My heels made a frantic clacking sound as I hurried through the crowds. Even with the constant chatter in the mall, I could still hear my steps over the noise. 
When I was just strolling along, I kind of liked how clacky my little boots were. 
Now? 
Not so much. 
It just reminded me how far I've fallen. I went from being one of the top police witches on the whole force, getting awards and recognitions from the mayor himself, to scurrying off to my crappy minimum wage mall job, hoping I don't lose this one too. 
If my police academy instructors could see me now. . . Uhg. 
I rounded  Burger Queen on the corner, heading into the food court and there it was, my most recent employment in a long string of shitty jobs. Groovy Smoothie. 
The pay was crap. The work was crap. The hours were crap. The customers were crap. And I ended up spending every shift being bored, tired, and sticky. 
But, hey at least their requirements for hiring people were really low. 
Been fired from a dozen other jobs and might not be completely living? No problem. They won't even check to see if you have a pulse. 
I hurried around the counter and into the back where a tiny little closet like locker room was tucked away. 
I dumped my bag in my locker, and shrugged on my neon orange smock over my clothes as fast as possible, then hustled my butt to the stupid time clock and frantically waved my employee ID at it to just barely punch in on time. 
Damn that was close. 
It's hard to believe that just over a year ago, I used to actually show up early for work. But then I used to have work I actually cared about. 
Well, at least there was one thing that I liked around here.
Regina’s smiling face flashed at me as she bolted for the time clock too.
I raised my eyebrows in pretend shock.
“My My, cutting it a little close, aren’t we Missy?”
Regina stuck her tongue out, before taunting me.
“Oo, what are you going to do, bust me?”
I stuck my tongue out at her in reply.
“I just might!”
She stuck her tongue out at me again, this time adding a little curl at the end.
“If you used the fuzzy cuffs, I might just let you.”
Choking, tried not to laugh. Then I slapped my hands to my cheeks in mock scandalization, and flustered in a breathless voice.
“Oh my! Miss Regina, what are you implying?!”
I fluttered my best “Innocent Romance Novel Heroine” eyes at her, and bit my lip.
Regina ended up breaking first. Bursting into giggles and reeling over holding her middle.
Yes, I won! I won!
I don’t know why, but flirting with other women always just felt safer to me. Maybe because we both get that it’s just playing. There’s never going to be any drama about how “No” means “No”. And we both get that flirting isn’t a legally binding contract that means I owe them something.
As a teen, I didn’t have the best taste in guys, and having to kick the crap out of yet another one of my boyfriends because he decided to get too handsie, got a little old.
Today Regina looked like a punk counterpoint to my posh style. Her fiery red hair was fake, but looked damn good on her pulled back into a spiky ponytail with a barbed black leather hair tie. Her eyes were coaled up, her glossy lips were a red so dark it could be mistaken for black. She was rocking a black leather corset over her purple metal band T shirt, and her artistically ripped jeans finished off the look.
Of course, just like my look, it all went to shit once she donned the ugly neon orange smock that every employee had to wear.
We looked like a couple rookies that got wrangled into directing traffic. All we would need were those stupid little flags and we would be set.
We hustled out from the back to get our cash drawers ready for the start of our shift, and who should be already waiting at the counter?
Nick the Dick.
Uhg.
Of course he would have to be on my shift. This day just keeps getting better and better.
Nick the Dick’s nasally voice greeted me with a – 
“Running a little late, aren’t you Angie? Better be careful, or you’re going to have to get a write up.”
Considering that he was just warning instead of gleefully telling me about how I was getting written up, meant that he had already called our manager Andy to try to get me in trouble again, and Andy must of already told him that I clocked in on time and wasn’t going to get a write up. 
Because that was just the kind of ass Nick was.
Of course, Regina had clocked in even later than me, but he wasn’t saying a word to her. He’s been drooling over her since she was hired and seemed to be completely blind to the fact that she hated his guts and didn’t even swing that way.
And even if she was into guys, she wouldn’t be into a guy like Nick. Not a whole lot of people would. 
He was a nineteen year old, high school drop-out, that was barely taller than Noah, weighed about five times more than Noah, with an acne covered toad like face, greasy hair, and the fashion style of someone that still had his mommy pick out his clothes for him.
I don’t believe in fat shaming someone. I totally get why that’s counter supportive and wrong, but Nick the Dick didn’t get that name because of the way he looks. If anything, his looks were his best feature.
The short, pimply tub of lard scowled up at me. I smiled down from my six foot two hight. 
Ah, I loved these boots. And yes, I wore them to work just so I could look down on Nick the Dick even more than I usually did. 
Since the moment he set eyes on me, Nick the Dick has had a grudge against me for being born with genes that made me taller than him.
Yeah, that’s the maturity level I’m dealing with here.

It was two hours into the post lunch grind and we were getting hit with a steady stream of office workers from the nearby business hub. And of course, what do I hear?
“Stop! Shoplifter!”
I’m starting to seriously think that the mall security chases shoplifters passed the Groovy Smoothie on purpose. The two guards giving chase to the much slimmer and younger thief, were huffing and puffing, their bellies jiggling, their plump cheeks red with effort. 
Yeah, and there they were waving at me. 
Of course.
They only did this because they knew I would run after the guy. 
I was tempted to do nothing. 
I was just a regular citizen, I wasn’t an officer anymore. I wasn’t with the PD at all. As a regular citizen I didn’t have to do anything. Regular citizens just sat there and let crime happen all the time. Honestly that’s what they should do. Don’t get involved, call the professionals, it’s safer that way.
And then the shoplifter laughed over his shoulder at the wheezing security.
Oh hell no. That little punk is going down!
I vaulted the cashier counter and started pounding after him.
I was in pursuit of a young adult male, 5.6 to 5.8 foot tall, light build, black hair, carrying six or more overloaded shopping bags of stolen items. Appears to be unarmed, no conformation.
“Freeze, drop the merch, and put your hands above your head!”
Of course the little shit didn’t do that. Instead he put on another burst of speed when he realized that the person giving chase wasn’t the wheezing security anymore, and was gaining on him.
Looking over his shoulder at me, his eyes popped wide. 
That's right you little punk, I'm running you down. It's only a matter of time before you're caught. 
Damn it, if I still had my magic I could have just thrown out a lasso spell and taken him down in seconds.
Making a sharp pivot, he blitzed into a teen grunge store, in his wake angry T shirts and artistically ripped jeans went flying everywhere. For a moment I lost sight of him in the tornado of clothes. 
He whipped through the archway to another store, heading straight down the center aisle, throwing whatever cages and display stands he could get his hands on to block my path. 
I noticed too late what store we had burst into. 
Magical pet shop. 
Oh wonderful. 
Miniature hippogriffs and phoenixes fluttered through the air, the chaos releasing them from their cages. A firefox leapt from its pen, bound off a hysterical store employee, burning a fist sized hole into the front of their apron and then dashing away. In a wave of over turned aquariums, kappas flopped angrily across the floor, squawking in outrage. 
I lunged for the little punk, but instead I got a face full of slimy wet tentacles as a pygmy kraken landed on my head. 
For one terrifying moment, little snake like arms coiled around my curls and a furious blue beak snapped a little too close to my nose.
Once I got the suckers peeled off my forehead and handed the still writhing mass of tentacles that was the miniature sea monster to a nearby employee, I turned just in time to see the squirrelly little b*stard darting out the front entrance of the magical creature pet shop and into the main concourse of the mall again.
Oh hell no. You’re not getting away from me that easy you little punk!
And I bolted after him.