The police station was silent.
The officers that worked at the station were going about their normal duties, trying to get through the night without having one of their convicts try and break out (a frequent occurrence). That being said, things appeared to be normal, save for one particular cubicle. Then again, the happenings in the cubicle were in fact considered normal to the officers, especially to one of the two officers that worked inside it.
One of the two officers sat in his chair backwards, leaning over the back end as he worked on his report. After writing a few more notes, the officer glanced over his shoulder and saw his cubicle-partner standing on his feet and doing what everyone knew him for.
Bailey was still doing that stupid dance.
Deciding that prodding Bailey with a few questions would be more-entertaining than his report, the officer turned his seat around, now facing the dancing officer despite still sitting in his chair backwards.
"Bailey, the alarm's been off for five minutes." The officer said.
"Once I start the Panic Dance, I need to see it through until the end!" The other officer, Bailey, pointed out as he continued to dance.
"It was a FALSE ALARM." The second officer said flatly.
"Doesn't matter. I've still started it, so now I need to finish it." Bailey replied as he continued to dance.
"I still don't know why you insist on doing that every time the alarm goes off." The officer said.
"I was brought up that way! The Panic Dance is my way to calm myself down when an emergency strikes, like an escaping convict!"
"Then you should focus that energy on catching the convict rather than DANCING."
"There IS a convict escaping?"
"It was a FALSE ALARM!"
"Sorry, but you should know by now that I need to finish it."
"Then why don't you just do it faster so you can finish it quicker?" The officer asked turning his chair back to his report.
"Oh! Good idea!" Bailey said as he started dancing faster
The second officer rolled his eyes. He had been working in this cubicle for as long as he could remember. It seemed like an eternity by now. It wasn't that he minded the job. It was easy (albeit mundane) work and the pay was decent. The only thing that got under his skin was that, while good for some entertainment, Bailey would often annoy him with his constant note-taking and even more-constant panic dances.
The officer scribbled some notes down on the piece of paper in front of him. Bailey's ridiculous dancing had somehow gotten a few words to come to his head. The report was nowhere near done, he realized, but at least he was making some progress.
A familiar redhead detective chose that particular time to walk in front of their cubicle and she caught sight of Bailey's double-timed dancing. She stopped herself and did a double-take at the scene.
"Um…" Lynne said.
"Don't mind him, Miss Lynne. This is actually normal for him." The second officer said without bothering to look up from his work.
"Hi, Miss Lynne!" Bailey greeted cheerfully. His arms' movement almost made it look like he was doing a stupid-looking wave to Lynne.
Lynne blinked a couple of times, opened and closed her mouth before deciding that it was best not to press the matter any further. Lynne continued walking and vanished around the corner.
The second officer continued to work on his report, but he was having a hard time concentrating on it with the sounds of Bailey's dancing in the background. He knew by now that he wouldn't be getting anywhere until Bailey stopped his dance, and who knew how long that would take?
"Bailey, are you almost done? I'm having a hard time concentrating on my report." The officer said.
"I'm almost there! And I'm going faster as well." Bailey insisted.
"Bailey, I'm not getting any work done until that dance finishes, so if you're not going to stop, at least dance quietly!"
"No can do. The Panic Dance doesn't involve any light steps."
"Can't you IMPROVISE?" The officer said flatly.
Bailey gasped (but still kept dancing), seemingly offended. "Improvise the PANIC DANCE? Unheard of!" He said. "I…I'm insulted!"
The second officer slapped himself on the forehead, by now forgetting why Bailey started dancing in the first place. "Look, I just want to get this report done and I need to get it done tonight." The officer pointed out.
"Okay, fine. It's almost done anyways." Bailey said.
"Thank you."
Bailey did a few more dance steps before finally ending his Panic Dance. As soon as he was finished, he sat back down in his chair and resumed work as if nothing happened.
"I honestly don't know why you're not in better shape." The second man said with a shake of his head. "All of that dancing gives you a better workout than the rest of us."
The comment went unanswered. Bailey simply held up another one of his notes. "Uh…Did the Inspector want this report tonight?" He asked.
"Yeah. You may want to get working on that."
"Yeah. I guess I should."
The second officer smiled when he realized that he would finally get to work on this report in peace. No more distractions.
The moment lasted all of three seconds before the alarm went off again.
"Oh no!" Bailey said as he jumped to his feet. "A prisoner is attempting an escape!"
The second man's eyes widened. "…No."
"PANIC DANCE!"
The second man's head hit his desk several times as Bailey started his Panic Dance again. This report would never get finished…
END