CHIP WAS TRYING HIS BEST TO REMAIN CALM. He really was. However, the poor mechanic on duty would certainly deserve an apology later once Chip was finished screaming his lungs out. He gasped as he tried to breathe between words; however, the wind was knocked out of his chest as Mick punched him in the gut. He doubled over and fell onto his knees, providing the other boy the opportunity to drag him from the room. Viola offered the mechanic an apologetic look before following the boys from the room.

"Was that really necessary?" Viola asked, referring to Mick's violent tactic.

"It shut him up, didn't it?" Mick replied as he gestured back toward Chip who was still gasping for air.

"What—" Chip choked and cleared his throat, now placing his hands above his head. "What are the two of you still doing here anyway? I said I could handle this myself."

"That didn't really look like handling it," Viola countered softly, her eyes drifting toward the ground.

Mick nodded his head in agreement and crossed his arms. "The mechanic is just doing her job. It's not her fault that the part won't be in until next week."

"I know, I know," Chip dismissed the statement defensively. "That doesn't mean I have to be happy about it though."

The bell overhead the door to their left rung as another customer stepped inside the waiting room. He was far different from any of the other customers who had stepped foot inside the establishment. His suit was freshly pressed, and each strand of hair was neat styled away from his eyes. The man adjusted his tie and his cold eyes drifted over toward the small group. The sneer on his face twisted into a smile that comforted none of them.

"Mayor Wraith." The mechanic stepped into the waiting room—having heard the bell—and wiped the grease from her hands onto what was probably once a white towel. "What can I do for you?"

The mayor shook his head and seemed to dismiss the mechanic. "I just heard that we had guests in town, Miss Rodriguez, and thought I'd stop by to welcome them."

The mechanic nodded her head before walking back out into the garage to continue her work. The mayor took a step closer before taking the time to introduce himself. "Carlisle Wraith, mayor of Moonhaven, what brings you in to visit?"

"Car troubles," Chip bitterly answered under his breath. "Had to push the poor thing a mile uphill."

"He is way too attached to that car," Mick whispered almost inaudibly. Viola nodded her head in agreement while Chip slowly narrowed his eyes at them as he too heard what had been said.

"Just the three of you then?" the mayor asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chip shook his head. "Nah, there's eight of us total. The others are just out exploring the town I guess. They didn't see much point in just waiting around when we could be here awhile."

"Any idea how long you'll be staying?"

The level of concern that the mayor was showing may have been unnerving to some, but Chip didn't mind the attention. He shrugged and continued what he presumed to be a casual conversation. "Hopefully no longer than the week. Apparently the part we need is out of stock and won't arrive in town until then."

"I see... perhaps I'll look into the matter and see if there's a way to speed up that timeline," the mayor suggested.

"That'd be great!" Chip exclaimed, but at a glance from the others remembered his manners. "But we wouldn't want to inconvenience you—"

"Nonsense." The mayor shook his head and dismissed the idea. "We here in Moonhaven pride ourselves on serving the community. The sooner you can be on your way, the better."

Chip didn't seem to catch his last statement as he was too focused on not staying any longer than necessary. "Well, thank you."

The mayor didn't reply. He simply exited the building as if he couldn't stand to be in its filth one second longer. Chip couldn't help but puff out his chest with a little feeling of self-importance. It wasn't everyday that you had a casual conversation with a mayor. However, as he looked back over his shoulder, he noticed that Viola and Mick didn't seem to share his opinion.

"Well, that was nice."

Mick raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure he offered you some veiled threats."

"You're just being paranoid," Chip contradicted and shook his head.

"I don't know..." Viola uneasily looked toward the door as if waiting for the mayor to reappear. "Something just seemed off about him."

"He just offered to help us," Chip protested.

"We're no better off than we were a few minutes ago," Mick retorted with a snort.

"Sure we are—"

"You're still going to be stuck paying the bill and services fee, we don't have a car, we don't have a place to stay, not to mention we really didn't plan for this in our budget," Mick listed each thing off on his fingers. "I can keep thinking up more if you'd like."

The pit returned to Chip's stomach and he quickly shook his head. "That's alright. I get the picture... Was there nowhere else for you to take your pessimism?"

"I'm being realistic," Mick contradicted.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but notice that you guys need a place to stay?" The three of them turned their heads to face the kid—albeit he didn't really seem that much younger than them, early twenties mayhaps—that had spoken to them. He had several grease stains on his face; however, he wasn't one of the mechanics as he wore the uniform of a gas jockey.

Viola slowly nodded her head. "Is there a hotel nearby?"

The young man shook his head. "No, we don't get enough visitors in town for the council to think we have need of a hotel, but Mr. Farid owns a few apartment complexes just down the street. I'm sure if you explained the situation, he may let you live in one for cheaper than the usual rent."

"Thanks," Viola said with a soft smile. "We'll definitely take that into consideration."

Chip groaned out in frustration. Mick raised an eyebrow and questioned the action, "What?"

"Cell service is awful out here." Chip shook his head as he lifted his phone toward the ceiling, trying to get just one bar more. "I couldn't even try to call a tow truck from out of town if I wanted to."

"We'll just have to make the best of a poor situation then." Viola shrugged and gestured for the other two to follow her out. "The car's not getting repaired today, so there's not much point waiting around here."

Chip sighed but nodded his head. "Do you think there's a bar in town?"

"Probably."

Viola frowned at Mick's curt reply before directing her attention toward Chip. "You might not be driving tonight, but that doesn't mean you should go and drown your sorrows with liquor."

"It's 5 o'clock somewhere," Chip retorted.

Mick scoffed, "It's 5 o'clock here and now."

"Could we just meet up with the others and make plans to sit down for dinner first?" Viola asked with a sigh.

Chip slowly nodded his head. "Yeah, alright."

"And then we should find a place to rest for the night," Viola quickly added, "It's been a long day."

"You're not going to let us go out tonight... are you?"

It was rare, but it was one of those moments where Viola placed a sly smile on her face. "That would be my plan. Yes."

"Just call the others and tell them to meet us here." Chip sighed. "I really don't feel like getting lost while hangry."

"Neither do I," Mick agreed. "You're awful to be around when you're hangry."

Chip frowned. However, before he could reply with a quip of his own, Viola held up a finger to silence him. Apparently she'd been on the phone during their ongoing dispute. "Uh huh, yeah. See you soon."

"You sure didn't mince words." Chip raised an eyebrow.

"You're not the only one who's hungry." Viola rolled her eyes. "Jo said that the closest restaurant to us was just down the street."

"And the others are going to meet us there?" Mick asked skeptically.

Viola nodded her head. "They were apparently all together when I called."

"How convenient," Chip muttered before speaking up, "So what's this place called?"

Viola began to walk down the sidewalk, but looked back over her shoulder just long enough to reply. "Les Poissons."