-sized fountain of glass herself. She stood at the side of it, her hands at her sides in pride. Her smile made his heart sink deep, causing him to hold a hand at it. He let out a gentle tear, and let it streak down his face. He felt every inch it moved, taking it in as it did. As it reached his chin, he wiped it up, sloshing his face about. As he refocused, her visage disappeared, snapping back to reality.
His smile faded as he came back. He looked down at his phone once more, admiring his lock screen...
Like she, he had her as his lock screen picture. It was her posing in front of Mineral Lake back in Element City with only the brightest smirk he could imagine. It was one of his favourites of hers.
The only thing that could distract him was the time; reading 10:30 am. Reading it sent him spiralling back to reality, noticing that there was still no message from her.
Having not eaten any breakfast either, his gut rumbled around grumpily. He held a hand on it as it did, cringing slightly.
"Ooh! Gettin' whirlpools in the gut again." he deduced.
He shoved his hand back into his satchel, scrounging around for coins. He pulled out quite a few, counting them up in his head.
"Okay- 300 Shell$ to last 'til tomorrow." he reckoned.
He looked up and around the courtyard - and to the restaurants within. His eyes immediately fixated upon a small soup joint serving his favourite dish nice and early - freshwater soup. He smirked cheekily, looking at it as if he were addicted - which he could very well be.
"Make that 280-ish." he quipped.
While Wade gorged away nice and early, Ember had her head resting on the desk out of boredom. She twiddled her pen about, unsure of what to do. She brought up her phone to her face once more. As before, still no sign of Wade at all.
She rose to straighten herself up at the desk, stretching herself out. Like Wade, she felt her stomach vibrate about, causing her to hold it.
"Ooh! I'm hungry." she reckoned.
She looked outside of her room at a vending machine, one she hadn't managed to notice before. Drawn to it out of hunger, she looked around her bag for cash...
"Okay. 280-ish Coal$ to last the day," she said.
She looked back over to the vending machine, making the executive decision to go grab something from it. She immediately rose to her feet, quickly pitter-pattering along over to it.
Arriving at it, she read a little disclaimer sign just about the interactive buttons.
Now accepting Shell$, Rock$, Cloud$, and Coal$
"Huh." she sounded.
She reached a hand out to use it, before immediately reeling it back in. She hadn't realized for a second that it could very well be dangerous for her to use it. Daunted to touch anything, she held her hands behind her back, browsing from afar.
"Rock Candy...
Nah. Not at this time of morning...
'Airy Floss.
That'll stick with me for years. Yeaugh.
Bo'oh'o'wa'er-"
She looked at the obviously-misspelt item, raising an eyebrow.
"Bo- oh- wha?"
A part of her felt like it was on purpose, for whatever reason. She squinted at it, looking dangerously close.
"That's actually how it's spelt. I'm not even going to attempt to say that." she discerned.
But, as always, her favourite little fire snack caught her attention almost immediately.
"Kol-nuts. Ye olde faithful. You'll do." she said with a shrug.
Without hesitation, she put a finger on the buttons to put the code in. As her precognition tried to warn before, the button caught fire. In a panic, she over-exerted herself and frantically blew it out within a second.
She let out a huff of annoyance, folding her arms at her chest. She stared angrily between the flammable buttons and the Kol-nuts.
"Does a pack of Kol-nuts warrant an emergency evac?" she queried to herself.
She took a good, long look at the Kol-nuts, coming to a decision...
"Yes. Yes, it does." she accepted.
Like a speedy little flame, she hurriedly stamped the code in quick smart, blowing each one out as she pressed them. With a flurry to the finish, the Kol-nuts came out of their restraint, falling to the collection bay.
"Yes! Woohoo!" she celebrated.
She danced about in her spot, poking her tongue out of her mouth at the inanimate machine. She sharply took her Kol-nuts out of the collection bay, throwing one into her mouth.
"Ah! Victory tastes rather smoky today." she admired.
Admiring her victory, she looked about the vending machine with a smirk. Said smirk wouldn't last long as she realized what was on the dang thing.
It was a glove, with a sign above it that read; inter-elemental glove. Use for purchase.
She let out a long groan, face-palming herself relatively hard.
She retreated back to her desk with her treat, spinning around on her spinning chair. She ate them one by one as she spun about, mouth open and spraying crumbs carelessly. She came to a stop facing her desk, quickly checking her phone once again.
Still, nothing from Wade. She let out a shrug, nonchalantly giving him a call anyway.
Nourished beyond belief, Wade stumbled out of the freshwater soup joint as happy as could be. His nourishment was so deep that he was almost intoxicated by it, stumbling about in a euphoric trance. Suddenly, his phone jiggled him about.
"Hehe... stop that. It tickles!" he giggled to himself.
He slowly pulled it up to his ear like the drunk boy he was.
"Yo. You be talkin' to the Flowmaster." Wade answered.
"Wade- are you drunk on the job or something?" Ember queried.
"Me? Nah!" he disputed.
"Hehe. Freshwater soup then?" she deduced.
"Yup," he confirmed lazily.
"Hah! That's the only other thing I could think of." she joked.
"Ahh- haha-haaa!" Wade laughed exasperatingly.
Ember giggled over the phone at his cutesy manner - imagining just what it would be like in real-time.
"You sound like you're havin' fun-" she reckoned.
Before it could become too much fun, the fun police interjected and cut Wade's signal again. Confused, he slowly held his phone to his face. The move almost completely sobered Wade up, and a look of frazzle overcame him.
"Cell service! What is with you today?!" he barked at his phone.
Almost as if it were scared straight by him, it quickly came online once more.He let out an exhale of relief, hanging his arms low with a lazed smile.
It let out a vibration along with a notification, making him think Ember was reaching out again. He quickly shoved it back to his eye level, swishing him about.
He unlocked it, reading an incoming message...
"Ripple! We've had an advancement in the Elementus case. The cops are getting involved. Groucho's off his choppers. Get back to HQ ASAP."
It was from Mutrick - his favourite bossy-pants in the whole world. Wade let out a stressed gasp, holding his hand on his forehead.
"What?!" he gasped.
He sharply checked the time;
10:59 am
"Oh- dewdrop! I gotta go!" he exclaimed.
Revving up his engine again, he shook himself loose, beginning another marathon back to the EBID HQ. He'd hoped it'd be the last for the day...