Angela Harris & Nova Pixels
Union City - Historical District, Lost finds
Time: Midday
"You wanna repeat that?"
A loud cracking noise fills the shop. The blue-haired girl's fingers have embedded themselves into your counter. Her voice is low, but her tone is clearly agitated and hostile. And, as overblown as it is, it doesn't take much to tell this is what she considers holding back. A problem customer in the worse sense. Entitled, temperamental, and unlikely to back down.
There's a brief pause- tension filled. The blue-haired girl looks you dead in your eye and you respond in kind. Naturally, this only serves to irritate the girl even more.
The girl raises her hand.
You shift your weight in preparation.
Lowering yourself to the level of some juvenile is not something you want to make a habit of. That said, if you have to forcible remove someone from your place of business, that is another matter entirely. However, just as the two of you start to make a move, your mind doubles back. A brief moment of panic as uneasiness suddenly races through your body. In an instant, you're fully alert- completely tuned in to the girl's movements. The small hairs on the back of your neck stand on end and your muscles tense up. Your instincts are screaming at you... Telling you not to proceed lightly.
The girl's breathing stabilizes.
Her shoulder relaxes and the hand hovering just over the countertop becomes disturbingly still.
Suddenly-
"Hey, Julie."
Nothing happens. Or rather, nothing is allowed to happen.
From the other side of the store, the redhead student calls out with a casual tone. Though, as your attention slowly shifts from one girl to the next, you understand all too well that she understands what just took place in the past few seconds. She's relaxed, but her eyes are fixated on her friend with a silent, commanding intensity.
"Why don't you stop bothering the workers and go wait outside?" With no fight breaking out, she returns her attention to the shelf in front of her, "I'll take care of the rest."
"Huh!?"
Julie swings around, clearly displeased. But, for what it's worth, this little interruption has dissuaded her from taking a swing at you. For now, at least.
"Sis, come on! You seriously gonna get on my ass when they're the ones disrespecting me? If anything, with the amount they're charging us for this crap, fatass and her motorize real doll should be kissing our asses for even giving them any business at all!"
"Well, it's not like it's our money..." the redhead sighs and mumbles as she pulls a record off the shelf, "Anyway, if you want to start a fight with the business owner, I won't stop you. But I won't be the one telling Towa why we screwed up a simple errand."
The blue-haired girl visibly flinches. Her shoulders slump and her eyes stray off to the side as she processes the thought. She grumbles, looks at her friend, then back to the two of you, before turning away and sucking her teeth.
"Fine..."
And just like that, the situation deescalates.
Julie steps away from the counter and leaves both the books and the payment card. She shoots you one last glare- likely learning your faces- before placing her hands in her pockets and exiting the shop.
A brief moment passes and the remaining customer can be heard breathing a sigh of relief. With her friend out of the picture, she approaches the counter and places a vinyl record next to the stack of books. The record cover in question seems to be a little worn, but you can still make out the image of a humanoid robot cradling two men in its hand.
"I'm really sorry about that. You may not believe me, but she's actually a really sweet girl. She's just... easily set off when she thinks people are being rude to her."
The girl's eyes rest on where Julie damaged the counter. She reaches into her shirt and pulls out a roll of bills. Way more money than you've ever seen a student carry... But after a bit of counting, she places a few bills right over the damaged spot. At a glance, it's enough to replace the counter entirely. Possibly even buy a spare.
"Anyway, I hope you'll still let me get these books. Our club president was really insistent on getting these," With a nervous smile, the girl places the payment card on top of the stack of books, "Oh. And I wanted to get this record too. But I'll be paying for that with my own money."
The girl smiles warmly. A brief pause passes as you decide how to proceed.
"And... If you don't mind me asking," The redhead speaks up once more. Albeit a bit more quietly than before, "I was wondering, would you maybe have some... special items you'd be willing to sell? Like OOParts? Maybe even weapons?"
Wise Up!