Ms. Pepper's office was exactly like Xeno had imagined. The walls were a light purple, lavendery colour, with a plethora of cats patterned on the wallpaper. Her desk, which sat in the middle of four pink filing cabinets that stretched almost to the ceiling, was a light wooden colour. It was perfectly organised, methodical and inviting at the same time. He couldn't help walking in and sitting down without making a fuss. The room exuded a calm that immediately caused him to lower his voice subconsciously. However, despite the serenity of the room, he began before she could say another word.
"You must know it wasn't me. I mean, you walked through the main hall an hour before; did you notice anything suspicious?" He burst out.
"No, I didn't." Her lips were pursed; she looked like she was about to cry.
"Couldn't you check the cameras?" If they looked, they could probably find who did it. It's not like another person would have the foresight and capability to stop the footage.
"I'm afraid they don't have night vision. Xeno, do you realise why I called you in here?"
He looked up at her. He watched her open her computer, possibly just to avoid his gaze; it was clear she didn't like confrontation. Surprisingly, it wasn't password protected - he could see her open it with a single click in the reflection of her oversized glasses. In fact, he could even make out that her desktop home screen was a picture of three cats.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand." He cocked his head.
"There have been reports that the paper's gotten everywhere. In the offices, in the palaeontology hallways, even on the exhibits. This'll take a long, long time for the palaeontology department to clear up, and you might have caused irreparable damage to some of the artifacts." She looked away with tears in her eyes. "Xeno, I'm afraid we're.. letting you go."
"I'm fired?" He breathed, frozen into his seat.
CHAPTER THIRTY:
"It wasn't my decision; my hands are tied." She replied. "But honestly, Xeno, what other choice do I have? I can't have one of my department heads doing silly things like this."
"But I honestly didn't." He protested. "I promise."
"I wish I could believe you." Ms. Pepper whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek. He suddenly felt immensely guilty. Even if he hadn't actually done anything wrong- Ms. Pepper had truly trusted him, and from her perspective, he'd let her down.
"You'll have until the end of the day to get your things in order." She began, wiping tears from her brown eyes with the sleeve of an impossibly fluffy cat jumper."After that, it is a protocol that you are banned from the premises." She hesitated for a moment before adding, "Some of the other department heads were telling me I should alert the police for destruction of property, so I would consider myself very lucky if I were you."
He was about to burst into tears. Steeling his resolve, he tried to hold it together, if not for his own sake then for Ms. Pepper's. "I understand." He said, with all the false indifference he could muster.
"Goodbye, Xeno," Ms. Pepper said as he approached the door. "You were a pleasure to have working at my museum."
As he walked outside, he was jarred by the real world. He had gotten acclimatised to the little bubble in space and time that was Ms. Pepper's office. To his relief, Jess and Dr. Aruda were there. "What happened?" Jess asked. "Who actually did it?"
Xeno felt like he was going to throw up. "She thinks it was me." He whispered.
"Excuse me?" Aruda asked incredulously. "What did you just say?"
"I said she thinks it was me. I've been sacked." Even saying the words felt wrong. The whole ordeal felt like some horrible dream he had yet to wake up from.
Jess went pale, and Aruda's hand flew to her mouth, tears brimming in her green eyes. "This can't be happening. We all know you're innocent." She stated. "I'm going in there, and I'll give her what-for. She can't be doing this to my Xeno."
"Please don't." Xeno replied. "She was actually really nice about the whole thing, and she seems upset. I don't want to make this worse for her."
"I don't understand. Could she not have just checked the cameras?" Jess asked.
"Apparently, they don't have night vision." He shrugged.
A brief look of confusion flashed across her face, but she dispelled it almost immediately. It was clear there was more she wanted to say, but she couldn't get her words out. Finally, she choked out, "Do you want us to help you move your stuff to your car?"
"I'd love that, thanks." Xeno looked at the pair of them. Aruda was trying to stay stoic- for his sake, he assumed. Jess was clearly holding back tears, but she was doing a very good job. The rest of the day was a blur. The others and he had walked briskly through the main hall to avoid questions and gone straight to Xeno's office. When they got there, they noticedcomplimentary boxes had already been provided while they were away.
Luckily, all of Xeno's personal items had fit into one box. All the furniture belonged to the museum, and most of the files in the filing cabinets pertained to museum goings-on. While he put his paper cranes in the box, Xeno's mind briefly went to when he had had to clear all the items off of a certain someone else's desk. It felt like a lifetime ago.
He was lucky that Ms. Pepper hadn't tried to file charges. She probably just wanted to be rid of the whole ordeal. When everything was packed up, Jess insisted on carrying the box for Xeno. Dr. Aruda agreed, and they'd walked back to his car.
"Promise me you'll keep in touch." Jess said as she put his things into the backseat of the car.
"I promise. I'll text you both every day."
