Chain Reaction 2.16: No-brainer

Ethan

     My little sis is going to a big university. I don't think that sorta thing is for me. I prefer action to textbooks. Not that there aren't textbooks at the police academy. There just aren't as many.

     I get more practical training. On the job. Sure, I had to pass some exams, and they had to do some paperwork. I got through it.

     Chief Foster looks like he'll be a pretty cool guy. I haven't seen him yell at anyone yet, but there hasn't really been anything bad happening. Mostly, he just tries to be encouraging should he come across me at the station. He's busy, though.

     People are really fond of food here. The station has quite a few foodies. I swear one woman has cupcakes constantly on the brain.
     I get to go on assignments sometimes! The strangest one, well, just look:

     I get to take down a statement from a ghost!!! She says she drowned in the bathtub. She thinks we're here to investigate her murder. She keeps trying to tell me she wasn't murdered.
     "We're here for a robbery, ma'am." Do you still call ghost ladies 'ma'am'? "Your grandson was robbed."
     "Well he shouldn't leave his stuff out where people can find it. Why, I buried everything in the backyard under the willow tree. Nobody's found it yet!"
     Uh.... This wasn't covered in the academy classes. Do I tell her grandson? How accurate is the word of a ghost? Is someone playing a prank on me?! Yeah. Great. I can see it now: the new guy interviewing the ghost. Sigh.

     I get my own place! It's what they call a 'tiny house.' I love it. It has an outside shower! I can't wait to show it to Claire.
     Speaking of Claire. I miss her. She did go to college. A place called Sim City U. She's studying history for some unknown reason.
     Speaking of missing people: Branden has been driving me nuts lately. Kelsie isn't aging up for a few more months, and her parents don't want him anywhere near her until she does. What gives? So what? She's almost a young adult. They're overly strict on the teen/young adult no dating thing.

     The Maker took this pic to show off the front of my house. She had loads of fun building it, almost as much fun as I have living in it. However, I know I won't live in it forever. It only has one bedroom. I'm going to want kids some day. Claire wants kids too. It's a no-brainer.

     This pic has no other purpose than the Maker likes it.

     Turns out my job is REALLY HARD. It's much more technical than I could've ever imagined. I never thought I'd need all that math and science.
     I totally flub up the whole experiment.

     So...they put me doing something else: booking. It feels like grunt work.

     The dude acts like he knows what to do better than I do.
     I screw up and forget to save the information.
     "Uh, could you do that again?"
     He sighs like I annoy him, but I ignore it, trying not to screw up again. At least it only takes me one try to get the mugshot.
     I work hard all day getting things accomplished. Then, I go to get a cup of coffee. When I come back, no one is here waiting for me, so I stand around.

     One of my supervisors walks by and sees me doing nothing, and it really pisses him off. What gives? I've done so much work today!
      Will I ever get this right?

     The next day, they give me what feels (to me anyway) like another chance. Maybe they discovered how much I did actually do yesterday. I'm sent out to apprehend someone.

     To my surprise, I find Dad. He's acting casual, but something is a little off about him.
     "Hi, Ethan. How's work going?"
     "Good enough, I guess. ... Are you taking the day off?" He should be in his office right now, right? Maybe he's meeting a client and doesn't want to do it in his stuffy accountant's office. He's not carrying any files with him, though. Even if it were a new client, surely he'd have some preliminary paperwork to have them fill out.
      I wonder about all that very quickly, some of the fastest thinking I've ever done.
      He smiles, but again--it's a little off. "Oh, I'm just stretching my legs."
      I guess it is the off-season.

     "Need anything?" he asks me. His eyes keep bouncing from me to someone behind me.
     I pull up the corners of my mouth. "Just patrolling." He keeps glancing behind me so much that I can't help but turn around to see who he's looking at.
     And she matches the suspect's description perfectly: elder female, pants, pink shirt.
     I move to walk towards her, but Dad grabs my arm. "Not yet."
     Huh?
     "Wait just a second," he tells me again.
     The lady hugs someone and then has the audacity to lift the dude's wallet out of his coat pocket with me standing right here! A normal person wouldn't be able to spot it, but I'm not that green.
     "Now," Dad says, and I walk up and arrest her. She tries to pull the 'don't hurt the old lady' bit, but I'm not falling for it. She gets the sympathy of the bystanders, though, making me look like a jerk.
     Turns out she was the one to rob that house with the ghost lady's grandson. She was looking for the stuff that I know was buried under the willow tree.
     My supervisor is much, much happier with me, and I get a small promotion. I'm happy, but what I don't get is how Dad knew she was the one we were looking for.

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