Chapter 3 - Karen Sylvia

the heroes face a first-grade class, then deal with adulting while working as cart pushers at Giggling Smile Supermarket

Mrs. Falldorf's class of horrors is what this group had ended up in. The lesson for the day was the colors of the rainbow. But Mrs. Falldorf seemed to have lost her mind and was just trying to run the class. She yelled "Now, boys and girls today we will be learning about colors. But before we start I want to go around the room and see if you know any of the colors. And then the popular boy, who had a deep voice, said "Yes mam". The teacher looked at the boy and said "Is that right?" The boy said "Yes mam." The teacher said "Why are you the only one that answered that correctly?" The boy said "Because I know all the colors." Mrs. Falldorf said "that's great, now what color is the sky?" The boy said "blue." The teacher said "are you sure?" The boy said "yes mam." The teacher said "then tell the class please." The boy said "the sky is blue." The teacher said "very good. Now, let's go around the room and see if anyone knows what Red and yellow make, shout the answer if you do. Max shouted out Orange and Mrs. Falldorf said "Max Naughty corner now! Max began to cry and say "What did I do?!" "Naughty corner now, don't make me say it again!" Max went over to the Naughty corner which came to him like a suppressed memory as to the location in the classroom. He sat in his corner and was sad. Mrs. Falldorf continued her lesson "Now, boys and girls, we will be learning about the colors Red and yellow. Now boys and girls, what makes orange?" Mrs. Falldorf said "This is not a trick question. If you know the answer, then shout it out." One of the little girl's said "red" Mrs. Falldorf said "no that's not it. What makes red?" The little girl said "yellow." Mrs. Falldorf said "good girl. Now what makes yellow?" The little girl said "orange." Mrs. Falldorf said "thank you, now please raise your hand if you know what makes orange?" Everyone raised their hands except for the boy that had been in the naughty corner. Mrs. Falldorf said "Oh no, what makes orange?" The boy said "Everything." Mrs. Falldorf said "Don't lie to me now. What makes orange?" The boy said "Nothing." Mrs. Falldorf said "Please lower your hand" The boy lowered his hand and Mrs. Falldorf said "do you understand why you were sent to the naughty corner?" The boy said "no mam." Mrs. Falldorf said "then don't ever do it again. Now, what makes orange?" The boy said "Nothing." Mrs. Falldorf said "good boy" and went on with her lesson. Later on during show and tell Cedar the Bear took a Koosh Ball Bear out of his pocket from the jeans he was wearing when he got turned into a 6-year-old equitant bear. Afterward, he put in his backpack that he conveniently got along with the jeans. After a little later he checked his backpack and it was missing. He searched everywhere for it and couldn't find it anywhere. He started to freak out and thought that someone stole it. He was looking around frantically trying to find his ball but could not. His friend-turned-enemy had taken it. The memories of them being friends came flooding into his mind like compressed memories being remembered, along with the incident that made him no longer his friend. Cedar screamed and cried for the ball. He could not get it out of his mind. The teacher asked if anyone had seen Cedar's bear. Alex said "Yeah, my friend stole it." Mrs. Falldorf said "Well good news, I have found the bear that you left in my classroom. Thank you for being honest." Alex said "No problem, I didn't care about the bear anyway." The teacher said, "that's great."

After the lesson was over Cedar the Bear went to the bathroom to take a leak. someone saw him at a urinal with his pants at his ankles, peeing. He was shocked and embarrassed. He was turned into a six-year-old and he didn't know how to handle himself. When he got back to class, someone had stolen his Koosh Ball Bear again. Only this time no one admitted to taking it. His enemy kid kept on insisting he didn't take it, just as he had the first time it had been taken, and it was not in his backpack like it had been before. Cedar was so sad he could not stop crying. His teacher looked concerned and asked if she could help. Cedar said "I lost my favorite toy again," Mrs. Falldorf said, "Did you look everywhere for it?" Cedar said, "Yes, I looked everywhere, but I can't find it anywhere." Mrs. Falldorf said "Okay, I'll go see if I can find it." but she couldn't. Next, the class (other than Max who was still in the naughty corner) went on to make egg carton caterpillars after everyone was finished, Max was finally let out of the naughty corner. While everyone else was gathering for story time he went and played with the egg carton caterpillars pretending that they were his new friends. In the process of moving them around, one of them got lost. The kid who lost his egg carton caterpillar was mad at Max for losing it and told him

"I wish you'd never come to our class." Max replied, "Sorry, I lost it." Then his other friend, the kid who he had helped to start bullying him, said "So, you think that's funny do you? Well, I guess you don't take me seriously anymore. I bet you're glad I left and went to another class." Max said, "No, I'm sorry, I don't think it was funny, I didn't mean for you to leave." Mrs. Falldorf said that's enough, everyone we're having storytime now!" Everyone stopped talking, and everyone sat down. But Max didn't listen, he kept on playing with the egg carton caterpillars and pretended they were his friends when his other friend came up to him and said "You can't play with your egg carton caterpillars, you have to come for storytime. I'm going to tell everyone that you can't sit next to me!" Max said, "Okay, I'll come." The kid said "Good" and walked away. Max followed him and went to sit next to him. Mrs. Falldorf talked about how in 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue and brought us to America. She talked about the pilgrims who came here because they wanted religious freedom. And that was the end of the day.

***

Suddenly it was a new day in class and Alex, Max, Jeorgar, Cedar, Fenrir, Argo, Elder Elder, and Elder Jackson were back in class after leaving it.

The teacher said "We will be learning about colors today. Everyone be seated and don't make too much noise. Now, boys and girls, what makes green?" Mrs. Falldorf said, "Green comes from the word 'Greens' and the color Greens is created by mixing two different colors." Mrs. Falldorf said, "Now, let's turn to page 18 and read the story about the color Green." Everyone sat down and Cedar opened the book. After the lesson on the color green, they went to have P.E. and played a game called Humans and Werewolves. It was like tag but there was a safe place called home for the humans, the werewolves tried to make the humans werewolves by tagging them. The humans tried to stay away from the werewolves, and the werewolves tried to catch as many humans as possible and turn them into werewolves. Fenrir was one of the last "humans" to make it to the home area, and one of the "werewolves" wouldn't stop chasing him. In the home space, he kept on being chased until Mrs. Falldorf said "Stop moving Fenrir" and Fenrir listened. She then said "You're a werewolf now, so get out of the space for humans" Most of the kids protested but Mrs. Falldorf wouldn't budge. When the bell rang she said, "Everyone go get ready for lunch." Once everyone was done eating, Cedar the Bear told everyone about his experiences in class while he was in his world. Then he told them about the time he had his favorite toy taken away. The kids thought it was pretty cool and one of the girls said "I would have been mad if someone stole my Koosh Ball Bear." Another girl said "Yeah, that's terrible!" and a third girl said, "I would have been so sad!" During recess Alex watched the school janitor feed some seagulls. One of them pooped on him. Alex said "Whoa, that's gross!" and the janitor said, "Yeah, I'll be sure to clean that up right away!"

***

Later on in the afternoon a few minutes before the bell rang Mrs. Falldorf gave the kids a worksheet with a picture of a house on it and told them to write a story about what the house represented. Cedar wrote about his experiences in class and how he had lost his favorite toy. He also wrote about how he had been turned into a 6-year-old equitant bear and about the time he had tried to play with his egg carton caterpillars. Max wrote about his experience with Mrs. Falldorf and how she had made him go to the naughty corner for almost half a day. Alex wrote about how he got pooped on by a seagull and how he had been watching the janitor feed the seagulls. Elder Jackson wrote about his experience in class and how he had gotten his jeans dirty and how he had been sent to the naughty corner. At the end of the worksheet, it said "To finish the assignment, write a story about what the house represents". Cedar was the first to finish his work, and the others followed soon after.

Mrs. Falldorf read each story and said "Well done." Then she gave them each a gold star sticker. The craft project that day was a hand turkey with a dyed coffee filter for the tail feathers. How you dyed the coffee filter by dipping markers in the water, then dipping the coffee filter in the liquid afterward. Jeorgar chose the colors Green and Brown as he suddenly remembered that he had hazel eyes. The result was a muddy muted green color. One of the mean girls said "Eww that looks gross" and the rest of the kids laughed at him. The teacher saw it and told Jeorgar that it looked ugly and through it in the trash. Jeorgar began to cry because he thought the teacher was saying his eyes were ugly, but didn't tell her that because he was a little kid-equivalent dragon who couldn't process what he was feeling in words others would understand. The teacher began to laugh at Jeorgar and the whole class joined in on laughing at him. After the bell rang everyone went back to their seats and Mrs. Falldorf told them they were going to learn about writing numbers today by doing a number line. They had to write the numbers 0-20 in order from left to right, then they had to put them in order from one to twenty. Cedar did very well and finished his work quickly and correctly. He got his sticker and went over to the rug to lie down. The others had to go back to their desks to do more work and continue their lesson. They learned about writing numbers higher than 20. When the bell rang everyone stood up and headed to their lockers. The kids went home.

The next day things were a little different. A new kid named Johnathan came to Cedar's class. He had freckles, blond hair and wore glasses.

At the beginning of the day, Mrs. Falldorf said "Today we are going to learn about the color Yellow." She handed out a worksheet and told the kids to fill in the blanks with words from the list. When everyone was done Mrs. Falldorf said "Now we will turn to page 27 and read the story about the color yellow." Cedar was feeling mischievous and decided to get back at the class for taking his Koosh Ball Bear, so he hid a pig finger puppet from a book on farm animals that included finger puppets. Then when everyone had settled down and started reading, Cedar stood up and took the pig puppet in his pocket. He hid it well enough that no one noticed it was missing. Mrs. Falldorf said "Now that we've read the book, what does the color yellow represent?" a few kids raised their hands and answered in unison "It's the color of the sun!" The next assignment was doing a crossword puzzle. Max asked the teacher how to do it and she said you circle letters and so that's what Max did instead of circling letters that form words. Mrs. Falldorf said "Max, that's not how you do a crossword puzzle! You don't just circle letters and connect them; you have to make sentences with the words you circled." She didn't let him redo the crossword puzzle. Later on in the day someone finally noticed that the pig puppet was missing. Johnathan, the new kid, was the first to say "Hey, where's the pig?" Mrs. Falldorf said "I don't know, I haven't seen it in a long time. Maybe someone took it." Johnathan said, "No way, I would have noticed something like that." Mrs. Falldorf said, "Okay, but if you find it, please give it back to me okay?" Johnathan said "Okay." Cedar knew where it was but he was feeling spiteful about losing his Koosh Ball Bear and so he never told Johnathan that he had found the pig or gave it to him. Johnathan told all his friends that he had lost the pig and none of them believed him.

***

On Thursday Alex had an assembly at school and he was excited about it. Some of his classmates sat too close to the edge while a demonstration about bike helmet safety happened. Afterward, Mrs. Falldorf berated the class over what had happened and said "I hope you're all listening carefully because this is very important. If you're riding a bike, you need to wear a helmet at all times. Helmets help protect your head in case you fall off your bicycle or skateboard, and helmets save lives!" Then Alex got to stand up and demonstrate how to properly wear a bike helmet. He did a good job and everyone clapped for him. Cedar hid a spider toy this time and someone noticed it was missing. Mrs. Falldorf flew into a blind rage saying how she would never forgive anyone who had stolen from her class, and how she would make sure they were punished in the worst ways possible. She even said she would make sure they were expelled forever. The class started to panic and Mrs. Falldorf calmed them down by telling them to calm down. She promised that nothing bad would happen to them and she wouldn't let anything happen to them. She told them that she would punish those who stole from the class, but she wouldn't let anything bad happen to them. Cedar didn't believe her and thought she was lying. Mrs. Falldorf got so angry she literally exploded. She screamed and yelled "I SAID THAT I WOULDN'T LET ANYTHING BAD HAPPEN TO YOU AND I MEAN IT!! NOW BE QUIET!!" The kids got really scared and quieted down. Mrs. Falldorf said "I'm sorry about what happened earlier, I was angry because someone stole something from our class and I wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. Now, if you don't mind I'd like to continue with the lesson..." She continued with the lesson. The kids finished their assignments and got ready for lunch. The cafeteria was a mess because of the assembly. There was food everywhere. Everyone got a little hungry and complained about it. Mrs. Falldorf said "Well, I guess we can't have a nice lunch without a little trouble. Let's keep working so the cleaning crew knows we appreciate it." After they cleaned up the mess and everyone was served their lunches, it was time for the gym. She made things difficult because no one confessed to taking the spider toy and she said she would make sure the person would get a punishment worse than expulsion. Alex was afraid of getting expelled himself. Mrs. Falldorf made them do a relay race. Alex did a great job in the relay but fell off his bike in the second lap of the race. He skinned his knee and shoulder. His knee was bleeding and his shoulder hurt. He got a band-aid and everything was fine. Mrs. Falldorf said "Well done Alex!" and gave him a gold star sticker for his effort. Alex went home after school.

On Friday Mrs. Falldorf said during class I need to know who took the pig puppet and spider toy or things are going to be different from now on. Cedar was thinking about it, but he didn't want to tell her because he knew she would get angry. He thought about his options: Tell her who stole it and get expelled forever, or stay silent and live with the consequences. He chose to live with the consequences. He stayed silent. He only told the truth if he got caught. He would never admit it otherwise. Cedar knew he would get in trouble if he told anyone, but he just hoped that people would forget about it eventually. Mrs. Falldorf exploded in anger once again. She screamed "I WILL NOT BE TOLERATED BY THIEVES IN MY CLASS!!! I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH TROUBLE YOU GET INTO BECAUSE OF THIS, YOU CAN BET YOUR BUTT THERE WON'T BE ANY MORE PUPPETS OR SPIDERS!!!" The class gasped and looked around in fear. Mrs. Falldorf was fuming mad. The kids were terrified of her. She said "If you don't like it here, then leave. One of the kids in the class during break went to talk to the principal about what was going on in Mrs. Falldorf's class. That made Mrs. Falldorf very angry. She screamed, "DON'T EVER TALK TO THE PRINCIPAL ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON HERE AND DON'T EVER TELL HIM OR HER WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN!!!" The kids were confused and scared. Mrs. Falldorf said, "I WILL MAKE SURE EVERYONE KNOWS WHO STOLE FROM MY CLASS!!" Then she sent everyone to their desks and said "Let's start learning about the color blue! It makes me blue to know there is a thief among us." She handed out a worksheet and told them to fill in the blanks with words from the list. When everyone was done, she said "Now we will turn to page 27 and read the story about the color blue." Cedar began to wonder if he should tell, but he was convinced the person who took his Koosh Ball Bear, would break before he did.

***

Monday came around and Cedar began to think about confessing to Mrs. Falldorf. But he didn't know what to do so he kept quiet. Mrs. Falldorf had everyone memorize the state capitals. Cedar hid one of the states from the map made of wooden pieces in the shape of states. Later someone noticed it was missing. Mrs. Falldorf flew into a rage and screamed "I WILL NOT BE TAUGHT BY THIEVES IN MY CLASS!!! I WON'T HAVE ANY MORE OF THESE MESSES IN HERE!!" The principal was walking by and overheard Mrs. Falldorf yelling at the kids. He stopped and listened. He heard about the stolen state and went to speak to Mrs. Falldorf. He confronted her and said that he understood why she was upset, but that she shouldn't take it out on the students. She said "I don't care, someone needs to take responsibility for their actions and they should be feeling guilty about what's happening," The principal told her that since she felt like she needed to make examples out of the kids, he would handle the situation.

The next day, the kids were excited because they had a substitute teacher. Mrs. Falldorf said that she was taking a personal day and that the sub would be teaching the rest of the week. Everyone was nervous and scared for their lives. Mrs. Falldorf was very mean to them today. She called names and insulted them. The kids were crying and begging for forgiveness. They were all afraid of being expelled. Cedar didn't tell anyone about the missing state because he knew it would only cause more trouble. Mr. Erikson said that if Mrs. Falldorf got fired or something, he would see to it that she would be paid back for all the trouble she caused. That made Cedar feel better. Mrs. Falldorf was so mad she said she would make sure Mr. Erikson would regret ever talking to her.

***

On Wednesday Mrs. Falldorf said "Today I'm going to show you a demonstration on how to tie shoes. I'll bring along a pair for every student so they can practice. Mrs. Falldorf brought a pair of slippers for each kid and demonstrated how to tie them. Everyone was surprised that she knew how to tie shoes. Cedar hid a shoelace and someone noticed it was missing. Mrs. Falldorf flew into a rage and screamed "I WILL NOT BE TAUGHT BY THIEVES IN MY CLASS!!! I WON'T HAVE ANY MORE OF THESE MESSES IN HERE!!" The principal was walking by and overheard Mrs. Falldorf yelling at the kids. He stopped and listened and heard the story about the stolen shoelace.

The principal told Mrs. Falldorf that if she felt like making examples out of the kids, he would handle the situation.

***

On Thursday Cedar stayed silent and didn't say anything. Mrs. Falldorf was furious because nobody confessed to stealing the shoelace. She screamed "WHO STOLE THE SHOE LACE?!? SOMEONE COME CLEAN BEFORE I MAKE SURE THEY NEVER STEAL FROM ME AGAIN!!" She told the class that she would take away recess tomorrow and make them clean the entire classroom. Her voice was loud enough that everyone could hear her. The kids were terrified that she would make an example out of them. Cedar didn't want to tell her because he knew she would get angry and throw him out of the class forever. He was worried about what would happen. He didn't want to go through all the trouble of moving schools. Cedar stayed silent.

Friday came around and Cedar feared what was going to happen. Mrs. Falldorf said "This will be my last day as the teacher in this class. I've decided to resign from this job. This has been a very difficult experience for me and I don't want to deal with any more thievery. I will be leaving at the end of the week. I hope you understand." The kids were happy and relieved. The principal told Mrs. Falldorf that he would find her another job. She said, "Thank you, you have been very kind to me." She left the room and the kids cheered. The principal asked the kids to stop cheering because he had a very important announcement to make. The students were confused and didn't know what he was talking about. He told them that he had found a new teacher for the class and he would introduce her later.

Later that morning, Mr. Erikson came into the room and said "Good news everyone, Mrs. Falldorf will not be here anymore so you will have a new teacher starting next week." The kids were excited and happy. They couldn't wait to meet her. Mr. Erikson said, "I'm very excited to announce that Mrs. Falldorf will be joining our school as a counselor." The kids gasped and looked at each other. They didn't know what was going on. Mrs. Falldorf said, "I will be your new teacher next week and I hope you all enjoy the change." She smiled and walked out of the room. Everyone was shocked and confused. Cedar was wondering what was happening and why Mrs. Falldorf was going to be their counselor. He was also wondering what she meant when she said "I hope you all enjoy the change".

***

On Monday Mrs. Falldorf said "I am not a teacher anymore. I don't know much about teaching. I was hired to be a counselor and I'm still learning how to be a good one. I'm going to teach you some things about school and life that I think will help you become successful in the future. The first thing I want to talk about is respect. Respect is something you give to other people. If someone doesn't deserve your respect, don't give it to them. It's really simple. The second thing I want to share with you is honesty. Honesty is the best policy. Always tell the truth if you get caught doing something wrong. The third thing I want to talk about is trust. Trust is knowing that someone can be trusted. You must always try to be someone you can be trusted by." Mrs. Falldorf wrote down these three rules on the board. She told them to write them in their notebooks. Cedar wrote them down as well. He wasn't sure what they meant though.

Mrs. Falldorf taught the kids about the three golden rules. She explained to them how they would use them to make their lives easier and happier. She told them "If you remember to follow those three rules, things will work out just fine. Rule number 1 is respect. Respect means giving everyone the right to do what they want without judging them. Rule number 2 is honesty. Honesty is telling the truth no matter what. Rule number 3 is trust. Trust is believing that someone can be trusted and will never lie to you." Mrs. Falldorf asked the class if they understood the three rules. No one responded. They were all confused and worried. Cedar felt like he had lost control over his life. He thought it was all his fault that Mrs. Falldorf was going to be his counselor and he felt terrible. Suddenly the voice of Mohandas Karmegan could be heard saying "no, no, no Mrs. Falldorf was never supposed to stop being a teacher you're derailing from my narrative. The children were confused. They wondered where Mrs. Falldorf had gone. Cedar started to panic because he didn't know what was happening. He looked around the class and saw everyone looking at him. Cedar suddenly remembered that he was an adult brown bear whose flaws were easily annoyed and procrastination. He panicked because he didn't know what was happening. He became overwhelmed and ran to the bathroom.

Cedar sat on the toilet and cried. He didn't know what was going on. He didn't know how to fix his mistakes. In the bathroom, his pants ripped to shreds as he transformed back into an adult bear. Cedar looked up at the mirror and his face was covered in tears. He shook his head and wiped his face. His eyes were red and swollen. He looked down and saw his paws were shaking. Cedar tried to calm himself. He took deep breaths and focused on breathing normally. He took a piece of toilet paper and wiped his nose. Cedar stood up and washed his hands using soap. He dried off his hands and looked around the bathroom. It was dirty and disgusting. There was a small puddle on the floor. Cedar hoped that the janitor would come and clean it up soon. He walked out of the bathroom and saw the class staring at him. Cedar felt embarrassed and ashamed. He wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Cedar went back to his desk and sat down. he was now too big for his desk. Cedar's heart beat faster. He was terrified. He knew he had to tell the truth and stop lying. He could no longer hide from his past mistakes. Cedar thought about how he had lied to Mrs. Falldorf about stealing the shoelace. He pushed the guilt aside and said "I remember now, a villain named Mohandas Karmegan forced me and my friends to live the memories of a person named Justyn from first grade" Mrs. Falldorf looked shocked and said, "Who are you?" Cedar said "I'm Cedar. I'm a young adult brown bear. My flaws are easily annoyed and procrastination." Mrs. Falldorf was visibly upset by this revelation. She said, "What do you mean that your flaws are easily annoyed and procrastination?" Cedar said "Well, sometimes I forget things and it makes me angry or sad. Alex piped up, "I remember now I'm Alex a 25-year-old man, and my flaws are amnesia and gullible." Mrs. Falldorf said "Alex, you're lying! I know your flaws! You were the one who stole the shoelace!" Alex said "Mrs. Falldorf, I'm not lying. Suddenly Alex became a 25-year-old man and his flaws changed to memory loss and amnesiac. Cedar was confused and thought they were talking about him. He remembered that he had promised to tell the truth but he didn't know how. He felt so guilty. While Cedar thought this Max said "I remember now I'm Max a German Shepherd, and my flaws are autism, and awkward" Mrs. Falldorf asked "How did you change? And why do you have autism?" Max said "I have autism because I forgot about my autism flaw and I don't remember being awkward so I became a normal dog. he grew to become an adult dog, and his flaws changed to autism and social anxiety. Cedar felt bad for Max but he didn't know what to do or say. He was confused. He looked at the three rules on the board and thought he should tell the truth. then Jeorgar the Dragon said "I remember now I'm Jeorgar a Dragon, and my flaws are insecure about my private parts, anxiety, and humorless" Mrs. Falldorf asked, "Why do you have anxiety about your private parts?" Jeorgar said "Because an evil wizard put a curse on me that increased their size" The class laughed hysterically when they heard this revelation. Mrs. Falldorf looked annoyed that everyone found it funny. She turned her back and walked away. Then Jeorgar grew to become an adult dragon, and his flaws changed to insecurity and humorlessness. Cedar knew he should tell the truth but he didn't know how. He didn't want to get yelled at by Mrs. Falldorf. He was scared. Cedar's heart beat fast and he became dizzy. Fenrir said "I remember now I'm Fenrir a werewolf, and my flaws are panic attacks, and pride," Mrs. Falldorf asked, "Why do you have panic attacks?" Fenrir said "I don't know" Mrs. Falldorf shook her head and walked away. Fenrir grew to be an adult wolf and his flaws changed to panic attacks and arrogance. Mrs. Falldorf looked over to Cedar and glared at him. Argo was next he said "I remember now I'm Argo a comic relief baby, and my flaws are crying and pooping myself," Mrs. Falldorf asked "Why would you cry? What does the flaw of pooping yourself even mean? And why is this flaw still active in this timeline? It wasn't like that when we left for school this morning." Argo started laughing hysterically as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

Argo grew to become an infant, and his flaws changed to crying and pooping himself. The students in the class were getting impatient and confused. The last two members of the group Elder Elder and Elder Jackson spoke in unison "We remember now I'm Elder Elder and Elder Jackson, missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and our flaw is being overly optimistic" they grew to become adults and their flaws changed to optimism and overly friendly. Cedar noticed that the classroom was empty except for him and the other students. He was overwhelmed and confused. He wondered how he got into this situation. Cedar finally confessed "I was the one who stole everything other than the Koosh Ball Bear I was trying to get the person who stole it in trouble. I didn't mean for Mrs. Falldorf to quit her job as a teacher. I was just trying to stop the thief." Mrs. Falldorf said "I know Cedar and I forgive you. You were only six years old and you didn't realize how serious your actions were. The kids weren't sure what to make of this situation. Johnathan said "Mrs. Falldorf I feel like my bladder is about to explode," Mrs. Falldorf said, "Johnathan, please go to the bathroom and empty your bladder before you wet your pants." Johnathan ran to the bathroom. The principal said "Kids, I have a very important announcement to make. I need to ask Mrs. Falldorf to leave the school. She has been working with us for the past ten years and we will miss her very much. We love her and we're grateful for all she's done for us. She will continue to stay until the end of the day but after that, she will be moving to another school." The kids were devastated. They didn't think that they would ever see Mrs. Falldorf again. Suddenly the kids who had no names but whose role was to torment the heroes all said in unison "Mrs. Falldorf I feel like my bladder is about to explode" The kids were confused and frightened. Cedar thought that he shouldn't have told the truth and that he should have kept lying. He began to panic but he knew that he couldn't keep the secret any longer. Mrs. Falldorf said "I'm sorry only one person can go to the bathroom at a time" Mrs. Falldorf was confused by this statement. Everyone turned around and saw that the classroom was empty. Mrs. Falldorf asked, "Where is everyone?" The Principal answered, "They went to the bathroom". Some came back with wet spots on their pants. The others had gone to the bathroom. Mrs. Falldorf called for the janitor. The custodian arrived and cleaned up the mess. Mrs. Falldorf gave the students a worksheet with a question on it. She told them to work together and fill in the blanks. "If you forget to respect someone, you'll never get along with anyone" and so on. The class worked diligently and finished the assignment quickly. The kids were happy that they were able to complete the worksheet. They were also glad that Mrs. Falldorf had returned.

***

The class ended and all the kids went home. The Heroes who used to be kids stayed after class. Suddenly everything around the heroes began to warp and change. They were back at the villain job fair in front of Mohandas Karmegan's booth with Mohandas Karmegan holding his evil reality warping book. The kids who used to be kids realized that they had changed back to their original forms. They were excited because they thought they had escaped the consequences of their actions.

Mohandas Karmegan said, "Oh no you don't!" Mr. Dingleberry the principal suddenly appeared and said "Mrs. Falldorf you're fired! We won't let you ruin our lives again! Get out of here and never return!"The heroes were confused when they saw Mr. Dingleberry there and didn't know how they got there. Cedar looked at the book and saw it was completely black now. He wondered if he had destroyed it or if it was in some kind of time loop. He remembered what Mrs. Falldorf had taught him and decided to try to be honest. He said "Mrs. Falldorf I'm sorry I stole your shoelace, I had no idea what it meant to steal something," Mrs. Falldorf said "You're a liar! I've seen through your lies and deception" She grew to become an evil wizard, and her flaws changed to smugness, arrogance, and lying. Mr. Dingleberry said, "I'm here to help you!" Mrs. Falldorf said "no! You've ruined my life and taken away my freedom. I should kill you!" Mr. Dingleberry said "That's not necessary. I can take you to prison instead" Mr. Karmegan said "Prison!? That's terrible! I don't deserve that. Prison is for people who have committed crimes against society. I'm a hero! I have a right to freedom and happiness!" Mr. Dingleberry said "I disagree. I have seen the evils you've done to the world. You will pay the price for your sins" Mr. Dingleberry transformed into a giant eagle and flew away leaving Mrs. Falldorf behind. The students realized that they had not accomplished anything. They had failed to stop Mrs. Falldorf and they still hadn't figured out how to fix her job. Suddenly the heroes felt dizzy and sick. Their senses were dulled. Mohandas Karmegan said, "I was so certain that I could trap you all as six-year-olds for the rest of your lives!" He laughed maniacally. Suddenly the heroes regained their senses and became adults again. Cedar was horrified and ashamed of himself for how he had treated Mrs. Falldorf. Mr. Karmegan said "You may not understand why I did what I did but I was desperate to find the one person who was strong enough to defeat me. I was willing to do whatever it took to find him. I tried to change the world by changing the minds of its citizens but I failed. Then I tried to become popular and powerful using my powers of evil. But I failed there too. Finally, I discovered an ancient spell that could turn anyone into a child. This spell allows me to control children and force them to do my bidding. I only needed one kid who wasn't afraid of me and had the strength to stand up to me." Elder Elder and Elder Jackson both told Mohandas Karmegan that they forgave him for what he had done to them

Mohandas Karmegan said "Thank you for forgiving me," Cedar said "I'm sorry for what I did to you," Mohandas Karmegan said "Thank you for admitting your wrong" The heroes felt better because they had apologized to Mohandas Karmegan. The villain said "I feel torn about what to do, on one hand, this book has absolute power, but on the other hand I could be kind and get rid of the book. I'm stumped on what to do next, and it doesn't help that I feel like my greed is a bad thing to give in to." Then he sat down on the ground. The heroes were worried about what would happen to him now that he had given up his life of evil. Mr. Dingleberry reappeared and said "I have an idea!" he transformed into a giant cat and landed on top of Mohandas Karmegan. The heroes were confused and worried about Mr. Karmegan. Mr. Dingleberry said "He won't mind. Cats don't care about humans" Mr. Dingleberry transformed into a giant eagle and carried Mohandas Karmegan away. The evil book with the ability to warp reality clattered to the ground. It lay there unnoticed. The kids who used to be kids gathered around the book. Then from the book Justyn spoke through appeared the words "Don't touch that book or it will corrupt you. Instead, use these holy tongs and place them in the portal that will appear at the same time as the tongs. It's a portal to who knows where, which is a place where it can harm no one anymore with its absolute power." The heroes were amazed and relieved to hear the words of wisdom. Alex went to the portal and placed the evil reality-warping book in the portal. The portal closed and the heroes were left holding the holy tongs. They were confused about what to do with them. Suddenly the tongs disappeared and Cedar realized that the portal had disappeared because the evil reality-warping book had been removed from it. The heroes were happy to be free of the book. On the page of the open book Justyn spoke through appeared the words" Good job on getting rid of the book, the previous group of heroes I tried to help out, one of them named Jacob, decided to ignore my warning and picked up the evil book with his hands and his personality changed. He renamed himself Mohandas Karmegan and used the book's power to change his teammates into random animal-human hybrids."

The heroes thought about what happened to Jacob and realized that they had been lucky not to have followed his bad example. Cedar thought about what Justyn said and decided to tell the others what he learned. He said "The book will distort reality if you touch it with your bare hands but it will also change reality if you place it in a portal and close the portal. So we can put it in a portal and close it, we'll be safe then, right?" Everyone agreed that this was a good plan. The heroes were glad that they had gotten rid of the evil reality-warping book. They were happy that it wouldn't hurt anyone else. They were also happy that they had discovered the secret of putting it in a portal. Jeorgar was shocked and said "Wow! I can't believe that we almost had to deal with a new Mohandas Karmegan." Everyone agreed with him, even Argo who had a scared look on his baby face. The heroes were now free to go wherever they wanted. They were excited but also sad because the villains were now gone, and they all missed being heroes. The students who used to be kids were happy that they had found the secret of putting the evil reality-warping book in a portal. Max asked Justyn "Hey Justyn could you explain what just went on" On the page of the book " appeared the words "When I was in first grade, I tried to become friends with the popular kid, and when he said no I don't want to be friends with you I told on him after he told me don't do it or else and I decided to find out what or else was. He made the class turn on me and they would say mean things like "You know what you did, stop crying, and the world isn't going to end, stop crying". My guess looking back at what I remember is that the first saying was because that happened. After all, I didn't listen to the popular kid. The second saying how I processed with they were telling me was "When the world ends everyone else gets to be happy but you, you must wail when the world ends." "That sounds terrible, how have you been able to stay positive despite what you have been through? Asked Max. "Through my faith in Jesus Christ." was the answer on the page of the book. Max thanked Justyn for his answers and left. Alex said "that was nice of you to help us out" Jeorgar said "I don't know how to thank you for what you did, but I will make it up to you somehow." "Well then Justyn, what's our next quest?" Asked Alex " on the book's open page appeared the words "look for the booth of a Villain named Karen Sylvia. She is a job coach who works at a supermarket store called Giggling Smile. Your current greatest trial to face while doing this mission is a concept called adulting. You will live in a house with the necessities needed for large animals to live comfortably and meet the needs of a baby."

The Heroes were surprised that there was a mission where they would be dealing with babies. They were excited to learn that they would be living in a house and not having to sleep in tents anymore. They all agreed that this was a good plan. Cedar thought "Well I've already dealt with a baby, so hopefully, this won't be too hard. As they walked through the villain job fair the group was once again accosted by people wanting to spread contention. They passed a man selling a magic potion that would give them muscles. He was trying to convince the group that they needed to buy his muscle-enhancing potion. Fenrir said, "I don't need muscle enhancement, my body is perfect the way it is." Another guy came over and said "I have a cure for depression and anxiety. It's called a vacation. I'll sell you my magical vacation for only $1,000.00" Cedar said "I don't have money, so I'm not buying anything." The last salesman they met was a woman who tried to sell them a magic belt that would give them superpowers. She said "I have the most powerful magic belt in the world. I'm not exaggerating, it's very real. This magic belt will increase the power of your muscles and speed up your mind, it's guaranteed to work or you get your money back" She tried to sell it to everyone but they all refused to buy it. Eventually, they found Karen Sylvia's booth. She was an elderly person about sixty when they first met her. She seemed like a person that was too kind to be at a place like a villain job fair. She had Platinum blonde hair, and wrinkles, and wore an 1800s Southern belle dress; the skirt portion was plated with various shades of black and red. The top half was white with a black midsection. Her skin was a peachy white color. Jeorgar asked her about her villain qualities and what her plans were and she said "My qualities are that I drag those I deem worthless through the coals. I act nice to gain personal information and then I misuse it to harm my victims. I enforce rules the way I remember them, not the actual rules. I use fear tactics to keep my victims in line. My goal is to give people jobs then I try to get them fired from said jobs. I also enjoy watching the world burn." She said. The heroes were confused at first but then remembered what Justyn told them about adulting. Adulting is a concept that is brought up in the book. In the story Justyn described adulting as "the ability to take care of yourself without the help of others". The heroes felt like they were ready to move on to the next phase of their lives. They all decided that they would go home to their campsite and make some changes in their lives before starting their new mission. They all decided that they were grateful to Justyn for helping them out and keeping them safe while they lived in the tent community. The heroes left the villain's job fair and headed towards home.

When they got back to the tent community there was a knock on their door. When they opened it they saw a woman with long brown hair wearing a blue jean jacket that had a big design on the front. She had a big smile on her face. The woman said "Hello, my name is Jennifer Anne Morgan and I am here to help you with your job search" The heroes were shocked that someone knew about them and was offering to help. The heroes were curious about why she was offering to help them. They asked, "What do you know about us?" Jennifer Anne Morgan replied "I'm a job counselor and I've been watching your whole journey. I've also been working closely with Justyn. I think you guys could use some help, and since I know about you I can help you get a job that you're suited for and that will pay you well. My colleague Karen Sylvia can help you get a job at Giggling Smile Supermarket pushing carts. I also have the keys to a house that can fit a dragon ready for you. I have made arrangements with some of my colleagues to help you with your transition into adulthood. I hope you consider this offer." The heroes were still skeptical about the job counselor but they were all impressed by her enthusiasm and eagerness to help the heroes. They were all tired of sleeping in tents and living in the woods, they accepted her offer and she gave them a list of things that they would need to do. They took the list and went straight to Giggling Smile to get a job at the supermarket. The heroes told the manager they had an interview and they would like to be hired. The manager a man named Darrell Dingleberry said "Okay sure, come this way. I'll go ahead and fill out the paperwork. Make sure you show up tomorrow at 7:00 AM sharp. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Oh and if you decide to take the job, please tell your friends not to bother coming here. We don't need any more trouble." The heroes agreed and left the supermarket. once they got to the new house, everyone decided on who would work and who would take care of Argo the baby. Alex, Max, Cedar, and Fenrir decided to push carts, Elder Elder and Elder Jackson would proselyte, and Jeorgar would take care of Argo.

The heroes were thrilled to have a house to stay in for however many years they would be staying. They were all excited about the prospect of getting paid. The heroes set up beds and blankets for themselves and Argo. They slept peacefully until they were woken up by a loud knocking on the door. They looked around for a source of sound and saw that the door was open. When they opened the door they found Jennifer Anne Morgan standing outside on the porch. She said "Good morning everyone! I just wanted to let you know that you are all still unemployed. I know you probably expected to have a job today, but it looks like that might not happen, and if so, you can't stay at this house. However Karen Sylvia will try her best to help you get a job." Alex, Max, Cedar, and Fenrir all told Jennifer that they were interested in trying out pushing carts. She told them "alright, let's go down to the supermarket and get you started on the application process." Alex, Max, Cedar, and Fenrir, all followed her to the supermarket. Once they were there they did the typical job application. They went through the questions and answered the phone. They had to describe what they could do and why they wanted the job. They also filled out the emergency contact form and filled out a questionnaire about their work history. Karen Sylvia helped answer any questions they had about the paperwork. After they finished filling out the forms, they went to the back of the supermarket where the employee clothing was kept. There they got their uniforms and put them on. They went out to the checkout lines where they began pushing carts in the parking lot with the help of a cart pusher named Tom who showed them the ropes. Karen Sylvia watched them from a distance.

After a few days of training the heroes were able to complete their job duties. They were happy to have a steady paycheck and to have a place to live. The heroes weren't concerned about moving out of the woods. They liked being in the woods and thought that staying in a tent city was better than being homeless. They were also glad that they had a place to stay away from the villains. The heroes would spend their days working and their nights learning how to take care of Argo. They were getting used to each other and spending time together. Their relationship had changed drastically since they left the tent community. They were now a team and they would always help each other out. They were all getting along well and making it through their new lives. After telling a few personal details about themselves, Karen Sylvia's personality changed from sweet and caring to tyrannical. Alex wore a wide-brim hat due to the summer heat that day and Karen Sylvia told him he couldn't wear it as it wasn't store approved. Alex argued with her and she said "I'll ask the next person if you're correct about wearing a hat" so she did. A man named Bob said "Yeah I'm not sure but I think it's Ok" so Karen Sylvia said "Thank you, Bob, I appreciate your help on this matter." how ever Karen Sylvia was still convinced that Alex shouldn't wear his hat and asked a second person about the issue. Alex said, "No, I can wear my hat because I'm allowed to wear a hat." Karen was getting impatient and said "Fine, I'll ask another person" so she did. The next person she asked was a lady named Doris, who said "Yes, you can wear your hat" Karen then turned to Alex and told him "Fine, you can wear your hat" Alex told her, "Thank you for letting me wear my hat." Doris said, "No problem, are you going to buy something?" Alex said, "Yes, I am." After that incident, Karen was determined to find a way to fire Alex no matter what it took.

Karen Sylvia was very patient with the heroes, but she was not afraid to threaten them with losing their jobs if they didn't do what she said. She was willing to do whatever it took to get what she wanted. The heroes were used to doing what other people told them to do and following rules that were not their own. One day, the heroes met an entitled person while doing their job. That day's shift was relatively uneventful until they met a customer named Charles. He was a rich businessman that thought he deserved everything in life and never had to work for anything. His attitude was very rude and condescending towards anyone that worked at the supermarket. The heroes were busy pushing carts and ignoring Charles' rudeness, but he eventually got to a point where he couldn't take it anymore. He became angry and yelled at one of the cart pushers. He said, "What a bunch of losers!" The heroes were surprised that he said such mean words to them and they felt bad for the guy. They decided to speak up against Charles. They told him to be quiet and that they were doing their job. Charles continued to yell at them and said "You should be ashamed of yourselves, you deserve everything you have! You work for minimum wage while I make millions off of my companies. I have enough money to give every single person who works for me a raise and a promotion, yet I choose not to. It's because I don't respect lazy people like you. I am so sick of your attitude and your rudeness. I suggest you go back to school and learn how to behave properly. And you better start respecting your coworkers or I'll have you transferred to the customer service desk." Alex responded, "Well we're sorry that you feel that way sir, and we will do our best not to disappoint you again." Karen came over and said "Charles, we need to talk" The heroes were scared because they thought that Karen was going to fire them. Karen explained to the heroes that Charles was a very powerful executive and he could easily fire them. Karen suggested that the heroes should ignore Charles from now on and that they shouldn't engage with him unless it's necessary. After that conversation, the heroes decided to keep their mouths shut when dealing with Charles and they tried not to let him get under their skin. Some of the heroes enjoyed having power over Charles though, and they would make fun of him whenever he wasn't looking. while working they met another entitled person while doing their job she was a middle age woman with sunglasses short blonde hair, fancy nails, and a designer bag with a small dog inside. She was demanding special treatment and was talking down to the heroes. She didn't have any groceries in her cart and seemed to be there just for entertainment. The heroes were kind and polite to her and did not argue with her demands. She demanded a discount on her items and the heroes refused. She said, "I have been shopping here for years and I've never gotten a discount before, so please give me one now!" The heroes explained that they have to follow a strict policy and that they won't be able to give her a discount. She got angry and said, "I'll file a complaint against you if you don't give me a discount!" Alex said "Please do so, I want to meet your supervisor!" she did and Alex repeated his request for a discount. The supervisor asked her to leave and told her to not come back. She angrily left the supermarket. Alex and the others were relieved that they didn't have to deal with her anymore. while pushing carts one day they saw a crazy person talking to themself about how their imaginary friend ruined their life. The person looked like a homeless person, but they knew that this person was not homeless. The person said "I'm sorry, my imaginary friend screwed up big time and made me look stupid in front of my boss" They looked shocked and didn't know what to say. The person said "I know you're wondering why I'm talking to myself instead of yelling at you. Well if I yelled at you, you wouldn't understand my situation, because you don't have an imaginary friend. My boss is going to fire me because of my mistake, so I'm yelling at my imaginary friend to fix this mess." Alex responded "Oh, ok. I guess my imaginary friend doesn't exist after all then." The person laughed and said, "My name is Mike, nice to meet you." Alex introduced himself and his friends and they said goodbye to Mike.

One day they met a dog-headed man looking for returns. The heroes stopped and talked to him. He told them his story. "My wife and I adopted a puppy from a pet shop. We wanted a dog to protect our house and serve as our protector. Our house has lots of valuable stuff and we wanted to keep it safe. So, we bought the dog from the pet shop. When we got home, we found that the dog was infested with fleas. We bathed the dog and treated it with flea medicine. But the fleas were not killed, and they were still alive. The dog was still infested with fleas and was covered in blood. I screamed at my wife and she cried. Now we both hate the dog. I want to return the dog and get my money back. I want to buy a different breed of dog that isn't infested with fleas." "Sorry sir I just push carts" Alex deadpanned. The dog-headed man said "Why don't you go talk to your manager? I don't see a manager anywhere around here." Alex said "I don't know where the CSM is but I can call them on my walkie-talkie." the man said, "Ok, thanks anyway." Alex called the CSM and explained that he needed to return a dog. They arrived shortly after. The dog-headed man picked up the dog's cage and said "I want my money back!" they told him that it was not possible. He got angry and yelled at them saying "What do you mean it's not possible?! I paid for this dog and I'm taking it back! Take me to your manager!" The heroes led the dog-headed man to the manager's office. He angrily sat down and started talking to the manager. They could hear him saying "This is ridiculous! This company is a joke and I demand a refund! Who do you think you are?!" The heroes stayed quiet and listened to him yell. They heard the manager say "We can't give you a refund because the dog is infested with fleas." The dog-headed man said, "That's not true!" The manager said, "Sir, I need to be honest with you, the dog is infested with fleas." The dog-headed man said "Then why did you sell it to me if you knew it wasn't flea free? You should have told me before I bought the dog!" The manager said "Well, we didn't know the dog was infested with fleas until you brought it to us, and by that time it was too late. If we returned the dog without treating it, it would die, so we decided to give you a refund instead." The dog-headed man said "How dare you treat me like this! I want to make a complaint about your store!" The heroes were confused and kept listening. The dog-headed man got up and stormed out. Alex said "Wait, what happened?" the manager said "The dog-headed man is mad and he wants to make a complaint about the store. He says that it is unfair that we gave him a refund instead of taking the fleas away." The heroes were surprised by this, but they didn't say anything. The manager said "I don't know what else to do. I can't give him a refund because he is right, even though we didn't know about the fleas until after he purchased it. I guess he'll complain and then we'll be out of business." the heroes went back to their regular shifts but Alex and the others were not happy about this situation. They couldn't believe that a complaint would ruin their store. The heroes were pretty sure that the man was lying and that the whole thing was just a bluff. One day while pushing carts Alex found a cup with a suspicious yellow liquid in it. He opened it and sniffed it. It smelled like sulfur. Alex was curious so he looked inside the cup and saw that it was filled with urine. He looked around and realized everyone was staring at him so he quickly put the cup back and put it in the nearest trash can. Everyone was surprised that he didn't throw it away. Alex said, "Sorry about that, I was just curious about what was in the cup." Karen Sylvia said, "Don't worry about it, you were only doing your job?" Alex said, "Thank you, I appreciate that!" One month after working at Giggling Smile Supermarket, Everyone made plans for a vacation with all the cash they had saved up. Everyone decided to check out a place called Palouse Falls, Wahington. When Karen Sylvia heard about it, she was opposed to them going telling our four heroes that they might not get a permanent position at work. Karen Sylvia said "I can't let you guys go on this trip because you may not come back. I need you to stay here to help me with the customers." She was upset about them leaving for a few days on the weekend next month. she said that they should talk to a list of people which included their boss. After talking to everyone but the boss, the next day Alex had planned on talking to his boss. Karen Sylvia complained telling him not to talk to his boss, they got into an argument and Alex left angry. Karen Sylvia ran away with tears running down her face. Later that day on his walkie-talkie Alex was told to see his boss, so he went to his boss's office and met with him. Karen Sylvia was also there and she told the boss that Alex talked to her earlier that morning. She said "Alex refused to listen to me, go on Alex tell them what you told me she said while pausing to sob between words. Alex felt like he had done something seriously wrong but said "Karen told me that I needed to talk to you about going on vacation yesterday, and this morning she told me not to talk to you and that made me confused" His boss said "Karen, please stop crying. I'm glad you are here so that I can explain things to you. Alex, please sit down. I'd like to tell you that you can go on vacation this summer, I just need to know that you can be a reliable worker." Alex replied, "I can be a reliable worker, sir!" The boss said "Good, I will send the paperwork to you later today. I hope you enjoy your vacation. Thank you for being such a good employee. I would like to talk to you about something alone Alex" Karen smiled and walked out of the room. The boss said "You are a very hard-working young man, I don't understand why you are afraid of Karen. All she has ever done is help you out whenever you have a question or problem. She didn't abandon you when you first started working here, and she hasn't abandoned you since. She has always been a good mentor to you and I've seen how much you care about her. Don't let some drama queen scare you off from spending time with someone who cares for you." Alex said, "I feel better now sir." He was glad that he talked to his boss. The boss then talked to Karen alone

A few weeks later, Alex and his friends were at the airport waiting for their flight. On the plane, they all got along well. Alex sat in the window seat and his friends sat across from him. They had a lot of fun and enjoyed each other's company. Alex was sitting next to a woman named Karen, who was traveling with her son. Karen told Alex that she lived in Seattle and worked at a bookstore. Alex introduced himself and told her a little bit about himself. Karen said she loved reading. She said "When I was young, my father used to bring me to the library and let me pick out as many books that I wanted.

***

Later that night Alex and his friends were walking through Walla Walla, WA near Palouse Falls when they saw a sign that read 'Welcome To Palouse Falls' Alex looked at his pocket watch and saw that it was 9:45 PM. He said "Hey guys, I think we should get a hotel room for tonight. It's getting late and we don't want to get lost in the woods." The rest of the group agreed and they got a room in the closest motel. Alex asked the front desk clerk if there was a restaurant nearby. The clerk said "Yes there is a diner right across the street. There is also a grocery store about 3 miles away if you want to cook at the hotel." Alex thanked the clerk and they went to the diner. They ordered their food and ate together. When they finished eating, they went shopping at the supermarket. Alex was carrying bags of groceries when he noticed a man in a business suit talking to the clerk. The man said, "I would like to speak to the manager, please." The clerk turned and started to walk towards the door. Alex was standing behind the man. He thought it was strange that the man was asking to speak to the manager of a grocery store. He thought maybe the man was going to complain about the quality of the food or the prices. Alex followed the man to the manager's office. The man sat down and started talking to the manager. The manager said "Hello my name is Mr. Jackson. What seems to be the problem?" Alex could hear the man say "I am here to complain about the quality and service at your store. First I would like to complain about the meat department. The meats I bought were rotten and I cannot eat them. I want a refund for the spoiled meat." Alex thought that the man must be joking. He said "That is impossible sir, we checked all the meats and they were fine. We even had a third-party inspector come in and check them as well." The man said "Are you serious? Do you have no proof that those meats weren't spoiled? I want a refund for the spoiled meat." The manager said, "No, I cannot refund you for spoiled meat." The man said, "I will take my business elsewhere then." The manager said, "I'm sorry sir, but I can't refund you for the spoiled meat." The man stood up and started walking out of the store. Alex was surprised by this and followed him outside. The man said, "I will find another grocery store that will refund me for the spoiled meat." Alex said "Sir, I don't think you understand. Our store sells spoiled meat every day and it never gets returned. I don't know where you live but I guarantee you that there won't be another store in your area that will refund you for the spoiled meat." The man said, "Fine, I will take my business elsewhere. I want a refund for the spoiled meat!" Alex said, "I'm sorry sir, but I can't give you a refund. I wish you luck finding a store that will give you one." The man said, "You're lucky I didn't call the police!" and stormed back to his car. Alex walked into the supermarket to finish his shopping. He was very shaken by what he just experienced. He was thinking about how he could get revenge on the man. He thought that he should buy some more spoiled meat and then return it to the store with a note saying 'This meat is spoiled.' He thought that this would teach the man a lesson. He tried to push it from his mind, but he couldn't. He was also worried that the man would tell other stores about this incident, so he decided to do something about it.

***

The next day, Alex, Max, Jeorgar, Cedar, Fenrir, Argo, Elder Elder, and Elder Jackson went to check out Palouse Falls

Alex was carrying all of their luggage when he saw a sign that read 'Welcome To Palouse Falls' Alex looked at his pocket watch and saw that it was 9:45 PM. Everyone was excited about going to Palouse Falls. There were Marmots everywhere who seemed to be enjoying themselves. Alex said, "Man, this place is amazing! Look at those marmots!" Everyone was amazed by the beauty of Palouse Falls and decided to take lots of pictures. On a hiking trail was a sign that said "Warning, Travel beyond this point is on unmarked potentially hazardous trails. Users assume all risks associated with travel beyond this point. Rescue costs will be at the expense of the injured party." Alex wasn't aware of the sign and he began walking past the sign. To his right was the side of a cliff. He could see a waterfall that fell hundreds of feet down to the ground below. He walked closer to the edge and looked down at the water. He was curious to know how deep the water was. He leaned over the cliff and looked down at the bottom of the falls. He wanted to jump, but he was too scared to try. He decided to turn around and continue walking past the sign. The group continued walking until they reached the end of the hiking trail. where there was a sign that said "Waring people have died here we want you to live, stay back from the cliff edge." Alex said, "Hey guys, I'll wait here for you." Everyone said, "Okay." Alex walked around the cliff and found another sign that said "Do not walk on the rocks" Alex looked at his pocket watch and saw that it was 10:00 PM. The sun had set and it was dark outside. He was feeling uneasy because he was alone. He kept looking at his pocket watch and he saw that it was 11:30 PM. He was starting to panic and didn't know what to do, but he knew that he had to go back. He turned around and ran as fast as he could to the cliff edge. He saw his friends standing there. He ran towards them and yelled "It's safe! It's safe!" Alex said, "I was really worried that I was going to fall off the cliff edge, but I'm okay now. I'm so glad that you guys are here." Fenrir said, "Oh, good! You're alive!" Alex said "Yeah, I'm glad you guys are here. I can't believe I almost fell off the edge. I'm so happy that I didn't." Alex said, "Let's go back to where we started." The group continued walking and they reached a picnic table. Alex was thinking about how he could get revenge on the man who complained about the spoiled meat. But decided the best opinion was to let a sleeping dog lie. He thought that the man probably had a bad experience with someone else and that nothing good could come out of telling the story again. Alex, his friends, and Elder Elder were sitting at the picnic table eating dinner. Alex said, "Did you guys notice that this place has no mobile phone reception?"

Alex's friends said, "Huh? No, I didn't even think about it." Alex said, "Well, I bet that guy who complained about us selling spoiled meat doesn't have any cell phone coverage either. If I was him, I would be pretty mad that he is unable to call the police when he sees someone else doing something illegal. Let's go to the top of the waterfall and see if we can use our phones." Alex's friends said, "Yeah, let's do it!" They all left the picnic table and made their way to the waterfall. Once they reached the base of the falls, they saw a sign that said "Please stay on the path." They couldn't remember ever buying them they just showed up in their pockets during the trip to Palouse Falls, and Max had a smart dog collar that worked like a smartphone for the user, only Alex, Fenrir, Elder Elder, and Elder Jackson had phoned the rest of the group was non-human and did not have pockets to began with. So they began walking up the path to the top of the falls. Alex was carrying all of their luggage and he was worried that they might tip over. He said, "Hey guys, can you help me carry these bags? I don't want to lose them on the way up." Everyone nodded and helped Alex carry their bags up the path. At the top of the path was another sign that said "Please stay on the path." Alex looked at his pocket watch and saw that it was 1:00 AM. Alex's friends asked Alex if he wanted to climb down the waterfall and head back to Walla Walla. Alex said "No, I think I'll stay here and look at the stars. I haven't seen the stars since I've been here. Oh man, I miss my telescope!" Everyone laughed and they took pictures of Alex looking at the moon and stars. Elder Elder said "I love the stars! They are so beautiful! I've never seen them this." Alex said, "Yeah, I feel the same way. I've never seen the stars so clearly. It's cool that we can see them this clearly from here." Alex's friends said, "The sky looks amazing!" Alex said, "Yeah, the stars seem bigger than normal. I wonder why that is?"

***

When Alex woke up the next morning, he was a little bit hungover. His friends were already awake and ready for breakfast. The rest of the group arrived at the hotel a few hours later. Alex's friends said, "Wow, Alex! The man in the suit came here last night and complained about you stealing his money for spoiled meat!" Alex said, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that he was going to complain about me. I thought he was joking when he told me that I would get a refund for the spoiled meat." Alex's friends said, "We're sorry that happened to you. We wouldn't want anyone to take advantage of you like that." Alex said, "Me neither." The group got dressed and went downstairs to eat breakfast. While they were eating breakfast, a man who was wearing a suit, tie, and an expensive-looking hat, walked into the restaurant and sat at a table near the entrance. He ordered food and drinks while talking on his cell phone. Alex said, "Hey guys, look who's here! That was the man who complained yesterday!" Alex's friends said, "What? Where?" Alex pointed to the man in the suit and said, "There! Isn't that the man who complained about us stealing his money?" Alex's friends looked at each other and said, "Yes, it is!" Alex said, "He sure looks rich. Maybe he's here to rob the place." Alex's friends said, "Maybe. We better keep an eye out for him." Alex said, "Yeah, let's do that."

***

Alex's friends got to the room first and waited for Alex to join them. Alex was still outside talking to the man in the suit. When Alex joined his friends in the room, Fenrir said, "You talked to him again, Alex?" Alex said, "Yeah, he's here for a business meeting. He said he wants to talk to me for a second before he meets with his boss." Alex said, "The man in the suit is looking at you weirdly." Alex's friends said, "What do you mean?" Alex said, "He keeps staring at me. I think he suspects that I stole his money." Alex's friends said, "Hmm... Do you think he knows you?" Alex said, "Probably. I don't think he'd suspect me if I walked in there without my friends here. Oh well. I guess I'll ask him for a job." Alex walked over to the man in the suit and said, "Hi, my name is Alex. My friends and I are staying at this hotel and we heard that you're hiring." The man said, "I'm sorry, but we aren't hiring at the moment." Alex said, "Oh. Okay, thanks anyway." The man in the suit handed Alex a business card and said, "Here's my contact information. If you're interested in a job, give me a call. Good luck with your career." Alex thanked the man in the suit and said goodbye. The man in the suit left and Alex's friends said, "So, what does the man in the suit do for a living?" Alex said, "He's an accountant." Alex's friends said, "That sounds boring. Why did he need a job?" Alex shrugged and said, "Who knows?" Alex's friends said, "But wait. Did he say he was an accountant?" Alex said, "Yeah, he said he was an accountant." Alex's friends said, "Then why did he leave after saying that he wasn't hiring?" Alex shrugged and said, "Who knows?" Max asked, "How much longer are we going to be staying in Walla Walla before heading back home to Penship City?" Alex said, "I don't know. I'm not sure how long we should stay here." Alex's friends said, "Why don't we do some research on the Internet and find out how long it will take to reach Penship City from here?" Alex said, "Good idea. Let's do that." Alex's friends said, "We know that we're not on the map anymore, but we want to make sure that we are headed in the right direction." Alex said, "Okay, let's get started researching." Alex typed in "Distance from Walla Walla, WA to Penship City, CA" into the search engine and then clicked on the search results link to see the distance between Walla Walla, WA and Penship City, Kreyitis Kingdom. The search results page showed that it would take 10 days to travel from Walla Walla, WA to Penship City, Kreyitis Kingdom. Alex said, "Ten days? That's a long time! We'll be stuck in this hotel for ten whole days!" Alex's friends said, "Well, it could be worse." Alex said, "Yeah. I guess. Let's continue searching for more information about traveling to Penship City." Alex's friends said, "Okay. You go ahead." Alex said, "Thanks." Alex looked at the first result on the search results page titled "Penship City Transportation Guide". The article mentioned that cars were not permitted in Penship City and that citizens needed to obtain special permits or licenses before entering the city. Alex said, "That's too bad." Alex's friends said, "Don't worry. There must be another way to get there." Alex said, "Yeah. Let's check out another website." Alex opened his laptop and searched for "Traveling to Penship City, Kreytis Kingdom". Alex read the article and learned that he could purchase a plane ticket from any major airport in the world to Penship City's international airport. Alex said, "Wow! That's great news. A plane ticket is only $3,800." Alex's friends said, "Wow! That's expensive!" Alex said, "Yeah. I know. But hey, it's a lot cheaper than a car. And it's less than half the price of a train ticket." Alex's friends said, "Yeah, it is a lot better than taking a car or a train. Let's book a ticket online." Alex said, "Okay." Alex's friends said, "We'll go to the bathroom first." Alex said, "Okay." Alex's friends left the room and Alex turned off the lights. After they were gone, Alex went over to the desk and began typing in the information on the plane ticket. Alex tried to type in his credit card number but accidentally typed in a different number instead. Alex panicked and quickly stopped the transaction by typing in his correct credit card information before the payment could go through. Alex's friends returned and found Alex sitting at the desk trying to cancel the transaction. Alex said, "Sorry, guys. I didn't realize that I was typing in a different number." Alex's friends said, "It's okay. We forgive you." Alex said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I should have checked my numbers before I paid for the ticket." Alex's friends said, "No worries. Everything is fine now. Now let's book that flight." Alex said, "Okay." Alex logged onto the airline website and purchased a round-trip ticket to Penship City. Alex's friends said, "Woo hoo! We booked a ticket! Let's celebrate!" Alex said, "Celebrate what?" Alex's friends said, "Uh... I don't know. What do you want to do?" Alex said, "I don't know. Let's go out for dinner or something." Alex's friends said, "Okay." Alex's friends asked the front desk attendant if they could use the hotel's phone to call for a taxi. The clerk said, "Sure. Just dial 9 first." Alex's friends called for a taxi and arranged to meet it outside the hotel at 2:30 PM. Alex's friends said, "Let's go to the bathroom again before we go out." Alex said, "Okay." Alex and his friends went back to the bathroom and changed into their bathing suits. They decided to go to the pool area and swim for a while. Alex's friends other than Argo the baby went to the pool first and dove in. Alex and Fenrir stayed behind and enjoyed the sun. Alex's friend Fenrir got out of the water and wrapped his towel around himself. Alex's friend Max said, "What are you doing?" Fenrir said, "I'm drying myself off." Alex said, "You can dry yourself off in the shower." Fenrir said, "What for? I just got in the pool." Alex said, "Yeah. You might get wet if you come back here." Fenrir said, "Duh. I know that. I'm not stupid." Alex said, "I'm not saying you're stupid. I'm just telling you that you might get wet if you walk back here." Fenrir sighed and said, "Fine. Whatever." Fenrir walked towards the pool again but stopped halfway there. He turned around and saw Alex standing in front of him with his arms crossed. Fenrir said, "What?" Alex said, "Where are you going?" Fenrir said, "To get into the pool." Alex said, "No. I told you not to go into the pool." Fenrir said, "Why not?" Alex said, "Because you might get wet." Fenrir rolled his eyes and walked away from Alex. Alex's friend Max said, "I can't believe it. He's such a child sometimes!" Alex said, "I know."

***

Alex's friends went to the pool and had fun swimming and playing in the pool. Alex lay on a lounge chair and watched his friends play. Alex's friend Fenris said, "Hey, Alex. Why don't you go into the pool with us?" Alex said, "No. That doesn't sound like fun." Fenrir said, "I bet it would be fun. Come on! Join us!" Alex's friends said, "Come on, Alex. Please?" Alex said, "No. I'm good right here." Fenrir said, "Come on! It would be fun!" Alex said, "Just because you say so, doesn't make it true." Alex's friends said, "Please?" Alex said, "No. I'm not going into the pool with you." Fenris said, "Fine. We'll go without you." Alex said, "Guys. I appreciate you inviting me to join you, but I'm not going to do it." Fenrir said, "C'mon, Alex. We won't hurt you." Alex said, "I don't care. I'm not getting in." Fenrir said, "Fine. Then you can just watch us." Alex's friends got out of the pool and sat on lounge chairs next to each other. Fenris said, "We're going to play Marco Polo." Alex said, "Marco Polo? Do people still play that game?" Fenris said, "Yes. We did when I was a kid." Alex's friends said, "Okay. Let's do it!" Max and Fenrir stood up and walked into the pool. Alex's friends yelled, "Marco Polo!" Max, Cedar, and Fenrir swam toward each other and bumped into each other. Fenris said, "Ouch! Watch it!" Alex's friends said, "Marco Polo!" Alex's friends swam toward each other and bumped into each other. Alex's friends said, "Polo! Polo! Polo!" Fenrir laughed and said, "This game is stupid!" Alex's friends yelled, "Marco Polo!" Alex's friends swam toward each other and bumped into each other. Fenris said, "You guys are so lame!" Alex's friends said, "Marco Polo! Polo! Polo! Polo!" Alex's friends swam toward each other and bumped into each other. Fenrir said, "Oh, come on! Quit being such a baby!" Max and Fenrir both got out of the pool. Alex's friends said, "Let's leave. This game is dumb." Alex said, "I agree. I don't think it's fun either." Alex's friends said, "Yeah. Let's go home." Alex said, "Okay. See you later, guys." Alex's friends left the pool area and went to the elevator bank. Max pressed the button for the ground floor. The elevator doors opened and Max said, "Here we go." Max stepped inside and Fenrir followed closely behind. Fenris pushed the button for the second floor. Alex's friends waited outside the elevator until it arrived. Alex entered the elevator with Fenrir and the three of them rode downstairs together. Alex's friends exited the elevator and walked out of the hotel lobby. Alex looked at his phone and saw that it was 3:30 PM. Alex's friends asked, "Where are we going?" Alex said, "I don't know. Wherever you want to go." Alex's friends said, "We haven't eaten lunch yet. Let's go eat." Alex's friends walked down Main Street to a restaurant called "Grand Escape Chophouse". Alex thought, "That's a weird name." Alex's friends sat down at a table and ordered a drink. Max said, "I'd like a lemonade, please." Alex's friend Cedar said, "A Dr. Pepper, please." Alex's friend Fenrir said, "I'll have a glass of water, thank you." Alex's friend Argo the baby said, "Um... I'll have some chocolate milk, thanks." Alex's friends all gave their orders to a waiter. Max commented on the fact that Argo the baby's first words were what he had just said. Fenrir said, "Yeah. That's weird." Alex said, "I don't understand why children always say 'Um'. It sounds so awkward." Alex's friends said, "Yeah. Kids are weird. They're annoying little brats." Alex said, "Yeah. Children are weird." Argo the baby said, "Me too." Fenrir and Max agreed with Argo the baby. Alex's friends thought, "Argh! Alex is so annoying! He's ruining our lunch! He ruins everything!" Alex said, "Excuse me?" Alex's friends said, "Nothing." Fenrir said, "I hate kids." Max said, "I don't think you can blame them. They have no choice. They were born into this world." Alex's friends said, "Yeah. Children have no choice." Alex said, "Right." Alex's friends asked, "Are you hungry?" Alex said, "Yeah. Yeah, I am." Alex's friends said, "Let's order lunch." Alex's friends ordered a steak sandwich with fries. Alex's friends said, "Yum!" The waiter brought Alex's food and everyone started eating. Max commented on how delicious his meal was. Alex said, "Wow. That looks good." Fenrir said, "It does look tasty." Alex's friends continued to talk about how good their meal tasted. After lunch, Alex and his friends walked around the city looking for a place to buy souvenirs. Alex said, "Where should we go next?" Alex's friends said, "The toy store would be good. Maybe we can get some toys to bring back home." Alex said, "That sounds like fun. I'm sure my parents will love getting presents from me." Alex's friends said, "Cool!" They walked to the toy store and bought several toys. Alex's friends said, "Let's go back to the hotel." Alex said, "Okay." Alex's friends asked, "Do you need any help carrying your purchases?" Alex said, "No. I'm good. Thanks." Alex's friends said, "Okay then. See you soon." Alex's friends went back to the hotel and rested for a while. Alex's friends asked, "So. What do you want to do now?" Alex said, "I don't know. Where do you want to go?" Alex's friend Fenris said, "Well, I was thinking maybe we could see the sights." Alex said, "Okay. Where do you want to go?" Fenris said, "How about the zoo? I've never been to one before." Alex said, "Sounds cool. What kind of animals do you want to see?" Fenrir said, "I don't care." Alex's friends said, "You don't care which animals you want to see?" Fenrir said, "I don't know. What are they?" Alex's friends said, "They're all kinds of animals. Lions, tigers, bears, etc." Fenrir said, "Whatever." Alex's friends said, "All right. Let's go." Fenrir said, "Okay."

***

Alex's friends and Fenris walked to the zoo. The weather was hot and humid. Alex's friends said, "Geez. It's hot today." Alex said, "I know." Alex's friends looked at Fenris and asked, "Is it okay if we go inside the zoo?" Fenrir said, "Yeah. Sure." Alex's friends said, "Thanks!" They walked inside the zoo and found an information desk near the entrance. Alex's friend Cedar said, "Excuse me. Can you tell us where to find the lions and tigers?" The zookeeper said, "Sure. Follow this path to the lions." Alex's friends thanked the zookeeper and followed her directions. They walked along paths through the zoo. Alex's friends said, "Look there! Tigers!" Alex said, "Tigers, huh?" Alex's friends said, "Lions!" Alex said, "Oh, wow." Alex's friends looked at each other and laughed. Alex's friends said, "Can you believe it? We found the lions and tigers!" Alex said, "I guess we did." Alex's friends said, "Let's go in and see the lions and tigers!" Alex said, "Okay. Let's do it." Alex's friends walked into the lion habitat. A lion roared at them from behind a fence. Fenrir the werewolf screamed. Alex said, "Don't freak out! It's okay!" Fenrir said, "What is that?!" Max said, "That's a lion." Fenrir said, "Why is it scary?" Max said, "It's not. It's just a lion." Alex's friends said, "Calm down, Fenrir. It's fine." Alex said, "It's not fine. I don't like it." Fenrir said, "You're scared of a lion?" Alex said, "I'm not scared of lions. I just don't like them." Fenrir said, "Then why do you think it's scary?" Alex said, "I don't know." Fenrir said, "Well, why don't you go stand over there?" Fenrir pointed to a spot away from the lion's habitat. Alex's friends said, "Thank you. For telling us where to go." Alex said, "Don't mention it." Alex's friends walked off to see the other animals in the zoo. Alex followed them. Alex's friends said, "There are more lions!" Alex said, "Really?! Wow! How many are there?" Alex's friends said, "Five! There are five of them!" Alex said, "Wow! That's awesome!" Alex's friends said, "Let's keep walking." Alex said, "Okay." The five lions paced around in their enclosure. Alex's friends said, "How cute!" Alex said, "Yeah. They're pretty cool." Alex's friends said, "Let's keep going." Alex said, "Yeah." They kept walking around the zoo. Alex's friends said, "There are more lions!" Alex said, "Seriously?" Alex's friends said, "Yeah! There are more lions!" Alex said, "Alright." Alex's friends said, "Let's keep going." Alex said, "Okay."

***

Alex's friends looked at the lions again. They seemed agitated. Alex's friends said, "Hey! Look at those lions!" Alex said, "Huh?" Alex's friends said, "Those lions are pacing around!" Alex said, "What do you mean?" Alex's friends said, "They're pacing around!" Alex said, "Hmm... Really?" Alex's friends asked, "Alex, what do you think they're doing?" Alex said, "I don't know. I don't think lions are supposed to pace around like that. It's kind of weird." Alex's friends said, "Maybe it's because they're bored. They probably don't like being cooped up in an enclosure." Alex said, "Or maybe it's because they're sick or something. Maybe there's a disease going around." Alex's friends said, "Yeah. They might be sick." Alex's friends said, "Let's go visit the tigers next!" Alex said, "Okay." The five lions paced around in their enclosure. Alex's friends said, "There are still more lions!" Alex said, "That's what I wanted to see. I'm glad I came here today." Alex's friends said, "We're done seeing all of the lions. Let's go see the tigers!" Alex said, "Okay." Alex's friends said, "See you tomorrow!" Alex said, "Okay." Alex's friends left the zoo.

***

Max, Fenrir, Alex, and the rest of the group went back to their room at the hotel. Max and Fenrir lay down on the bed. Alex said, "Man! It's hot in here." Max and Fenrir agreed with him. Alex turned on the air conditioning to cool down the room. Max and Fenrir lay on the bed. Alex said, "This is nice. This is very comfortable." Alex and Fenrir both smiled. Max said, "I feel relaxed." Alex and Fenrir nodded. Max said, "I'm glad we decided to come here." Alex and Fenrir agreed with Max. Alex said, "Yeah. Me too." Alex and Fenrir both smiled. Max said, "I'm glad we had this day together. Thank you, Fenrir, for coming with me." Fenrir said, "Yeah." Max said, "I didn't know you could talk." Fenrir said, "I can't talk like you and Alex. I'm a werewolf. We don't speak as well as humans." Alex said, "Yeah." Fenrir said, "But I can talk. My mother taught me sign language when I was a baby." Alex said, "You learned sign language?" Fenrir said, "Yeah. She signed the word 'dog' to me, and I learned it." Max said, "That's neat!" Fenrir said, "Thank you." Alex said, "Yeah." Fenrir said, "My parents taught me sign language too. I can't talk, but I can communicate." Alex and Fenrir nodded. Alex said, "I love that you can communicate, Fenrir. That's great." Fenrir said, "Thank you." Max said, "I like that you two get along so well." Alex said, "Me too. You guys are lucky." Fenrir said, "No." Alex said, "Yes!" Max said, "Yeah. You're both lucky." Alex and Fenrir both smiled. Max said, "I hope you two can stay friends forever." Fenrir said, "Of course." Max said, "I want you to stay friends." Fenrir said, "I want to be friends." Max said, "So do I." Fenrir said, "Good."

***

Alex's friends said goodbye to the group and went back to the hotel. Alex and Fenrir sat on the bed talking about their days. From the bag of infinite storage, Alex pulled out the book Justyn spoke through and turned to page fourteen. On the page of the open book appeared the words "When do you guys want to return home to Penship City, Kreyitis Kingdom? I can open a portal to your house anytime you would like." Alex said, "Um. How about tomorrow morning?" Fenrir said, "Tomorrow morning would be good. I'd like to go back home and sleep in my bed tonight." Alex said, "Okay. Tomorrow morning, then." Alex and Fenrir both smiled. Alex put the book back in his bag of infinite storage. Fenrir said, "I'll miss you, Alex." Alex said, "Me too." Fenrir said, "I'll see you again." Alex said, "Yeah. I look forward to it." Alex and Fenrir both smiled. Alex stood up from the bed and stretched. He yawned. Fenrir said, "I'm tired too. It's been a long day." Alex said, "Yeah. I am too. Good night." Alex got ready for bed. He changed into his pajamas and crawled under the covers. Alex thought about how much fun he had today. Alex felt content. Alex fell asleep.

***

Alex woke up in his bed. He saw the sun shining outside through the window. Alex couldn't believe it was already Saturday. Alex was glad to be home. Alex got dressed. He made breakfast for himself while watching TV. After eating, Alex showered and packed his suitcase for work. Alex wondered how Fenrir was doing, along with Max, Jeorgar, Cedar, Argo, Elder Elder, and Elder Jackson else were in the house. He had refunded the plane tickets, and it was finally time to go back to work and deal with Karen Sylvia, who was his, Max's, Fenrir's, and Cedar's job coach who was slightly psychotic and tyrannical.

Alex walked downstairs. He heard someone calling his name from the living room. Alex walked into the living room and saw Fenrir sitting on his couch watching TV. Alex said, "Hey, Fenrir. Where are Max, Cedar, Jeorgar, and Elder Elder?" Fenrir said, "Max is sleeping. Cedar is working on his homework. And Elder Elder is doing a devotion and reading the scriptures." Alex said, "Oh. Okay. Well, I guess we should go to work." Fenrir said, "Yeah." Alex said, "All right. Let's go." Alex and Fenrir walked to the car. Alex started driving to his workplace. Alex drove past the airport. Alex pulled into the parking lot and parked in the employee parking space by the entrance of Giggling Smile Supermarket. Alex got out of the car and walked inside. Fenrir did too. Alex walked into the store to his work locker. Karen Sylvia was waiting for Alex near the lockers. Alex said, "Hi, Karen. How are you?" Karen said, "Fine! Now let's get to work!" Alex sighed and nodded. Karen said, "Come on! Hurry up!" Alex said, "Sure." They walked towards the work area. As they walked, Karen said, "I've been looking forward to this day, Alex. I knew you would come back." Alex said, "Well if you say so." Karen smiled. Karen said, "I'm glad you're here."

They went out to the parking lot and Alex pushed carts, while Karen told him positive and negative comments in the same tone of voice she always did. Alex found a dirty diaper in one of the carts. Karen said, "Alex, clean that up before we get back to the store." Alex picked up the dirty diaper and threw it away in the garbage bin. Alex gave the cart back to Karen and they continued going back to the store. As they were walking, Alex looked at Karen and smiled. Karen said, "What?" Alex said, "Nothing."

Karen said, "Don't play games with me, Alex. I know what you're trying to do." Alex said, "What are you talking about?" Karen said, "You think you can fool me." Alex said, "No. Not at all." Karen said, "Why don't you just admit it? I know you're trying to make me angry." Alex said, "No. I'm not. Why would I try to make you mad?" Karen said, "Because you're a liar!" Alex said, "I'm not lying. I swear to God." Karen said, "Liar!" Alex said, "No. I'm not."

Karen said, "You're such a bad person, Alex. You hurt people. I've seen you do it over and over again. You have no remorse for your actions. None at all!" Alex said, "I don't." Karen said, "You're going to pay for everything you've done! I will make sure you suffer for the rest of your life!" Alex said, "I'll never change. I promise you that."

Karen said, "Whatever you say. But don't forget what I said. Your father and I will find a way to punish you for all your sins!" Karen said, "And don't think I won't tell other people what you've done." Alex said, "I don't care. They can do whatever they want."

Karen said, "They'll be sorry they ever heard of you, Alex!" Alex said, "Like who?" Karen said, "Everyone." Alex said, "Please. They aren't going to believe you anyway." Karen said, "I guarantee it!"

***

That evening Alex took Max for a walk at the nearby park to their home and talked about work stuff. Alex said, "So. How's work going?" Max said, "It's going okay. I'm having fun." Alex said, "Well, yeah. I guess you're enjoying it. I'm glad, Max." Max said, "Yeah. It's pretty fun. I get to meet lots of new people. I like meeting new people." Alex said, "Yeah. Me too. I like talking to them too. It's just hard because I can't remember anything." Max said, "You remembered that one girl named Bethany, right?" Alex said, "Yeah." Max said, "She's nice. What about her?" Alex said, "I don't know. We met each other once or twice. I mean, I forgot that we even met." Max said, "Did you get her phone number?" Alex said, "Yeah. Why?" Max said, "Do you want it?" Alex said, "Umm... Yeah. Of course." Max said, "Here." Max handed Alex a piece of paper with the number written on it. Alex said, "Thanks." Alex put the number in his phone contacts and called it. The call went straight to voicemail. Alex left a message saying hello and giving his name and number. Alex hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket. "I wonder if she'll ever text me back," Alex said.

***

Alex woke up in his bed. He got out of bed and went downstairs to make himself some breakfast. The TV was playing in the living room. Alex walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. He turned off the TV and turned it back on. Alex pulled out his phone and started texting Fenrir. Alex texted, "How are you doing?" Fenrir replied, "I'm fine. I'm getting ready to go to church." Alex said, "Where are you?" Fenrir said, "I'm at the church." Alex said, "Okay. I'll come to get you." Alex got ready and drove to the church. When Alex arrived, Fenrir was standing outside. Alex said, "Hey, Fenrir. Come on." Fenrir followed Alex into the church. Alex said, "Nice outfit." Fenrir said, "Thank you." Alex said, "Your parents must be proud." Fenrir said, "I'm sure." Alex said, "Are they coming?" Fenrir said, "I'm not sure."

Alex and Fenrir entered the chapel in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Alex said, "This is a nice church." Fenrir said, "Yes. It is." Alex said, "Do you belong here?" Fenrir said, "No. My parents don't go to church." Alex said, "Oh. Do you like coming here?" Fenrir said, "Yes. I like it a lot." Alex said, "Me too. I love this church. I wish I could go all the time." Fenrir said, "Me too."

Alex and Fenrir sat in the back row and waited for the service to start. A few minutes later Elder Elder walked in. Alex stood up and walked towards Elder Elder. He said, "Hello, Elder Elder." Elder Elder said, "Good morning. I hope you have a good Sunday." Alex said, "I do. Thank you." Alex sat back down next to Fenrir. Bishop Stevenson spoke with the congregation for about fifteen minutes. After the sacrament was passed. Elder Elder gave a talk. Alex paid close attention during Elder Elder's talk. After Elder Elder's talk, Elder Jackson stood up and said, "I'm Elder Jackson. This is my companion Elder Elder." Alex said, "How are you guys doing?" Elder Jackson said, "We're doing well." Elder Elder said, "Alex was just telling us how much he loves our church." Alex said, "I love your church. It's a great church." Elder Jackson said, "Thank you."

After Elder Jackson's testimony, Alex felt the urge to stand up and speak. Alex said, "Elder Jackson. Could I please give a small testimony?" Elder Jackson said, "Of course, Alex. Please feel free to do so." Alex stood up and walked towards Elder Jackson. Elder Jackson stood up as well. Alex said, "Thank you for allowing me to give a testimony, Elder Jackson. I know it's against the rules but I wanted to share something with you." Alex began speaking. "Elder Jackson, I know it's against the rules, but I wanted to share something with you." Elder Jackson said, "Go ahead." Alex began talking about his experiences in the church. Alex talked about his favorite times in the church and the people he's met there. Alex spoke about how much he loved the people at his church, and how much they helped him grow spiritually. Alex didn't talk much, but he kept his eyes on Elder Jackson the whole time. Elder Jackson listened carefully. Alex finished his testimony and sat back down. Elder Jackson thanked him and sat back down.

After Elder Jackson finished giving his testimony, Elder Elder asked the congregation to bear testimonies about the church. Elder Elder then bore his testimony and spoke about how important it is to follow God and listen to his guidance. After Elder Elder finished, everyone stood up and filed out of the church. Alex and Fenrir were the last ones in the church. Elder Jackson shook Alex's hand and said, "Congratulations on your baptism." Alex said, "Thank you, Elder Jackson." Elder Jackson said, "Welcome to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Alex said, "Thank you."

Alex and Fenrir got back into the car. Alex drove to the mall. As they were driving, Fenrir said, "I had a good time today." Alex said, "Me too. Did you enjoy the church?" Fenrir said, "I did." Alex said, "Me too." Fenrir said, "I like this church more than the other one." Alex said, "Yeah. I think so too." Fenrir said, "I think I'll stay here." Alex said, "Okay. That's great."

Cedar and Max met Alex and Fenrir at the mall. Cedar said, "Alex. What happened to you at the mall?" Alex said, "I don't remember." Max said, "He doesn't remember." Fenrir said, "No. I don't." Alex said, "I don't have any idea what happened either." Max said, "I'll help you figure it out." Max and Fenrir looked around the mall. Alex said, "I don't know what I was looking for. Or why I was even here. Everything seems so strange to me." Cedar said, "Maybe you should go home and take a nap." Alex said, "I probably will."

Alex and Fenrir got back into Alex's car and drove away from the mall. Fenrir said, "I like this mall better than the others." Alex said, "Me too." Fenrir said, "Do you want to stop somewhere else?" Alex said, "Sure. Why not?" Alex asked Fenrir what he wanted to eat. Fenrir said, "I don't know. Let's see what happens." Alex asked, "What do you mean?" Fenrir said, "Let's see where we end up eating." Alex said, "Okay. Where do you want to go?" Fenrir said, "I don't know. Let's drive until we find something interesting." Alex said, "Okay. Sounds good." Alex and Fenrir drove through the streets of Penship City without any destination in mind. The road led to the mountains. Alex and Fenrir continued driving. Eventually, Alex spotted a sign that read "Jade Forest Cemetery". Alex said, "Want to check it out?" Fenrir said, "Yeah. Why not?"

Alex parked the car near the cemetery. Alex and Fenrir walked towards the entrance of the cemetery. Alex looked at the gravestones. There were many names on many different graves. "Who are these people?" Alex said. Fenrir said, "These must be people from ancient times. They died hundreds of years ago." Alex said, "Why are they all buried in a graveyard? Shouldn't they be resting in peace?" Fenrir said, "I don't know. Maybe someone killed them and they're all dead now. Maybe they never got a chance to rest in peace." Alex said, "Well, let's find out."

Alex and Fenrir walked further into the cemetery. Alex stopped at one of the graves and saw a name carved on it. Alex said, "This is William Edward Winger." Fenrir said, "William Edward Winger. That sounds familiar." Alex said, "I don't know who he is, but I bet he knew a lot about this place." Suddenly the temperature dropped and the apparition of William Edward Winger appeared. He said, "Well, well, well. Who do we have here?" Alex said, "Who are you?" William Edward Winger said, "I'm William Edward Winger. And I've been waiting for you." Both of them were frozen in place. Alex nervously asked the ghost a question. "what do you want from us?"

The ghost said, "I'm here to tell you some things that you need to know." Alex asked, "What kind of things?" He told them that they remember him because they were looking at his name on a genealogy website owned by the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and had noticed that they had added records to his profile on the website, but hadn't clicked on the preserve this name for temple work option." Alex asked, "What does that mean?" The ghost said, "It means that if you go to the temple you can be sealed to your family members for eternity." Alex said, "So you're trying to tell us something?" "You need to do my temple work for me," the ghost said.

Alex asked, "Why?" The ghost said, "Because I'm not done yet." Alex said, "What do you mean?" The ghost said, "I want you to do my temple work so I can go to heaven. Heaven is the best part of life." Alex said, "I thought you only needed to have faith in Jesus Christ to go to heaven." "You also need to be baptized, confirmation of the holy ghost, initiatory, endowment, sealing to a spouse, and sealing to parents among a couple of other things," The ghost said.

Alex said, "But I haven't been baptized or confirmed yet. How am I supposed to do your temple work?" The ghost said, "Sorry, I thought you were already a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I saw you go to a service recently."

Alex said, "I thought I would check out the church, but I didn't think about joining it," The ghost said, "That's okay. You can still join. Just go to the church, and talk to Elder Elder and Elder Jackson who you live with." Alex said, "Do you want me to become a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?" The ghost said, "Yes." Alex said, "All right. If that's what you want." "however you will have to wait a year before you can go to the temple. I don't mind waiting until then."

Alex asked, "Why would I have to wait a year?" The ghost said, "You need to do a lot of things to be worthy enough for the temple. You need to learn more about the church, and everything it teaches. Until then, you won't have the opportunity to do my temple work. Sorry." Alex said, "Okay. Is there anything else you wanted me to know?"

William Edward Winger said, "Yes" Alex asked, "What else?" William Edward Winger said, "There is something very important that you need to know." Alex asked, "What is it?" William Edward Winger said, "If you don't do my temple work I will come and haunt you every day until you do it." Alex said, "Okay." William Edward Winger said, "I'll give you a minute." Alex took a deep breath and said, "Okay" William Edward Winger disappeared. A few seconds later, Alex heard a loud shriek. Alex turned around and saw something black flying toward him. Alex quickly moved out of the way. It was a raven that landed on Alex's shoulder. Alex said, "What do you want?" The raven said, "I want to talk to you about the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."

Alex said, "What church?" The raven said, "The one that you just left." Alex said, "What do you mean?" The raven said, "I want you to join the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." Alex said, "Why?" The raven said, "Because it's important."

Alex said, "Why is it important?" The raven said, "Because I want you to join the church." Alex said, "Fine. I'll join the church." The raven said, "Good! Now, let's go back to the church." Alex and Fenrir went back to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They entered the building and met with Elder Elder and Elder Jackson. Alex said, "I met with a ghost named William Edward Winger. He wanted me to join the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." Elder Jackson and Elder Elder looked at each other and smiled. Elder Elder said, "You did it!" Elder Jackson said, "Yes. You finally joined the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." Alex said, "You guys were right. This is a great church." Elder Elder said, "Welcome to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."

Alex and Fenrir talked about their experience with William Edward Winger. Elder Jackson said, "It's good to see that you finally decided to join the church. We've been praying for you since we found out about you." Alex said, "Thank you for helping me."

Elder Jackson said, "We're glad we could help you." Elder Elder said, "Now then, the first thing to do to go to the temple is get baptized when's a good time for you?" Alex said, "Whenever you want." Elder Elder said, "When's a good time for you?" Alex said, "Whenever you want." Elder Elder said, "Okay. Then it's settled. We have an opening next Saturday."

The next day at work, Karen Sylvia Alex's Job coach was being particularly difficult to him she said as he pushed carts at Giggling Smile Supermarket "You aren't doing your job right" Alex said, "I'm sorry. What do you mean?" She said, "Your cart has been moving slowly lately. You have to be faster than that." Alex finally got fed up with her and said "I no longer want you as a job coach" Karen Sylvia said, "I'm going to make you regret saying that" Alex said, "I'm serious" Karen Sylvia said, "You wish" Alex said, "I will never quit" Karen Sylvia said, "No. You're quitting now" Alex said, "no. I'm not" Karen Sylvia said, "Then we're done." Alex said, "I'm not leaving," Karen Sylvia said, "You're fired." Alex left the slow old lady and went to find a CSM in the cash office near the front of the store in an employees-only area. They talked to a kind lady named Sheree Summers about what just happened. Suddenly Karen Sylvia jumped scared Alex. She screamed "You're fired" and stormed off. The CSM told Alex he was not fired and that Karen Sylvia didn't have the power to fire people. Alex was confused by what just happened. He went back to his job and finished pushing carts.

Later that night, Alex was talking to his dad on the phone. His dad said, "Hey son. How's work going?" Alex said, "Pretty good." His dad who he suddenly remembered having said, "I'm proud of you. You've been working hard to improve your grades and even got a new job in the meantime." Alex said, "Thanks, Dad. I appreciate that." His dad said, "How many hours a week are you working now?" Alex said, "Twelve hours a week." His dad said, "That's good" He asked, "Did you get promoted?" Alex said, "No. I'm still a stocker." His dad said, "That's great" Alex asked, "Are you coming home this weekend?" His dad said, "Maybe. We'll see."

His dad's wife asked, "Hi honey. Where are you right now?" Alex said, "I'm at work." His mom just remembered having said, "You should call me sometimes. I miss you." Alex felt sad. He missed his dad. He said, "I'm sorry. I'll try to call you more often." His mom said, "That's okay. I understand." Alex said, "I love you both." His dad said, "I love you too." His mom said, "I love you too." Alex hung up his phone. He was sad that his dad was leaving.

Suddenly Karen Sylvia jumped startling Alex. He screamed, "you're fired!" Karen Sylvia yelled "You're Fired!" and stormed off.

***

Karen Sylvia sat down on her couch and started crying. She was so angry. She didn't know how she could make Alex leave his job. Alex was such a pain in the butt. He's always making trouble for her. Why can't he just stay away from her house? She cried harder. She knew she couldn't win against him anymore. She decided to beat him at his own game. She would destroy him completely. She would ruin him for life. That would teach him to mess with her. She would make sure Alex never worked again. and so she began to stare at him with intense anger whenever she saw him after that point. She heard about his baptism and decided to attend it when it would happen.

***

That Saturday was one of Alex's days off work, he got ready that morning and Max, Cedar, Jeorgar, Fenrir, and Argo all gave him words of encouragement while Elder Elder and Elder Jackson gave him words of advice. They had a quick discussion about the Book of Mormon and its basic tenets such as the thirteen articles of faith and other beliefs about the church. Later that day friends and neighbors watched Alex get baptized. Karen Sylvia tried to ruin the service but was promptly removed by one of the church leaders in attendance. Elder Elder gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. After everything was finished for the baptism, everyone ate refreshments. It was a potluck and everyone who came for the baptism (other than Karen Sylvia) had brought something with them to the baptism. Alex had a conversation with the people at the table in the gym he was sitting at. A fox that spoke the common tongue talked to Alex about how Karen Sylvia was a real sourpuss who thought Alex was a bunch of sour grapes. Now that Alex was a member his life had changed for the better and he felt like a weight had been lifted off his back

***

On Monday free of Karen Sylvia's scrutinizing microscope Alex began to relax until an entitled person backed their car into the carts. He went on to the nearest cart coral to add more carts when the entitled person came barging over very dramatically. She said "How dare you scratch up my car. Kids these days don't know how to show respect to their elders. Alex thought that he should take responsibility for his actions and apologized for what happened, then the entitled person said "Next time you should watch for cars backing up. She also said that she didn't appreciate people who parked in the middle of the parking lot. Alex said, "I'm sorry." She said, "Next time you'll be more careful." One of his coworkers came by and asked the entitled person what was going on. The entitled person said, "A cart pusher rammed carts into my vehicle. I'm calling corporate over this." Alex said, "I'm sorry." His coworker said, "You're the one who hit her car." The entitled person said, "No. I'm talking about the cart pushers who didn't even apologize." Alex said, "I'm sorry." The entitled person said, "Next time you'll be more careful." Alex said, "I'm sorry." They went over to the vehicle and surprisingly there were no scratches from carts crashing into the car.

The entitled person left filing a report. Alex said, "I'm sorry." His coworker said, "You should be." Alex and his coworker went inside to write a report of what happened and told the CSM on duty what happened.

When the CSM heard what happened, he said, "I'm surprised someone like that would file a complaint about a minor accident." Alex said, "I am too." His coworker said, "At least they won't get away with it." The CSM said, "Not if we can help it." Alex said, "Thank you." His coworker said, "You're welcome." Later that day while working a woman wearing neon purple clothes and neon green shoes walked up to Alex while pushing carts with the cart pushing machine which the cart pushers called a mule. She made animal sounds and began to mess with the mule. Alex said "Stop doing that" but she did not stop. She kept messing with the mule and made the mule push the carts in circles. After a few minutes, Alex decided to go up to her and try to calm her down. He said, "Please knock it off." She continued making the mule do weird things while laughing hysterically. Alex asked, "What is wrong with you?" She laughed louder and said "Moo!" Then ran away flapping her arms like a bird. Alex turned around and went back to work. After that a man wearing a dirty white shirt and dirty white underwear walked up to him and asked him if they sold water in containers at the store Alex said "No, you have to fill them up yourself" Then the man said, "Okay thanks." Alex wondered why the man was wearing his underwear outside of his pants. He went on to the next cart.

While he was working, people would walk into the aisle and not say anything to him. He was then asked to do a carryout for an alligator-headed lady wearing a red and blue dress in the pet department on his walkie-talkie. When he got to the pet department there no one fit the description he had been given. Later on, while pushing carts he saw someone with the description in the parking lot he walked over to the lady and said "Did you ask for assistance earlier today at the pet department" "Yeah, I did, but no one showed up in five seconds so I got tired of waiting for someone to help me find doggie diapers for my pet which I need help with because of my recent back surgery." The lady replied with a snarky tone of voice. Alex said, "Sorry, but people who can teleport can make more money acting as a transportation hub than as an employee at a supermarket." The lady said, "I don't care. I still want help finding some doggie diapers." Alex said, "Okay, let's go." He brought the lady to the pet department and found the dog's diapers. After that, while pushing carts, he found a cart with a roadkill cat, luckily for him though it was his manager's problem to deal with. While Alex was pushing carts, he found two cartons of spoiled milk. He put them aside and went on to the next cart. He then found a carton of rotten eggs. He took the cartons and threw them into the garbage cans. As he was walking back to the store, he was approached by a woman wearing a pink shirt and brown pants. She was holding a baby in her arms. She said, "Can you help me find a diaper rash cream?" Alex said, "Sorry but I just push carts outside the store." She said, "I just want you to tell me where it is on the shelf, it's okay, I don't mind if you look." Alex said, "No, thank you." She said, "Alright, well good luck." Next on his list of unfortunate events for the day included finding some baby diapers, used sports magazines, religious pamphlets, rotten vegetables, forgotten groceries, smartphones, wallets, random clothing items, trash from local fast food joints, coffee cups, and a puppy. Alex threw away everything but the groceries, phones, wallets, and the puppy which were taken to customer service where Alex met the puppy's mother who told him "Thank you for saving my baby."

Alex was getting a little frustrated. He was starting to think that maybe he should give up being a cart pusher. He was trying very hard not to lose his patience. Then he went back outside to push more carts, there was a riddled man who came up to Alex and said " My phone, have you seen my phone? I can't leave without my phone!" "You're going to have to be more specific than, I just handed a bunch of phones to customer service," Alex said. "Right here," the man said. Alex took the phones and went to customer service where he gave them to the CSM. After that, he found another man with a broken cell phone, but this time the man was already at customer service. The man said, "This is my only way of communicating with my family." Alex said, "Let me see it." The man showed Alex his cell phone. The screen was cracked and the battery was dead. Alex said, "I'll be right back." He went outside and found a blackberry charger. He plugged the charger into the man's phone and charged it. The man thanked him and left.

Later on, while pushing carts, he found a homeless guy sitting on the ground with his hand out. Alex said, "Sir, do you need any help?" the man replied, "No, I'm fine." Alex said, "Are you sure?" The man said, "Yeah, I'm fine." Alex said, "Well, have a nice day." The man said, "Thanks, you too." Alex noticed that the man's shoes were in bad shape so he went to customer service and told them about it. A few moments later the man returned to his feet and walked off.

Alex thought about what the man had said. He wanted to help people, but he couldn't help everyone. He tried to remember what the Bishop told him. Alex was worried about his job, but he knew that God would guide him through it. He was sure that he would be safe.

One evening after a long day of work, Alex was going home. He arrived at his house and was happy to be back. He was exhausted from all the pushing carts and dealing with difficult customers, but he knew that he needed to keep moving forward. He opened the door and was greeted by Fenrir the werewolf saying, "Hi Alex." Alex said, "Hello Fenrir. Are you hungry?" Fenrir said, "Yes. Can you cook me something?" Alex replied, "Sure." While Alex was cooking dinner Fenrir sat at the table along with everyone else and enjoyed the meal. The next morning Alex woke up to find Fenrir sleeping on the couch. Alex smiled and went to work.

***

During the day, Alex pushed carts while he kept an eye on the parking lot. a unicorn asked him "Do you know what time it is sir?" " It's 12:15 PM," Alex said after pulling out his pocket watch. The Unicorn then asked "Do you know if the Bus has been by yet, I need a ride to Cerberus City" Alex said"Sorry but I'm not sure. However, a bus will show up around 1 PM." The Unicorn thanked him and went on his way. Alex then encountered another person asking for a ride to Cerberus City. This time the person was a woman in a purple shirt and jeans. She asked, "Do you know if the Bus has been by yet?" Alex said, "Yes, the bus comes every hour on the hour." The woman thanked him and went on her way.

After that, Alex was delivering the food to his next customer when he noticed a man who looked like a knight in armor standing on top of a cart. He asked, "Excuse me, are you looking for something?" The knight said "Yeah, I lost my wife somewhere between here and the produce section. Do you know where she could be?" Alex said, "Sorry, but I don't." The knight said, "Alright then." Alex started to walk away, but the knight called after him, "Hey! Wait." Alex stopped and turned around. The knight said, "Do you believe in magic?" Alex said, "Of course I do." The knight said, "Then I have a question for you." Alex said, "What is it?" The knight asked, "How many unicorns does it take to screw in a light bulb?" Alex said "No, I don't," The Knight said "One to screw in the light bulb, and one to screw in your head for being so gullible! Ha ha!" Alex just stared at the knight and walked away.

While working another customer came up to Alex and said "Excuse me, do you know if the bus has come by yet?" Alex said, "No, not yet." The customer said, "It was supposed to come by an hour ago." Alex said, "I'm sorry but I don't know." The customer said "Great!" and left.

Later on, while pushing carts, Alex found a box of condoms on a cart. He decided to take them to customer service. There he found a man wearing a black shirt and grey shorts. He said, "Thank you for bringing those to customer service." Alex said, "No problem." The man said, "So do you work here or something?" Alex said, "Yes but, I just push carts." The man said, "Cool. Well, have a nice day." Alex said, "You too."

***

It was later that night after Alex had finished his shift. He went home and got ready for bed. After putting on his pajamas, he looked at the clock and saw that it was 4 AM. He changed his clothes, brushed his teeth, and went to sleep. He dreamed that four werewolves that were angry at him stood on each side of him. Their bloodshot eyes sent shivers down his spine. He thought to himself that they must be sleep deprived of their overgrown teeth which kept on growing. He is oblivious to the fact that they were snarling and trying to scare him but it wasn't working. Suddenly one of them growled at him and said "Why aren't you afraid?!" He then woke up and realized that an angry person was standing over him and that it wasn't a dream. The person said, "Why haven't you been scared yet?! You're going to be the death of us all! We're all going to die!" At this point, Alex started to panic and fell out of his bed. Alex was screaming and yelling for help. The person was laughing and said "Haha! You're just too dumb to realize that we're all going to die anyways! Why should you be scared? It's not like you're going to die anytime soon. Ha Ha!" Alex was panicking and screaming for help. The person laughed and walked away. Alex looked at the clock and saw that it was 6 AM. He changed his clothes, brushed his teeth, and went to sleep again. He kept dreaming that four werewolves were angry at him and that they were going to kill him. He didn't even notice that he slept through the day.

***

The next day, Alex decided to go back to work. He was still mad about the entire situation regarding the unicorn, knight, and werewolf. He wasn't planning on doing anything stupid. He decided to go to work early so he wouldn't run into any problems. He arrived at the store and saw a man wearing a black shirt and grey shorts. He said "Good Morning." The man said "Good Morning." Alex asked, "Do you know if the bus has been by yet?" The man said, "No, but they should be coming any minute now." Alex said, "Alright. Thanks." The man said, "Thank you." Alex continued on his way.

He then proceeded to push carts with the cart-pushing machine and saw a lady The moment he saw her, Alex couldn't help but stare. Her hair was a bright shade of pink and styled in a messy bun, with several strands falling over her forehead. She wore a tight t-shirt with an image of a cartoon cat on it that read "Meowdy!" and leggings with various fruits printed all over them. Her shoes were neon green and looked like they belonged to a clown. As she walked by him, she let out a loud belch, followed by a cackle. Alex could smell the alcohol on her breath from several feet away. She turned to him and gave him a toothy grin, revealing several missing teeth.

Alex had never seen someone so drunk in his life. He thought to himself how disgusting she looked. Alex was disgusted and didn't feel comfortable around her. He was thinking, 'What if I make a mistake and accidentally bump into her?' He knew he couldn't do that because she would get mad. After pushing some carts, Alex found a man who was wandering around the parking lot. The man was wearing a white shirt and blue pants. He had a small build and dirty blonde hair. The man said, "Excuse me, do you know where the bus stop is?" Alex said, "No, I'm sorry." The man said, "It was supposed to come by an hour ago." Alex said, "Sorry, I don't know." The man said, "Oh well." Alex continued pushing carts and found a man who was sleeping on the ground with his hand out. Alex said, "Excuse me, do you need some help?" The man said, "No, I'm fine." Alex said "Alright then," The man said, "Thanks for asking." Alex was glad that he didn't have to deal with any more drunken people. The next person he saw was a man in front of him with a stained wife-beater and sweatpants that were too small for him. His belly hung over the waistband, jiggling with every step he took. He had on flip-flops with socks and his toenails were long and yellowed. As he reached up to grab a box off the top of his shopping cart, Alex couldn't help but notice the thick tufts of hair sprouting from his armpits. The smell emanating from him was a mix of body odor and cigarette smoke. He turned to Alex and let out a loud burp, scratching his belly as he did so. "Excuse me," he grunted before lumbering away, leaving him to wonder how someone could let themselves go like that.

After pushing carts for a while, Alex encountered the man in the white shirt and blue pants. The man was talking to a unicorn. The unicorn asked, "Do you know what time it is, sir?" The man said, "It's 5:30 PM." The unicorn said, "Do you know if the bus has been by yet, I need a ride to Cerberus City." The man said "Sorry, but I'm not sure. However, a bus will show up around 6 PM." The unicorn thanked him and went on his way. Alex thought to himself that the unicorn was lucky to have such a kind man as their driver.

***

The next person he saw was a woman in a purple shirt and jeans. She asked, "Do you know if the bus has been by yet?" Alex said, "No, not yet." The woman said "Great!" and walked on her way.

***

The next time he saw Karen Sylvia, (the evil job coach,) she was helping a new cart pusher whose name tag said "Johnny" Alex saw Johnny touch the top of his lip to the tip of his nose and Karen Sylvia told him to stop doing that and he reacted in an autistic manner. Alex was still angry with the entire situation.

After pushing carts for a while, Alex ran into a homeless man who was laying on the ground. Alex said, "Excuse me, do you need some help?" The man said, "No, I'm fine." Alex said, "Alright then." The man said, "Thanks for asking."

After pushing carts for a long time, Alex encountered a woman in a purple shirt and jeans. She asked, "Do you know if the bus has been by yet?" Alex said, "No, not yet." The woman said "Great!" and walked on her way.

***

After pushing carts for a while, Alex ran into a man wearing a white shirt and blue shorts. He had a thin build and dirty blonde hair. The man said, "Excuse me, do you know where the bus stop is?" Alex said, "No, I'm sorry." The man said "Oh well." Alex continued pushing carts and saw a man who was lying on the ground and staring up at the sky. Alex asked, "Excuse me, do you need some help?" The man said, "No, I'm fine." Alex said, "Alright then." The man said, "Thanks for asking." Alex continued pushing carts and saw a man who looked like he might be on drugs. He was wearing a red shirt and blue pants, he had short brown hair and a mustache. The man seemed to be in his mid-twenties, but he had a blank expression on his face. He was looking up at the sky and breathing heavily.

After pushing carts for a while, Alex ran into a man wearing a white shirt and blue shorts. he was sitting on the ground with a creepy smile looking intensely at a small pebble. Alex asked, "Excuse me, do you need some help?" The man said, "No, I'm fine." Alex said "Alright then," The man said, "Thanks for asking." Alex continued pushing carts and saw a woman named Karen who was sitting on the ground with a big grin on her face.

***

After work, Alex took Max (the dog who could speak the common tongue) on a walk and they talked about work.

Alex said, "You're not mad at me anymore." Max said, "Yes I am. But I'm also relieved. You've given me a new perspective on human behavior." Alex said, "I'm glad you feel better." Max said, "Thank you, Alex." Alex said, "You're welcome."

After walking Max home, Alex noticed that his home was completely dark. He couldn't understand why his electricity hadn't come back on yet. He went inside and called his mom.

She picked up on the third ring. She said, "Hello?" Alex said, "Hey Mom, it's me." She said, "Hi sweetie. How are you?" Alex said, "I'm okay. What happened to my electricity?" She said, "It came back on earlier today." Alex said, "Really?" She said, "Yup. Why?" Alex said, "Well, I can't see anything." She said, "What do you mean?" Alex said, "My house is pitch black. The only light comes from the moon outside." She said, "That's weird. Don't you have any candles or something?" Alex said, "Yeah, I have plenty." She said, "Okay. Well, I'll call you later." Alex said, "Alright."

After hanging up the phone, Alex decided to go outside and watch the stars. There were thousands of them streaking across the sky. He thought to himself, 'Man, I wish I could figure out what these are.' He was interested in astronomy and was planning on starting a club at school soon.

As he sat there watching the night sky, he got a text message from "Mr. Smith". It read "Wake Up." Alex woke up to find Max the dog, Jeorgar the dragon, Cedar the Bear, Fenrir the werewolf, Argo the baby, Elder Elder the missionary, and Elder Jackson the missionary in the middle of the group they were in a white void in the middle of the group was the book Justyn spoke through it opened itself to page fourteen. on the page of the open book appeared the words "I'm rebooting your reality at the moment, my AI assistant who helps me write your story is bugging out at the moment. Ever since I let you go on a trip to Palouse Falls there have been a few conflicting details in the story I need to fix. You live in a fantasy world so that means modern appliances are no longer part of your story with a few exceptions. Somehow you gained parents Alex even though you were summoned to a different world. Your smartphones and dog parents are no longer part of the story. Please use a pocket watch to tell the time. TVs are now magic crystals that project Holograms like a knockoff TV. Your goal is to get Karen Sylvia fired from a workplace that wants to keep her unless you play the right card. Also, I need to fix the fact that Max, Cedar, and Fenrir are missing from work at Giggling Smile Supermarket. By the way, you'll need help from a good job coach to get Karen Sylvia fired from her workplace." Suddenly they found themselves in their house with pocketwatches in those who had pockets. They knew how to use the magic crystal that made Holograms like a knockoff TV and their light sources were magic-based now. Max said, "We're back!"

Alex said, "Good!"

Fenrir said "Cool!"

Jeorgar said "Wow!"

Elder Elder said "Hooray!"

Argo said "Yay!"

Cedar said "Welcome Home!"

Alex said "Finally! I thought we were going to be stuck here forever!"

Fenrir said, "I hope not."

Jeorgar said "Me too."

Karen said, "I don't think so."

Elder Elder said, "I'm pretty sure this is a glitch." Alex said "A glitch? I thought glitches were bad?" Elder Elder said "Usually."

Alex said, "Why would you say that?"

Elder Elder said, "Because glitches are usually meant to break things."

They all felt the house shake. Alex said, "What was that?"

Elder Elder said "Don't worry about it. That was just a glitch."

Alex said "Geeze...I guess so."

Fenrir said, "It wasn't a glitch."

Argo said, "Maybe it was a magical tremor."

Cedar said "Or maybe it was a shockwave."

Alex said, "Whatever the cause, it looks like our adventure is finally coming to an end."

on the page of the open book appeared the words "No, I still have an undisclosed amount of Villans based on my trauma as a child and an adult I need you to face before this story ends, which will reveal a big twist I hinted at in the prologue. This is a good cliffhanger spot for ending chapter Three though."