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With another success in her pocket, Sherry felt a little better. Only a little, though. She still had work to do.

A quiet hallway. A quiet classroom. She stuck her head in. On the far was was a bit of mistletoe, this time tied with a silver ribbon. She had seen it from the hall, but she knew better than to just walk right into the room.

Yep. Pressed against the wall, so as to not be seen from the door, were a few hunters. They were all giving her the 'deer in the headlights' look. Sherry could see their minds working as they started to scramble and move, clearly her knowing about the trap messed things up.

"Don't even," she shook her head as she stepped back out of the room quickly moved down the hall.

((Mistletoe Count: 2 ))

Another quiet hallway. There seemed to be a lot of those. Even though nothing was like what it seemed.

Like this classroom. From the hallway, she could see mistletoe on the ceiling. The red and gold ribbons glittered, beautifully complimenting the green. She stood, staring at the room.

"Shhhhhhh." It came from inside.

She had heard them as she walked down the hall. Shuffling and talking. She had even heard, "Shhhhh someone's coming! Hide!" She almost hoped it was a room full of Life hunters. If anyone in that room needed stealth, they were dead.

She simply shook her head and continued on.

((Mistletoe Count: 2 ))

More hallways, more classrooms. There seemed to be hunters lurking in every corner, too. The more she wandered around, the more Sherry thought. The more she thought, the more she a) agreed with Caelius about the whole mistletoe nonsense, b) decided that she hated kissing, and c) wondered if that Death Hunter had known what he was sending her off to do. At first, it seemed that he just wanted her out of his hair, so he gave her some busy work. But this? This was difficult, among other things.

It while she was rolling these thoughts around in her head that she stepped into the classroom. If she had been paying better attention, she might have noticed from the get go that something wasn't right. But that sprig of mistletoe sitting on that desk, it was just too good to pass up.

There were four of them in that room. One with garland wrapped about her neck. Another was standing on a desk attaching the devil parasite of crazy (mistletoe) to the ceiling. The third had apparently tried to eat a tub of gold glitter, but failed at hitting his mouth. The fourth...was making out with his hand.

"Hello!" Their joyous chorus filled the room. "Won't you stay and--"

Whatever they wanted, Sherry didn't care. She was already rounding the corner at the end of the hall.

((Mistletoe Count: 3 ))

Mistletoe. If it could think, she would call it a crafty thing. Always around people. Crazy people.

This room was no exception. Once again, the room had appeared empty. The mistletoe she could see from the hall seemed like an easy target. Once again, she was wrong. Now these, these were stealthy hunters. She hadn't seen them until they sprang forth, screaming about Christmas cheer and kisses.

Sherry hadn't been this terrified since the first few rooms. These hunters were good. She hoped she could outrun them.

((Mistletoe Count: 3 ))

The day was dragging on. If she had not seen it herself, Sherry would never have guessed that so much mistletoe existed outside of the North Pole. Nor so many crazy folks.

"Is there some secret screening process I don't know about? Or is it working here that does it?" An exasperated Sherry had taken to asking the air silly questions. Armagnac had quit listening ages ago. "I just don't get it," she muttered for the millionth time that day, as she stepped into another classroom.

Inside was the perfect example of what she didn't get. Sure, the two putting up decorations, that was normal enough. The third...it was the dude from earlier-the one who was making out with his hand. He had apparently applied a bright red lipstick this time. His eyes perked up at the sight of her.

Oh, no. That meant there was one missing. Sherry turned, and sure enough, standing almost behind her, the glitter covered fellow. Seriously. Gold glitter everywhere. He was also grinning.

"Hey! Wanna stay and help out? We could-"

"Nope! Not happening!" Sherry called over her shoulder as she darted out of the room and down the hall.

((Mistletoe Count: 3 ))

Unfortunately, the next hallway was not so empty. It was rather crowded, actually. Though, this could be to her advantage. Everyone was busy, perhaps she could just sneak in and grab a nearby sprig of mistletoe. It would be like liberating the hallway, and no one would even know. It was possible.

But not destined to happen. She did reach her target, she even touched it. As her hand wrapped around the decoration she heard people muttering. It was too late to turn back. She pulled. The mistletoe stuck fast, but the bell on the bow came off in her hand.

The mutterings grew, and Sherry turned to find people staring at her again. "Ha, ha," she laughed, and tossed the bell in her hand at a hunter who was glaring extra hard. As he caught it, Sherry darted down the hall.

((Mistletoe Count: 4 ))

She dismantled them. All of the mistletoe decorations she'd found in the halls and classrooms. The ribbons and any bells she found were removed and tossed into the trash without ceremony. Then she crushed the mistletoe. Crushed it as small as she could. It joined the ribbons in the trash. A truly glorious sight.

***

Her steps did not slow as she reached the classroom. They didn't need to. Right now, Sherry felt good. She had done it. Sure, at first that task had seemed simple and foolish. By the end, it had turned into a some kind of nightmare.

A nightmare she survived. Not unscathed, of course. Her hair was disheveled and may have had lipstick smeared in it, glitter clung to her clothes here and there, and she smelled lightly of Christmas tree (though she had no idea how that had happened). But she had accomplished the task given to her. Not to mention she'd learned a few things, too. That mistletoe was a craze inducing drug was not the least of these.

"Sir," she said stepping into the classroom. "Mistletoe decorations have been removed and disposed of."

Clear and concise.
There would be time to ask for more training later. If not today, then tomorrow.