by Saless
Chapter 23

The next day was largely the same, with Sarah staying home and playing games while Jill and Mike worked. She was just starting to get bored when they came in. After another pleasant night in Sarah had a quick chat with Erica and went to bed.

In the morning Sarah got ready for work with trepidation. She was eager to see what it was like at work without her three main tormentors, but she was also nervous about going back there after what happened. Mike was once again taking her to work, as she hadn't gotten a new driver's license yet.

"You ready?" he asked when she came out of her bedroom. She nodded, so they walked over to his car and climbed in.

"You okay?" Mike asked as he was putting on his seat belt.

Sarah shrugged. "I'm a little nervous, I guess. Monday was pretty crazy." She admitted.

Mike nodded and started the car. "Yeah, I guess it was. Even without the way it ended. If I'm late to pick you up today, stay inside, okay?"

"Sure." Sarah agreed. "I think I probably would have anyway."

When they arrived Mike insisted on going in with Sarah again. As soon as they'd entered the building Tiffany came running over. "Hey Sarah, how are you doing?" she asked.

"Fine." Sarah replied uncertainly.

"How have things been since Monday?" Mike asked.

"Busy! We've had to work overtime to make up for losing four people all at once like that. Everyone will be glad you're back Sarah, it'll take some of the pressure off of them." Tiffany replied.

Mike lingered like he had on Monday, but quickly saw that the atmosphere was completely different. A few people asked Sarah how she was, the rest just kept working. No one was showing the outright hostility that had been there previously.

"Here to make sure Sarah's safe?" Mr. Holsteader asked Mike as he walked up to him. "I don't think you have to worry about her anymore. I've made it clear to everyone that they would follow John and Bob if they gave her any trouble."

"It's like a different place, isn't it?" Mike replied.

Mr. Holsteader nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't see what was happening, but now things have really changed around here. I think everyone will benefit from it, especially once I've found replacements for those three."

"Was Kyle stealing from the store?" Mike asked curiously, remembering some of the things he'd said before being arrested.

"I think so, Tiffany's still going over the records. The way she's been frowning, I don't expect I'll like what she finds." Mr. Holsteader replied.

"I guess not. Well, looks like Sarah's in good hands here." Mike said. "I've got a judo class to teach." With that Mike left and Mr. Holsteader returned to his office.

Tiffany kept Sarah busy the rest of the day, helping her to go over the records whenever she had a break from her normal work. Sarah thought she saw Tiffany giving her odd looks when she thought Sarah wasn't looking, but she couldn't figure out what they were about.

Mike was early to pick Sarah up. He watched as she worked and was amazed at the difference. Sean had always hated his job, but Sarah almost seemed to be having fun! What a difference! I wish she'd talked to Mr. Holsteader a long time ago. he thought.

Once she'd clocked out Sarah walked with Mike back to his car. "How was it?" Mike asked.

Sarah grinned, "Great! I've never had a better day at work before! Tiffany is so much better to work with than John was."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me." Mike replied dryly. Sarah laughed in agreement.

Mike drove them home and they walked in to find Jill already at work on dinner. "Want some help?" Sarah asked.

"Sure." Jill agreed. Mike returned to the living room while they worked on dinner. "So how was your day?"

"Best workday ever!" Sarah replied with a grin.

Jill smiled back, "I'm glad to hear that. At least something good has come from this, right?"

Sarah nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah, I guess it has."

"So I suppose you'll want to get back to finding yourself a cure, right?" asked Jill.

Sarah nodded, "Of course! I haven't found a good story to use yet, but I will."

Jill nodded, but frowned when Sarah wasn't looking. They worked in silence after that until dinner was ready.

After dinner the three of them spent the rest of the evening reading again. They didn't find anything that night. "We'll find something soon." Mike said. He said goodnight to Sarah and Jill gave Sarah her customary goodbye hug.

Sarah was eager to talk to Erica and hurried home. She booted up her computer and logged on, but Erica was late. She started a load of laundry while she waited. Erica still wasn't on, so she got ready for bed. By the time she was ready Erica had finally logged on.

SeanDreamer has logged on
Erica378 has logged on

<SeanDreamer>: Hi Erica, everything OK?
<Erica378>: Yeah, sorry I'm late. How was work?
<SeanDreamer>: Great! Tiffany kept me busy, but it was still great!
<Erica378>: So no more harassment? No more name calling or shoving or anything?
<SeanDreamer>: Nope! It was almost fun! :)
<Erica378>: That's wonderful!
<SeanDreamer>: They still keeping you really busy?
<Erica378>: Yeah, but that's not why I was late. I was getting ready for Christmas break.
<SeanDreamer>: When are you going to your parents?
<Erica378>: Classes are over until after New Years after tomorrow, but I'll use the weekend to get ready to go and finish up my work. I'll be there Monday.
<SeanDreamer>: Tell them hi for me.
<Erica378>: Will do! Tell Mike and Jill hi for me!
<SeanDreamer>: OK! I love you!
<Erica378>: Love you, too! Bye!
<SeanDreamer>: Bye!

Erica378 has logged off
SeanDreamer has logged off

Sarah sighed as she thought about Erica going to her parents. She hadn't been back to her own parents for a couple of years, not that she minded. They were always getting on her case about college. Erica's parents were another story. They always treated Sean like their own, but without the nagging. She wondered briefly what they would think of Sarah, but she hoped they'd never have to meet her.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she powered down her computer and climbed into bed.

Sarah awoke refreshed in the morning and quickly got ready for the day. She checked to make sure her laundry was dry from the night before, then hurried out to meet up with Mike. He was just leaving his apartment when she got there.

"Wow, someone's up early today! Usually you're a lot slower getting up in the morning." Mike commented.

Sarah smiled, "I slept well, I guess. Ready to go?"

"Sure." Mike replied, unlocking his car. They climbed in and drove over.

"I don't think you need to come in today, Mike." Sarah said when he started to get out of the car.

"Oh, yeah, I guess that's been taken care of." Mike said with a chuckle. "Have a good day!"

"You too!" Sarah called back as she closed the car door. Mike drove off with a wave, which she returned before walking inside.

"Sarah, I'm so glad you're here!" Tiffany called out, rushing over to her. "We've got a new hire to train, can you hold down the fort while I do that?"

"Uh, sure, I guess." Sarah said uncertainly.

"Thanks!" Tiffany said with a grateful smile, rushing off again. Sarah shook her head in bemusement and clocked in. She checked in with everyone and got to work. She'd filled in for John a couple of times when he was on vacation or sick, so it wasn't completely alien to her.

Sarah saw Tiffany escorting the new girl around several times, but she was too busy to stop and talk. The day went by quickly, but Sarah felt invigorated instead of worn out.

"Everything go okay?" Tiffany asked when they met at the time clock.

"Sure. It was busy, but nothing unusual." Sarah replied while clocking out.

"Good, Tina's coming along great, so I'll be able to leave her with you on Monday." Tiffany said happily.

"Great." Sarah said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Tiffany laughed, "Don't be like that, she's nice. I don't think you'll have any problems with her."

Sarah said goodbye to Tiffany and walked over to the entrance to wait for Mike. She caught Tiffany giving her a strange look, but Tiffany looked away and hurried out when she saw Sarah looking.