The alarm shrieked its horrid tone and Beth awoke with a jolt. She nearly smashed her phone against the wall but controlled herself just as she raised her hand.

With a deep groan, Beth went off to do her daily activity. Straight toward the bathroom to freshen up. After a quick shower and some clean clothes, the fox sought out a meal. All she could find was a box of cereal, sadly there was no milk. Beth silently cursed Cooper as she blamed him for the lack of provisions. There weren't even eggs in the fridge.

It was the owl's turn to buy groceries yet he had not done the task given to him. Beth was gonna make sure he remembered next time.

That's when Beth realized that there were some bread rolls on the table. Still warm as well. She assumed Trusty had bought them since it would seem that Cooper had not returned. There was no sign of that owl as he would always be there in the mornings. Always happy and content.

Trusty loved bread rolls, and he preferred them plain. But Beth wanted something sweet, and there wasn't any cheese spread or anything. Not even a jar of chocolate.

The morning couldn't be worse.

"Hey, Beth!"

She was greeted by Jack as she stepped out into the streets. He was there in his car which surprised her.

Jack had wanted to see if Cooper was around but Trusty informed him that the owl still wasn't home. So he decided to wait for his coworker instead.

There weren't any complaints, Beth learned to accept life as it is. It was also a free ride, so it beats taking the bus.

Before anyone even knew, the two were already on the road. Beth of course used the radio to play her taste in music. The two were silent as they journeyed back to the amusement park. Jack did try to initiate a conversation but Beth simply gave him a solid glare. So in the end he focused on the road instead.

Soon the two arrived at work. And as expected, Lucy was there to greet them. But this time at least, Miss Smith was there as well. Beth didn't want to be bothered by Lucy's positivity early in the morning. So Jack was left alone with his superiors.

"Mr. Kennedy, so glad to see you today. How has Happy Town treated you?" Glinda asked.

"It's fine, Beth had been showing me around the place and teaching me the ropes."

"She did?" Glinda was surprised to learn of the fact. "Well, I'm glad having you as her charge made her an eager employee."

"Y-yeah!" Lucy agreed. "This little investment paid off quicker than I believed."

"As always, you know better than I do. I wanted to place you in our show, Jack. But Lucy believed that it was too imprudent of a choice. So instead we started small and partnered you with Beth who we all agreed was a great choice. Even now we see that we've made the best decision."

"Well, Beth wasn't that much trouble. She and I are doing well." Jack informed his boss.

"I'm happy to hear that, if you ever feel like changing your job, just ask. We have so many ideas that could benefit us all." With that, Glinda gave them a short goodbye and left.

"So," Lucy began. "Have you eaten breakfast? It's gonna be a long day and you'll need all the energy you can get."

"Oh yeah, I had some eggs, nothing exciting. What about you, anything new?"

"Well, I had prepared some lunch for today. If you'd like, we can eat it together later. Do you like Chinese?"

"It's alright, I have some sandwiches I made last night. Beth and I will be at the back of the warehouse if you'd like to join us."

"Beth?" Her smile nearly broke. "Right, I'll see you then. You should go and change now…"

"Will do,"

The change of attire was better than the first time. At least Jack was used to having his hair colored unlike before.

But unlike yesterday, today was a different story.

It went on like a calm stream of water. Jack and Beth performed their usual tricks just to sell balloons. They gave their pointless efforts just so the amusement park could earn some pocket change. That was true, the money they brought was small in comparison with the rest of the attractions. Mascots, or suit performers, were just there to add a little fantasy of meeting fictional characters. In this case, Felicia Fox and Hugh Mann.

Their gimmick, one that the two had decided on, was to simply play party tricks. Beth couldn't speak as it was a rule for her class of suit performing. So she allowed her hands to speak for her instead. Jack was the voice of the team, he used his knowledge of philosophy to try and captivate the crowd. But children aren't that interested in such things, so all he achieved was boring the main audience.

Well, it did open to some jokes and humorous decisions. Such as Felicia mocking Hugh for his boring performance. This seemed to entertain the kids and a comedic duo was born.

There were times that they had to stop under a tree just so Beth could cool off. Being stuck in a thick costume made her a little steamed.

The day went by, and Jack was met with a rude family. They demanded so much that he could tell Beth was near her breaking point. He tried to calm the fox down, but it ended up with Beth and some dad caught in a tussle. Took a while before security separated the two wild animals. Beth was certainly strong despite her appearance, as the dad suffered more bruises than her. Jack even bet that she broke that man's rib.

Well, once everything was sorted out and Beth was threatened with being fired after this by the rude family, the two continued around the amusement park.

Jack needed to make sure that he would prevent Beth from attacking another guest, the idea of a leash came to mind but that sounded a bit problematic. Either way, the two must avoid any more conflict, or else Glinda would be on them before you can say banana. A second skirmish would surely be trouble for Beth.

"Wait… You're allowed to fight guests once a day?" Jack asked with disbelief.

"Yeah, my character is a hot-headed farmer that doesn't like troublemakers. Felicia Fox won't be merciful if she catches you."

"And Glinda just let you? So much for the 'customer is always right' motto."

"She won't fire me, Glinda was best friends with my mom and owed her a bunch. Just honestly can't stand terrible guests. I sometimes think that I'm more suited for security work instead of this nonsense."

"I should really decide on a gimmick."

"You can be Felicia's punching bag, everybody will laugh for sure."

"Funny, I'd rather just be the boring philosophical clown."

"Guests."

Beth went silent after she called out the approaching family.

By now, Jack stuck with his idea. He gave little words of wisdom and some poems he learned back in college. He tried to amaze the audience with fancy words and ideas. But the ones who only listened were the adults. The children preferred Beth's little dances rather than philosophy. The two spent their shift selling balloons and earning tips. And they earned more than yesterday which really made Beth happy.

Lunch came by and the two were out of their costumes. Jack and Beth continued discussing Hugh's character and what gimmick he needed while on the way to the back of the warehouse. Then the subject changed and Beth was curious about what Jack brought for lunch. She didn't mind that it was the same as yesterday but felt great joy upon learning that Jack added some slices of cheese this time.

But imagine her shock when they were met with something out of place. There was a picnic table right there, just a few feet away from the back entrance. Not just that, but it was one of those tables that had a large umbrella on it. What really irked Beth was that someone was under it.

Lucy, the assistant manager.

"Lamb on the cross, what are you doing here!?" Beth snapped at Lucy as soon as they were face to face.

"Jack offered to share some lunch, so I figured we should have a comfortable place to sit."

"Jack!?"

"I'm sorry, it just kinda happened, you know?" He explained himself.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Well, you two can enjoy your lunch together, I'm leaving!"

But before the fox could even take a step, Jack caught her. "Beth, it's just lunch. Not like you'll have to be friends with her."

Beth glared at him for a moment.

"Come on, I'm sure Lucy won't bite."

Though he was reluctant, Jack didn't mind having lunch with Lucy. It was just for an hour or so, not like they had to spend a whole afternoon.

Beth ended up conceding.

Lucy brought some interesting choices. Noodles, fried rice, egg rolls, and dumplings. Honestly, it looked like Lucy prepared for more than three people and Jack wondered if there were.

He just brought a BLT sandwich with some cheese, but Lucy got them a feast. And if he was knowledgeable about Chinese food, he'd know what kind of noodles Lucy brought.

"So, how was your morning?" Lucy was quick to initiate a conversation.

"Beth got into a fight with a guest."

"Hey, he deserved it! Guy was being rude."

The smile on Lucy's face twitched. "Oh? That means you aren't allowed to hurt any more people today! That's… sad?"

Beth snickered into her hand. "Yeah, I wish I could pummel bad guests all the time. Jerks need to remember that we aren't just mascots."

"Is it because you fight for the people or do you want an excuse to commit violence?" Jack wondered with a sly grin.

"We've only met yesterday yet you know me so well, Jack. You sure you aren't my stalker?"

"If I was a stalker, you wouldn't really be my choice."

"Now that just hurts."

Lucy watched as the two laughed, unsure as to what was humorous as the joke escaped her. All she could was awkwardly laugh along with them.

"This food is really good, we should invite you to have lunch with us more often!" Beth suggested as she went for most of the food on the table. Jack could barely get himself some as Beth greedily tried everything.

"Seeing as the gluttonous maw of Beth is attacking the table, would you like to have her sandwich instead?" He offered it to Lucy.

"Why thank you, how very generous!" She was certainly eager for one sandwich. Jack assumed she was fond of BLT. "So, Beth, we've noticed a spike in your work performance and I would like an opinion on your partner."

"Jack?" Beth glared at her coworker. For a moment she looked like she was about to bite him, but then a smug smile formed on her lips. "He's alright, kind of a geek honestly. Like, he's just clueless sometimes and I have to help him out."

"I'm also surprised that you and Jack managed to stay together for more than a day. Quite better than the times we've paired you up with the other performers."

"Because every single one of those people are chumps who complain all day. What I do is none of their business." Beth said proudly.

"I just want to get paid," Jack expressed his true desire.

"See? He and I agree that money is the only thing that matters, and if we want to get those numbers then we'd need to tolerate each other. Plus the tips had been rolling in nicely."

Lucy hummed softly. "So having Jack as your partner had made positive outcomes? Interesting."

"Alright, what do you want? You asked some work-related questions, that's true, but I can't help but feel that there's something you want to say to my face. Well? Go ahead, monkey."

Lucy focused her glare on Beth who stared back with a dirty scowl. Jack simply sighed as Beth and Lucy were at each other's throats. For once he wanted a day without some drama. He knew that this was a terrible idea, the two weren't exactly friendly with each other. So if anyone was to be blamed, it was Jack Kennedy.

He just needed to make sure that he wouldn't get blamed for murder as well if it ended with one. So that meant he needed to keep any sharp objects out of Beth's reach. He barely knew her but Beth proved to Jack everything he feared about her. She was prone to violence and would gladly shatter someone's bones.

Though Jack wondered if Lucy could hold her own. She didn't look weak, that's for sure. And Jack had heard many stories about monkeys and apes being a dangerous encounter. He wondered if that fact was translated to the same race in this world as well.

Wait, these are people. Jack shouldn't compare them with animals. That was rude of him to do so. But he just couldn't help it honestly. These people still had many similar aspects to regular animals.

"Miss Barwick," Oh no, Lucy addressed Beth by surname. "I just want what's best for the two of you, but especially Jack. From the information given to me by Cooper, he is in need of some help. So I wanted to give Jack a hand and to make sure that there are no issues on his side."

"And? The two of us haven't seen a problem yet." Jack argued before Beth could say a word. "I can assure you, Lucy, that Beth hasn't given me anything to complain about."

"I am happy to hear that, Jack, you've also helped Beth do better. I can't wait to see the result when the week is done."

A pale red hand slammed on the table. "You know what? I think Jack and I should get back to work. I need some extra cash for a thing I'm saving for."

With that decided by his partner, Jack rushed to finish his meal and drink before he gave Lucy a short goodbye.

Lucy watched as the two went inside the warehouse to change into their costumes. She was left with the rest of the food, smaller than it was before Jack and Beth joined. Seemed like the fox ate most of it.

******

The rest of their shift went by as normally as it was. There were a few moments where Beth nearly mauled someone but Jack managed to prevent her from doing so. When their shift was done and the tips shared, Jack offered her a ride back into town.

"Should I pick you up tomorrow again?"

Beth looked away from the road. "Well, it beats taking the bus. But I won't pay for gas if that's what you're thinking."

"Come on, the ride isn't free and gas prices are bad these days."

"I have something else in mind," She grinned mischievously. "If you don't drive me to work I will make you Felicia's punching bag for a month."

"Hollow threats, just pay half of the gas price. You know violence doesn't solve everything, right?"

"Sure it does, it helped me all the time!"

"It won't help you with me I'm sure of it! I mean, you look like a stick that I can break easily."

Her grin turned vicious as she showed off her fangs. "You wanna try, big guy? I'll go easy on you, I promise."

"How about this, when we finally get a day off, then we can go and see who's stronger. If you win, you don't have to pay for gas, but if you lose, you don't complain and just help me with it. Deal?"

She chuckled. "I like those chances. Hell, you don't even look tough, Jack. Hey, wanna hang out? I don't feel like going home yet."

"Oh, sure, I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"Who?" Before Jack could answer, Beth snapped her head towards the right. "Jack, stop the car for a second."

They were just about to enter the neighborhood but Beth asked him to stop. He was about to inquire what caused him to stop, but Beth opened the window and pushed her head out.

"Hey, twerps!"

Jack shrunk into his seat as he realized that some teens were what caught Beth's attention. The only issue was that they were a bunch of familiar faces to Jack. It was Stella and her friends. Knife, if Jack recalled the name correctly, was seated on the curb while Vel and Stella were on their feet. And it seemed like Beth was familiar with them as well.

"Beth!" The three teens practically sang out her name.

"You kids, what are you up to?"

Knife shrugged his shoulders as he stood up. Now that Jack had a good look at him, Knife was apparently a rabbit. "Nothing much, nice car though. Where'd you get this baby?"

"This looks familiar," Vel commented. She peered through the front window and met Jack's gaze. "Mr. Jack!?"

Stella's eyes widened upon learning who was in the driver's seat. "That freak!?"

"Wait, you know these twerps?" Beth asked as she looked back at him.

"Yo, Beth! Why the heck are you hanging out with this loser?"

Jack flinched at the insult, it was bad enough that Stella ignored him every day, but the vocal abuse was just the twist of the knife.

"He's my coworker," Beth said truthfully. "Don't worry, he's been cool with me. So, how'd you guys meet?"

"We tried to steal his junk," Knife answered. To which Stella had punished him with a quick jab on the shoulder. "I mean, he is a friend of Cas' parents."

"You guys did what?" Beth shook with rage. Clearly, she was furious at the fact that Stella and her friends committed a crime, and perhaps she disliked that their victim was Jack as well. "Didn't I tell you brats to behave!? Jack, unlock this damn door!"

It looked like the kids wanted to run, but they knew it would only make things worse.

"It's cool Beth," Jack said just as she was about to blow up at the teens. "I got my stuff back and they apologized." Well, Stella did.

"Not good enough, I need to hear you brats apologize and you better make it sweet." Jack and the others flinched as Beth slammed her hand on the dashboard, which left a slight dent, much to Jack's dismay. "Or else you kids will get a beat down you will never forget!"

"Beth, this isn't necessary," Jack tried to defuse the situation, he'd rather not get any deeper into Stella's bad side. "Come on, let's just go and hang out."

She scoffed. "Alright, you twerps get a break for once. You are all lucky that Jack is a nice guy. But if I hear that you three are causing trouble again, I'll whoop your butts myself!"

"We won't do anything!" Stella whined. "Just gonna sit around and junk."

"Yeah!" Knife said enthusiastically. "Nothing like just sitting down and not doing crimes!"

Vel simply nodded.

"Good," Beth sighed. "Don't do anything stupid."

With that, Beth told Jack to drive.

As they left, Jack glanced at the rearview mirror and noticed the scowl on Stella. It would seem that he had made things worse for him and Stella, as she looked like she was harboring a grudge now. He would need to ask Beth how the two knew each other. Perhaps she was also a friend of Maria's.

Would make sense, honestly, this town wasn't that big. He wouldn't be surprised if Maria knew the mayor. Especially if what Cooper told him was true. Maria was quite known to the community, as she had helped many people before.

"Ugh," Beth groaned loudly into her hands. "I tell them time and time again not to cause trouble! And every time they do get into one, it is always up to me to bail them out! I bet you my left lung that those brats are thinking about stealing food from a convenience store. Sometimes I wonder how the hell they ended up like that."

"Teenage rebellion?" That was Jack's guess.

"At least it isn't as bad as I was back in my teenage life. Don't ask." Her attention shifted toward the houses as Jack drove by them. "Huh, you live with your relatives or something? I remember you saying that you weren't from this town."

"A friend offered me a place to stay, sure beats some dingy motel room. Plus, I didn't exactly have any money around the time. Gas prices, you know? Expensive these days."

"Having a car just sounds like a good way to lose money. Well, beats gambling. Speaking of which, do you play? Jose has a poker table back at the Trusty's Corner."

"Nope, I don't really like the idea of gambling."

"You don't smoke, and you don't gamble. Do you at least drink? If you wanna hang out with me, we gotta have a cold drink in our hands."

Jack chuckled. "Well lucky for you, I do. You're not gonna suggest a contest are you?"

"Perhaps," She smiled wickedly.

Soon enough, Jack pulled up into the driveway of Maria's house.

They were met with a curious sight. There on the porch was Cooper, it was a mystery to Beth and Jack as to why he was there. They haven't seen the owl for a day at least yet he stood there now.

Cooper waved at Jack as he exited the car. But the smile he had dropped the moment he saw Beth there as well.

"Coop! Where you been buddy?" Jack asked the moment he was just a foot away.

He stared at Beth for a moment before he focused his gaze on Jack. "Are you two friends now?"

"I wouldn't say friends," Beth smiled a bit. "Maybe best acquaintances?"

"Alright then. You guys wanna hang out? I can ask Trusty to let us play his arcade machines. He got this awesome FPS game that he hadn't opened yet, that means we can totally get our names in that high-score list."

Though they had just got there, it felt as if Cooper was trying to get rid of them. It was evident by the way he tried to push Jack and Beth back toward the car. Cooper was strangely eager to hang out. Just as they were by the car, Beth broke free of his hold and gave Cooper a sharp glare.

"The hell you doing, Cooper? We just got here."

"And we're about to have some fun. Wanna have pizza? Trusty can make us some… Oh, right, I didn't buy the groceries… Let's order pizza."

"That does sound good, Coop," Jack said. "But I gotta grab something from the house."

"I think we should go,"

"Alright, what is up with you?" Beth crossed her arms.

"What's wrong with having fun with my best friend and new friend? Wait… What was I doing?" The two stared at Cooper oddly. "We should totally hang out and eat some pizzas, Trusty can whip up a nice- wait, I forgot the groceries. Well, we can just order a pizza."

Seemed like Cooper's mind was too cloudy to even think clearly. Or perhaps it was simply an act. A method to convince people to do what he wanted. Either way, Jack found it strange of Cooper. Why was he so adamant to keep him out of Maria's house? Is there something behind the scenes that Cooper wanted to keep Jack oblivious of? Why was Cooper even here? Questions flooded Jack's head as he tried to comprehend Cooper's actions.

There was definitely something wrong, yet the answer was out of Jack's reach.

Jack sought out Cooper yesterday to ask a few questions, but now he had a lot more thanks to how suspicious Cooper acted.

His train of thought was derailed and everything came crashing down when the door to Maria's house opened and out came the owner.

For a moment, Jack saw the dreadful look on Cooper's face as Maria showed up. He was about to greet Maria but something had caught her attention. It was clear that Maria was bothered by something, and now Jack was more confused than before.

Thankfully, a single name helped Jack a bit with this little mystery.

"Bethany?"

His attention shifted over to Beth, and Jack had wished he kept his gaze on Maria because the look on Beth's face weakened his knees. There was something violent in her eyes, and her fangs were bared for the world to see. That scowl, Jack had never seen such a thing ever before. And all of it was for Maria, that much was clear.

Now Jack once again inadvertently caused another drama. It started to dawn on him as to why Cooper wanted them gone.

Now the final question was; how do they know each other?