Chapter Text
It’d been a week since Veronica’s death, and her subsequent manifestation in Hell. She was still adjusting to life down below, and the money she was given as a new sinner was running low. She wouldn’t be able to pay for her shitty motel room much longer. So here she was again, walking down the street, looking for somewhere to work.
“Hey, lambchop!” She turned around to find some random demon staring directly at her. “You got any meat to spare?” Rolling her eyes, Veronica flipped him off and kept walking. Her ewe appearance, complete with hoof-like hands and wooly hair, led to plenty of catcalls. It wasn’t anything new to her, however.
Wonder if they’re down here too…
Veronica brushed away the thought. She didn’t like to dwell on senior year, especially the shit she’d done with JD. She had more pressing matters to deal with, like finding a job and somewhere to stay before that extermination thing came around. She hadn’t fully figured out what it was yet; all she knew was that people died and that it was happening early this year.
Noticing a ‘for hire’ sign in a shop window, Veronica picked up her pace. As soon as she reached the door, the sign was pulled down.
Just my luck.
“Hurry up Veronica! Heather’s dad is almost done setting up the fireworks!”
Veronica looked up from her diary as Martha frantically waved at her from the other side of the backyard. She sighed and closed the journal. “Be there in a second!” She brushed the falling snow from her hair as she walked across Heather McNamara’s spacious back lawn.
As she approached Heather and Martha, Mr. McNamara stood up from the firework array he'd set up. “Ready to start your adult years off with a bang, kid?”
Heather rolled her eyes. “No one likes your shitty puns, Dad.” She turned to Veronica and held out a blowtorch. “Care to do the honors, Ronnie?”
Veronica took the torch from her. “Sure. I’ll wait till you’re all backed up though.”
Once everyone else had made it halfway across the lawn, she turned to the array of fireworks that'd been rigged to only need one fuse. Veronica was sure it wasn't fully legal, but this school year had been wild. Plenty of laws had been broken. Who would care if she lit up a doctored firework?
As she turned on the blowtorch, the corner of her coat sleeve caught fire. “SHIT!” She slammed it against the freshly fallen snow in an attempt to put it out. “SHIT SHIT SHIT!”
Only once she put it out did she realize that the fuse had been lit.
Veronica woke with a jolt. After a few seconds, she groaned. “Another nightmare…” After tossing and turning for a bit in an attempt to get back to sleep, she gave up and turned on the TV. The first thing that came on was the tail-end of a commercial. Just as Veronica was about to change the channel, a line grabbed her attention.
“...Plus, there’s free room and board. So why wouldn’t you give it a shot?” An address flashed on the screen. Veronica could feel a grin crossing her face.
How very.