CHAPTER 5

"Now Avery, we know that this night has certainly caused some excitement but you should know that it was never to happen. You broke a museum rule by sneaking in past closing time-"

"I didn't sneak in though! I came right within the 30 minutes of closing time to retrieve some papers I forgot to put on McPhee's desk! I swear I was trying to be as quick as I could but finding the papers was another challenge. I mean have you seen the state of the archive room? It's a mess. Yes I am working on cleaning it, but it still has a long way to go and-" Avery knew she was rambling but she couldn't stop until Cecil had raised a hand and she quieted down.

"I'm really sorry you guys. I truly had no intention of being here later after closing." She glanced at the clock on the wall, only to discover that it was almost 2am. Oh my god, I've been here for so long! Time sure does fly when you're running from a skeleton and talking to a wax figure of a president.

"Look Avery, we aren't getting any younger. And that scream of yours nearly gave us all heart attacks-"

"Ha! Speak for yourself, my ticker is fine!"

"Gus, now's not the time." That was Reginald.

"It's not that we're getting older, it's that, well, the museum has been having a hard time financially. I'm sure you've seen it in some way. The dwindling of patrons through our doors, resulting in loss of funds. McPhee being stressed beyond belief, what with the board breathing down his neck. The truth is they've already started downsizing. Another name for firing. Firing and replacing the three of us with one new night guard. We're actually in the process of looking for suitable candidates. They're giving us a month to find someone."

"Oh Cecil, Gus, Reginald, I'm so sorry you guys are being fired. It does seem unfair, especially after you've held this job for many years I'm guessing. But yeah I can also see the museum's side of this. I caught Dr McPhee looking over financial records for this place and when I looked at it, I knew the numbers weren't promising."

"You certainly caught us by surprise tonight, and you're lucky it was us and not some newbie guard. You probably wouldn't walk away without some serious consequences."

"Does that mean, you won't tell McPhee?" Avery hoped that was what Cecil was alluding to.

"Well, we've certainly kept bigger secrets!" He cracked a joke and smiled, setting Avery at ease. But another question had nagged at her.

"I know you said that I shouldn't have been here in the first place but do you think it would be possible for me to come again on another night?" She knew the question wouldn't go over well but she had to ask.

"What! Are you deaf girl?! No means no! Just like closed means closed!" Gus was frustrated. Does this girl think we're stupid or something?

"Nuh-uh, absolutely not. Cecil, would you talk some sense into this girl!" Reginald appeared agitated and started tapping his cane against the floor.

"Now Avery-"

"No please, just let me spin out this idea for you. I'm an intern right? And part of my job is to learn the workings of a museum. And what better way to do that than to go behind the scenes! I know it's not technically in the internship agreement, but I could come up with ideas to help save the museum! I know it's a long shot, I do. But it might be the best shot I can take at helping this museum even more than being McPhee's intern."

Avery put all her determination and confidence into this speech of hers, hoping it would catch the attention of the guards, or at the very least put the idea in their heads. She might not be able to stop them from losing their jobs, but she could start coming up with ways to help the museum better. She didn't think that hanging out with recently animated statues or wax figures would help her cause per say or even help her formulate a plan of action, but inspiration struck in many different ways. This museum had grown on her during her short time as an intern. Plus how cool would it be to hang out with Teddy again?

"I wouldn't be here every night, I have some early morning classes that would be hell if I stayed up all night. That's another thing, I wouldn't stay all night, just a few hours here and there! I'm thinking maybe like twice a week? Or if I count Friday and Saturday, four days?"

Okay now she was really pushing it. To ask for one day was fine, but to ask to come at least four days? What am I thinking? Of course they're gonna say no! Who wants a college kid snooping around the museum unattended at night? It's not like I'm gonna abuse this power. I'm not irresponsible, I know what's at stake now more than ever. She looked at the guards' faces, all of which were deep in thought.

"Well Miss Avery, you've put us in quite the predicament. With us leaving, it's gonna be a challenge to find someone new who is willing to accept that this museum is special than most. It might also take some convincing for them to allow you to stay after hours… But you know what, I think this little arrangement might work out after all."

"WHAT!" Gus exploded with rage. Reginald was shaking his head and making disapproving sounds.

"Gentlemen please! Once we decide on the new hire, we will introduce you two. I daresay you might even help him with some of his duties if you want the full "behind the scenes" experience! Kidding, of course the night guard has to keep order and all that."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is so cool. But don't worry, I promise to keep this secret. I'll just tell my roommate that I have official intern business that needs to be conducted in the museum. Or something like that! But seriously thank you!" Avery was literally bouncing off the walls, her excitement couldn't be contained. Gus and Reginald looked exhausted at her behaviors but Cecil saw a bit of himself in her, back when he was younger.

"Right, it's settled then. Now why don't we get you out these doors so that your roommate doesn't worry too much? Plus these guys and I still have a lot of night guard duties to attend to."

And with that, they walked her to the loading docks and let her out the door. It would be far less suspicious than her coming out the front door, if she wanted to be discreet about matters. She felt scared walking to her dorm building because of the late hour, and it was New York, the city that never sleeps. Who knows what would await her on these dark streets? But fate had smiled upon her and she made it to her door building unscathed. She noticed her roommate wasn't back from yet another college frat party. But her excitement had worn off into exhaustion, so she slipped into comfy pj's and was off to sleep in a matter of minutes.