Bellamy only had another hour before Miller showed up to relieve him from his post. Well, post wasnât quite the right word. But it sounded more legit than the place he stood in the corner of the gymnasium right next to the bouncy house.
For the third year in a row, Officer Bellamy Blake had drawn the short straw and spent his entire Friday night on duty at Arkadian Elementary Schoolâs First Week Kick-Off Party. He was surrounded by children who had way too much sugar in their system and their extremely exhausted yet enthusiastic parents. It wasnât that he hated the event. In fact, it was quite adorable. Itâs more that he preferred his Friday nights free so he could attend Octaviaâs weekly family dinners, that had grown to include his entire friend group.
His night had been relatively boring, since nothing particularly noteworthy ever happens at these things. His presence is just a precaution, especially with so many children running around. Then, he felt a tug at his sleeve. He glanced down, seeing a young girl with big brown eyes looking up at him.
âAre you a police man?â she asked curiously, and Bellamy couldnât help but smile.
âWhy yes, I am,â he replied, and she furrowed her brows, looking down at her feet for a second.
âMy mom says that youâre supposed to help people. Can you help me?â she asked, and Bellamy raised an eyebrow. He had never had a small child just run up to him and say they needed help before, and he was terrified about what could possibly be wrong. He felt himself scanning the room again, nervous that he had missed something.
âOf course. Whatâs wrong?â he asked, looking back at her. But she didnât look scared⌠just frustrated.
âWill you tie my shoe?â she asked, and Bellamy let out a sigh of relief. He chuckled slightly as he kneeled down, and she stuck her shoe out toward him, hopping slightly since she was off balance. He could see where she tried to tie it herself, resulting in a messy knot.
âWhatâs your name?â he asked, as he finished undoing her knot.
âMadi. This year, Iâm in the dolphin class,â she announced proudly, and Bellamy wasnât even sure what that was supposed to mean. He had seen something about it in the hallways earlier, assumed it was some kind of way of grouping the kids in each grade.
âAnd there you go,â Bellamy said with a smile, gesturing to her perfectly tied shoe.
âMadi!â he heard someone shout as he stood up. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing a short blonde woman jog up to them. âYou were supposed to stay with Wells,â she said with furrowed eyebrows, before looking up at Bellamy with a concerned look on her face. She looked almost too young to be this girlâs mom, but had the worried look in her eyes that screamed mom.
âHe was busy talking to Raven, and I needed someone to tie my shoe,â Madi shrugged, and the woman immediately started chuckling. She looked back at Bellamy with a small grin.
âWell, thank you for tying her shoe,â she said with a bright smile, and Bellamy couldnât help but smile back.
âItâs my job,â he managed to choke out, a bit flustered by the sweet way she was looking at him. The woman looked back at Madi. Her hair was cut pretty short, a bit wavy. Her eyes were bright blue, and Bellamy couldnât help but think that these two girls donât really look like theyâre related.
âWait, what is your name?â Madi asked, tugging on his sleeve again, and he couldnât help but noticed the embarrassed blush on her motherâs cheeks as she shot him an apologetic look. Little did she know that this was the most adorable thing to happen to him while he was on duty. âI need to know in case I need help again.â