Lexie Bennett alternated between staring forlornly at her computer screen and the large digital clock that rested high on the wall across the sea of cubicles that she spent her days lost among. It had been her grandmother Rosalin’s idea for her to work at Mage Headquarters, an institution that the Bennett family hated with a passion, which ran bone deep. It wasn’t the thousands of ridiculous rules and regulations that the Mages passed, nor was it the fact that not one of her kind had sat on its council in over two centuries that made the Bennett family hold the Mages in such contempt. No, it was the fact that Mages were essentially card carrying members of the douchebag society and she wasn’t stereotyping. When she was younger, Lexie had tried to give the Mages the benefit of the doubt. Surely not all of them were asshats. There had to be one decent living soul among the hoard of arrogant, holier-than-thou dimwits, right? She’d been wrong, spectacularly wrong. A part of her still held out hope that there might be one out there with some sort of redeemable quality, but that was just because Lexie was an optimist.,

“How about that report, Pix?” Lexie eyed the slim blonde Nymph with the annoying soprano and the magically enhanced breasts. Brooke had been her jailer since she had started at headquarters. She was one of those people who hid their snark inside of an overly warm personality, but tried way too hard. Her favorite phrase to use when ca-ca hit the fan was “Peachy!” and the phrase would always be accompanied by an insanely bright smile and rounded eyes so wide that you could see just a hint of the insanity which lay buried inside.

Lexie let her breath out and tried to look concerned. “Gee, I’m so sorry, Brooke. I haven’t had time to do it. This won’t mess you up will it?” Brooke’s face fell, but only minutely and only for the slightest of moments before returning to its normal state of perpetual enthusiasm. “Not to worry Pix. Just get it to me by the end of the day and everything will be peachy!” Lexie smiled, feigning relief. “Awesome. I’ll get right on that.” She turned back to her keyboard and pretended to get to work until Brooke turned the corner and disappeared. Lexie checked the clock. Damn, that entire conversation had taken less than two minutes. She let out another breath.

Without warning, a mountain of yellow forms materialized on her desk with a loud THUMP. Several other thumps sounded afterwards, signaling the mid-morning citation drop off. The click-clack of keyboards paused long enough for the other employees on the floor with her to take in their new additions. Clicking sounded up again with a renewed vigor. When Lexie had first started; she had mistakenly associated the sound with enthusiasm but now she knew better. That wasn’t the sound of excitement; it was the sound of hundreds of grunt working souls slowly dying. As if to prove her point, the grumpy Gnome who worked opposite her let out a few curse words in Gaelic under his breath. Lexie grinned at the colorful language. “I don’t think that’s anatomically possible, but then again, if you know the right magick...”

The stack of pink forms on the desk in front of her shifted and a small rotund creature with puffy cheeks and bright eyes blinked back at her. “Mind yer own business, Pixie!” Lexie shrugged, amused. “Hey, I was agreeing with you, Art.” Art gave her a no nonsense look and returned to his work, which was really disappointing for Lexie because Art could let out quite the entertaining rant when he wanted to. Getting him riled up was one of her favorite ways to pass the time here in the Department of Regulations at Mage Headquarters. Lexie still couldn’t believe that she had actually gotten the job, though she shouldn’t have been surprised. It was a rare occasion when Rosalin Bennett didn’t get what she wanted and she had really wanted Lexie to work for the Mages. The Bennett’s needed someone on the inside and not because the number of citations the family had collectively gathered over the years could rival the population of the entire territory. Bennetts never took the Mage’s laws and edicts seriously; they never had. In fact, it was considered scandalous in the Bennett household not to have at least a hundred citations against you by your sixteenth birthday.

Rosalin had managed to wipe Lexie’s from the system before she had applied for the position. Apparently, the Mages don’t hire people who like to have fun. She had once been the reigning household champ with over seven hundred and fifty. Now when she pulled up her own name in the system and saw a giant zero there instead, she cried a little on the inside. God, she couldn’t wait until this assignment was over and she could start racking them up again. She looked at the clock. Ten more minutes had passed. She let out a growl of frustration that had Art grunting in agreement. Twenty more minutes. That's it. Twenty more minutes and she would finally have the opportunity to sneak into the big wig’s office on the third floor. This was the day. She could feel it. For two whole weeks straight now she’d been trying to get into that damn office and for two whole weeks, she’d failed. Once she was interrupted by the nosey busybody, Helen, from Customer Service. Another time she was forced to sit through a surprise office party put on by the “fun squad.” She’d had two three hour long company meetings, a “sports” day, a “bring your kid to work” day, and a “picture” day for Gods’ sake. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think there was some sort of magick at play preventing her from completing her mission, but she’d had Rosalin check and instead, it seemed that the universe was just against her for the time being.

She wouldn’t fail today, though; she couldn’t. Mr. Big Wig was on vacation. He’d be back next week and she’d lose her open window. Breaking in to a head honcho's office when they’re gone is one thing. Breaking wards, even tricky wards, is child’s play for Lexie. It’s why Rosalin had chosen her for the job. She’s the best. Lexie hadn’t met a ward she couldn’t break. Even better than that, Lexie could also rebuild them. She could mirror any ward, making it look like no one had been there in the first place. It was a talent that she was profusely proud of, but she knew her limits. There was no way she could tangle with a Mage in person. If there was even the slightest possibility of her being caught in the act by the guy; she’d be toast and no amount of pixie dust would be able to bring her back. So she had to do it today. She looked back at the mountain of forms and sighed. Guess she’d just have to kill some time before then.