Chapter Four

Blueth Mendoza's POV

"Bye Mom! Bye Dad! I'm going to work now!" I said to my parents as I started walking towards our front door.

"Oh? Going already honey?" My mom said as she peeked out the kitchen door.

"Yup, it's my first day at work and I don't want to be late. I want to make a very good first impression on my first day."

"I see, well, in that case, wait right there." My mom said as she went inside the kitchen. I stood around in front of our front door waiting for my mom to come back out. Minutes passed and she came out of the kitchen and started walking towards me. She was carrying something in her hand, I couldn't tell what they were because they were packed inside a plastic bag.

"What are these?" I asked my mom as she handed over the plastic bag she was carrying.

"They are gifts for your boss." She said as she smiled.

"Gifts? What kind of gifts?"

"Well, they are food."

"Mom, can you please be a little bit more specific? I'm dying of curiosity here."

My mom let out a small giggle as she ruffled my hair and started walking back towards the kitchen. "If I would tell you what they were, then you would've already eaten them before they can even reach the hands of your boss. In fact, you might even start eating them as we speak."

I stared at the kitchen door, thinking of what might be inside the plastic bag my mom handed me. I smelled the plastic bag and the aroma hit me. My eyes widened as my consciousness got sent into a different dimension.

"Oh my gosh, they're dumplings, aren't they?"

"Yup, and your favorite dumplings at that."

I could feel my mouth starting to get watery as I look at the plastic bag. I reached in my hand inside the plastic bag to get one of the dumplings to eat. I was about to reach one of the dumplings, when all of a sudden, my mom calls my name.

"Don't even think about eating one Blueth, you remember what happened last time you did that?"

I stopped in my tracks as my mom reminded me of what happened the last time I ate one of the dumplings I was supposed to bring for our school picnic.

"Oh yeah, that happened." I said as I took out my hand from the bag and started scratching the back of my head.

I was in elementary at that time and we were tasked to bring foods to school for our annual school picnic. Since I don't know what I should bring for the school picnic, my mom decided to make my favorite dumplings so I can bring them to school. Long story short, I was making my way towards my school with the dumplings at hand. I got hungry as I made my way towards the school so I decided to eat one of the dumplings, I figured that my classmates wouldn't notice one dumpling missing from the bag.

I took one dumpling and I ate it and that's where I couldn't stop myself. After finishing the one dumpling I took, I started eating all of the dumplings inside the bag before I could even reach the school. When I noticed that I ate all of the dumplings, I went crying home and told my parents that I ate all of the dumplings. I didn't attend the school picnic then. The next morning came and I was at school and my classmates asked why I didn't attend and that they were expecting the delicious dumplings I was talking about. I didn't hide what I did and I told them that I ate all of the dumplings before I got to the school.

"Ah, childhood memories." I said as I let out a little laugh.

"Well, you better get going now before you're late for the first day of your job. And remember Blueth, don't eat the dumplings. They are a gift for your boss, okay? I'll make dumplings for you when you get home tonight."

I smiled as I started walking out the door. "Okay mom, I won't eat the dumplings. I'll be going now."

My mom said goodbye as I left the house and closed the door behind me. I made my way towards the streets and into the alley where Ms. Val's building is. When I got there, I was surprised to see that the place is closed. It's boarded by plywood and nails.

I tried calling for Ms. Val but there was no response. I looked around and the place looked empty if it weren't for the stacked chairs.

"Where could they have gone?"

I looked around some more and I notice a piece of paper stuck on the door. There was something written on it.

"Warrant of Closure."

Warrant of Closure? What's does this mean? As I was looking at the piece of paper, I heard someone calling out my name. I looked around and I saw this figure all wrapped up in a cloak like material.

The figure kept signaling me to come towards it, but I didn't move a step closer, instead, I took a step back. Don't come to strangers you don't know kids, especially if they are wrapped around in a cloak.

I was about to make a run for it and lock myself away in my room for a few months when the figure took of its cloak to reveal that the mysterious figure was Ms. Val. A sense of relief came to me as I saw Ms. Val's face. Cathy came out from behind Ms. Val's legs to reveal that she is also wearing a cloak just like Ms. Val.

Cathy! I swear that you are killing me with your cuteness!

I walked towards them and asked what they were doing.

"You guys look like wanted fugitives. Why are you hiding and why are you wearing those cloaks? I would say that you look ridiculous, but seeing that Cathy is also wearing it, I take it back."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want kid. This is the new fashion today."

"Well, beauty is in the eye of the wearer. Why were the two of you hiding anyway? And what's this letter doing on the front door which says Warrant of Closure? What's going on Ms. Val?"

"Well, listen kid. There's something I need to tell you." Ms. Val said as she looked me deep in the eyes. Did she lie to me about the job? Is she even a proofreader agent? What's a proofreader agent? What am I saying!?

-End of Chapter-