Welcome Home [Tag: Any Adults]

Pauline sighed as she looked over the piles of paperwork on her office desk. She had come in earlier then usual so she could handle everything, and hopefully, get home quickly before it got too late, but the sheer amount of the papers that needed to looked over and signed were just, frankly, insane.

"Goodness, those students give me such a headache..." She muttered, rubbing her temples as she checked all the papers. She loved the school, and what it offered for the younger generation, truly, but there's just so much chaos! Especially with Mirajane's son, Natsu. Oh, that boy has been trouble from day one.

The mayor blinked as she noticed a paper detailing the local taxes paid by the shelter. All paid on time, of course, she more then trusted James to keep track. It just reminded here she hadn't given her old friend a call in some time. "Last I heard, I think James went on vacation...?" She mumbled to herself.

Well, Pauline decided it was long overdue for a chit-chat with the lovely James. She pulled out her cellphone, and opened up her contacts, scrolling down until she found James name and tapped it, bringing the cellphone up to her ear as she waited for the shelter owner to pick up.

Pauline smiled when she heard James answer, deciding to continue to do the paperwork as she chatted. "James, darling, hello! It's been so long, how have you been?"

"I'm happy to hear that, dear! Things just haven't been the same without you! I hope you enjoyed your trip." Pauline smiled. It had been a while since she had the chance to talk to James, unfortunately having been busy with some matters right before they went on vacation. She hadn't wanted to disturb them while they were away, either, so this was their first chat in quite some time.

She frowned at some paperwork detailing some damage to a few buildings in town. 'Oh, dear, that's the handy work of some students right there...' The mayor thought to herself. She really needed to go have a chat with Isabelle at some point about how much paperwork her students were causing her.

Pauline sighed, leaning back in her office chair. "Too busy for my liking, James. So many new students have come in this year, and it's been a bit of a mess. Not to mention, Shizuo's done more property damage again..." Another thing added to the list, head to the bar and talk to Shizuo about the repair fee he's going to have to pay.

"Oh, how horrible! That dress look gorgeous on you, darling!" Paulin gasped, appalled. She had loved that dress! It just looked so lovely on James, and to hear it had been ruined was an utter tragedy. They'd have to go shopping together sometime to get them some new dresses.

"Oh, that sounds wonderful, I'd love to! I definitely need it after all this paperwork." Pauline said, frowning at said paperwork in front of her. "All this nonsense shouldn't take me too long, hopefully." She really hoped it wouldn't take forever, but there was always something new happening in this town.

Pauline loved Lunaville, but there was just so much chaos happening. "Maybe I should take a vacation soon..." She muttered to herself.

"See you soon, darling!" Pauline said, before hanging up and looking back at the paperwork. No better way to make sure the paperwork got done then actually just focusing and doing it.

"I really need to talk with some people about the damages this town gets..." Paulined mumbled, grabbing a pen and getting to work. Maybe tomorrow, she'd call Isabelle then head over to talk to Shizuo. But for now, she had a lovely time with James for after she finished her work for the day.

"Maybe I should bring something over..." She said. Maybe some sweets, like cupcakes or cookies. It'd been a while since she indulged herself, after all, and it never hurt to spoil her friends.

After a few minutes of sorting through the papers and examining what they were for, Pauline had managed to shift them into two piles; The "Needs to be done today" pile and "Can be left for tomorrow" pile.

It wouldn't take her too long to finish up the today pile, so she got to work, reading through them, and sorting them into two smaller piles of what she would approve and she wouldn't approve, signing where needed. After a while, Pauline groaned in relief as she reclined in her office chair, placing her pen down.

"Finally...I thought it would never end." She said, standing up and moving the reviewed and signed papers to where her secretary could easily find and access them. The pile for the next day, she put away in some drawers, and wrote down a sticky note reminder for herself to do them when she came in tomorrow.

Pauline then gathered up her things, placing them in her red tote bag and began heading out of the city hall, texting James that she was just going to head home and change into more comfy clothes before heading over to their place. These high heels were fashionable, don't get her wrong, but they made her feet ache like nothing else after a long day.

As Pauline walked into the city hall parking-lot and got into her car, a black Maserati, she took another peek at her phone on hearing the notification, and after debating, texted back that pizza sounded good. Oh, now that she thought about it, Crimson and Scarlet would be upset with her for coming home and leaving again. Her little darlings just hated when something had her going out again after coming home from work.

"I'm sure James would love to see the girls again." She smiled, sending another text to her friend, asking if it was alright for her to bring her Growlithes with her as she turned on the car. She then shifted it into drive, and began the drive home.

It wasn't a really long walk home, but it generally made things easier for Pauline to drive. It not only saved her time, but it prevented the eventual foot-ache from setting in even quicker.

Just as Pauline pulled into her driveway, she got another text. Opening it, she smiled to see the short video of Cookie dancing and confirmation that they would love to have the girls over. Pauline then texted back that she would be over in a tiny bit with the girls.

Getting out of the car, Pauline walked up to her front door, taking out her housekeys to unlock it, and was shortly greeted by excited barking and whining as soon as she opened the door, making her laugh.

"Mommy's home, darlings!" She said, kneeling down to be level with the two Growlithes running to approach her, leaping into her arms to greet her with kisses. Pauline giggled, petting the two Pokemon lovingly. "I know, I know, I missed you, too."

After a brief moment of doing this, she gently pushed them off. "Alright, girls, go gather your leashes and toys. We're going to go see James and Cookie!"

The Growlithes grew even more excited, dashing off to grab what they needed for the trip as Pauline headed into her room to change into more comfy clothes, deciding on a white doulman shirt and grey baggy sweatpants with black-slippers. She also removed her makeup with some makeup-remover, not wanting to leave it on then forget to take it off later.

After gathering a few items she thought they might need, such as treats for the Pokemon, as well the box of mixed cookies she bought yesterday from the local bakery, into her tote bag, Pauline headed back to her frontdoor, where Crimson and Scarlet waited eagerly with their leashes in their mouth, making their owner laugh. Beside them was a small bag of what she knew contained toys.

"Good girls, good girls!" She cooed, clipping the leashes onto their collars, grabbing the toy bag and leading them out to the car. After making sure both they and the bag were settled, Pauline sat down in the driver's seat and started the car, pulling out of the driveway to began the short trip to James' apartment.