It was Christmas Eve, and I was doing what I always did: Managing an outlet mall. A very popular, very busy outlet mall.
There were complaints everywhere. Angry customers, stealing, even a chicken in one of the stores.
I ran around, trying to keep everyone calm.
Suddenly, there was a tap on my shoulder.
"Excuse me, do you work here?" a young girl, who looked no more than 9, asked.
"Yes. What seems to be the problem?" I reply.
"I got separated from my parents at the jewelry kiosk and was wondering if you could help me." she answered.
"Of course, kid. Before I can, would you mind just walking with me to the store I'm headed to? I have to stop a problem there and it's close to the food court and welcome area, which is where I need to take you to." I ask.
"Of course." She says.
"Thank you. What's your name, by the way? And how old are you?" I question.
"Silena Rodriguez, and I'm 9, almost 10." She responds.
"Okay, Silena. Off we go!" I say.
She smiles, and we walk.
The store was a shoe store, and there were reports of shoes being thrown.
We walk in, and sure enough, a shoe almost nailed me in the head.
"Yikes." I say.
"I got this." She says, climbing up onto a display confidently.
"You sure?" I ask. "It's pretty crazy."
"I'm sure." she replies with a smile.
She mouths the words 'Cover your ears' to me and puts her hands around her mouth as I did.
"EVERYBODY CALM YOURSELVES!" she yells alarmingly loud, even with my ears covered.
The whole store stops, except for a woman forcefully yanking a pair of shoes from a woman.
"Thank you. Well, except for you, lady who just took the shoes from someone. You're a jerk. Drop the shoes and leave." Silena says in a calmer tone.
The woman shakes her head angrily.
Silena gets an angry look on her face and plants one foot hard on the display. For a ten year old, she look terrifying to be messing with.
The woman dropped the shoes and ran from the store.
'Now everyone, remain calm. If the manager-" she motions towards me "- hears any more about any of you... well, you know what will happen." Silena says, her arms crossed fiercely.
She hopped off the display and we walked out of the store.
"That was amazing." I said.
"It was kind of fun, actually." she said as we walked into the food court and welcome area.
We went to the welcome desk and had them broadcast to the whole outlet mall about Silena and how her parents needed to come and find her.
A few minutes later, her mom and dad rushed in.
"We've been looking everywhere for you!" her dad said, as both her mom and dad hugged her. They turned to me. "Thank you."
"No problem. She handled getting separated from you very well." I replied.
"She didn't cause any trouble?" her mother asked.
"No, she actually helped me out." I responded. "She'd be a really big help on Black Friday, I can tell you that."
It seems like I apologize for length between updates every chapter.
Well, I'll have to continue that.
It's the same old stuff. I do a lot of extracurricular stuff.
Anyways, happy holidays! Hope they're great or will be great.
I got a Doctor Who Christmas Special gift set that has all of the Christmas specials, except the one that most recently aired.
By the way, I have an idea: Comment your favorite character(s) from chapters in the past, no matter how old the chapter is, and I'll do some chapters with them in the future!
(I snuck downstairs from Christmas day dinner to publish this lol)
EVERYBODY CALM YOURSELVES
-Meg