No Money (Mrmista)

The day had been going exactly as Jasper had wanted it to. Then again, that did tend to be the case.

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and Jasper looked as great as always. His hair was parted neatly to the side, and his button-down, top button open, emitted an aura of authority. Only a few beads of sweat, a byproduct of the unusually hot temperature, broke the illusion of perfection. They paled in significance, however, to the most important part of the day.

Jasper was awaiting the arrival of an important customer, a young man from one of the wealthier district families who had reserved one of the forgotten items in the Treasure Trove, an impeccably made locket, for himself. He was getting married and wished to gift his fiancée, soon-to-be wife, the locket once the ceremony was over and they had a picture of their first kiss as a married couple. The locket was shaped like a silver heart and likely originated from District One. How it had ended up in District Twelve was a mystery to Jasper, one he did not care to solve. The most likely scenario was that it had arrived as a Peacekeeper’s possession, a careless peacekeeper’s who’d let a poor Seam kid rob him of the priceless object. Jasper was not so foolish and always kept a watchful eye over the shop’s inventory and the customers that frequented the pawn shop. Not once had someone stolen an item from under his watch. Nevertheless, Jasper was being extra careful with the locket, and it currently resided behind the register, out of public view.

The day had been going exactly as Jasper had wanted it to.

Three hours had passed since the Jasper had set up shop at 9 AM, standard opening time for Saturdays, and nothing had seemed out of the ordinary. Five people had come in to trade in their possessions.

Two of them were fresh faces, each of which had hope in its eyes. They both promised they’d be back within two weeks with enough money to buy their possessions back. Jasper smiled and assured them he wouldn’t sell off their items until two weeks had passed. He intended to keep the promise just in case, but he knew doing so would likely be unnecessary. Neither of the two customers looked like they’d be follow through on their side of the deal.

One of the five customers, however, was an exception. He was a returning customer who’d already traded in a hat then bought it back in time. This time, he had sold off the hat again, and Jasper expected to see him back at the shop within two weeks.

The last two faces were ones Jasper knew well. They’d been at the shop multiple times and their faces had long lost hope of ever buying their possessions back. To be fair, one of them had never had hope to begin with. Whereas one of the two was a poor Seam woman desperately trying to provide for her family, the other was a pickpocket who only needed to feed himself. Whereas the former tended to bring him objects of little worth, the latter was one of Jasper’s best sources of inventory. For instance, he was the one who’d provided the locket Jasper was planning on selling later that day.

Between the five customers, Jasper had, at least temporarily, gained a rose-shaped pin, a hat, a watch, a set of candles, and an impressive wallet, albeit empty of any money, courtesy of one of his favorite pickpocket.

The day had been going exactly as Jasper had wanted it to.

The items were not yet on display, but Jasper knew some of them would be within a few weeks. In the meantime, he focused on selling those items that would never be claimed. Aside from the locket, he’d sold a bunch of clothing, a baby carriage and bottle, a set of silverware, a small bottle of perfume, a framed picture, and a bottle of wine the original owner had claimed was 50 years old. The store didn’t quite live up to its name, but it allowed the Dandarian family to live comfortably, and on days like today, when Jasper had a high profile customer, it got that much closer to a real treasure trove.

The day had been going exactly as Jasper had wanted it to.

Until that guy had walked in.

That guy appeared to have a few years On Jasper, as well as a few inches and some additional muscle growth. Then again, he could have been Jasper’s age; the facial hair made it hard to figure it out. He certainly didn’t look like the type of customer who could afford to purchase Jasper’s goods, but at the same time, Jasper didn’t see anything in the kid’s man’s possession. It was always possible that the stranger was so desperate that he was willing to sell the shirt off his back, but Jasper doubted it.

The shirt clung tightly to the guy’s skin, and it was drenched with sweat. Any customer with an iota of common sense would know that selling it in that condition would heavily lower the price, so if he’d really planned on doing that, he would have come in a different shirt. Hell, with the heat outside, he could have come shirtless, though the shop’s rule was that all of its customers stay covered, so perhaps that wouldn’t have been the best idea.

The rule was certainly not one of Jasper’s favorites, as there had been plenty of female customers he would have loved to see in more revealing attire, but his parents’ rules were final. The shop had to have a professional attitude, the said, if customers were to take it seriously. Personally, Jasper thought having some more skin would actually draw in more business – sex sells and all that. But no, his parents stood by their word, and since their business model had worked so far, there was no use complaining.

Attention now completely focused on the stranger, Jasper tried to figure him out. He realized that although he’d never seen the guy before, he recognized his movements and mannerisms. They belonged to the same people who provided Jasper with his best items, pickpockets and thieves. Once his brain processed that information, he instantly went into full alert.

And yet, on the outside, Jasper’s face had not changed at all. He had given no indication that he’d already figured out the newcomer. Instead, Jasper went through his usual routine, calling out “Welcome to the Treasure Trove!” which got a smile out of the big guy. Perhaps it was meant to pacify Jasper, make him think the not-customer was nothing out of the ordinary. It didn’t matter. Jasper had already noticed the man’s eyes dart towards the side of the store where all of the watches were, and he knew what the guy’s plan would be.

Jasper watched him slowly approach the watches on display, scrutinizing them as if he were planning on buying them. In reality, Jasper doubted he could tell apart the valuable ones from the shiny trash that didn’t even work accurately. Oddly enough, the man’s movements seemed choppy, unlike those of a professional. He seemed hesitant to make his move, which was odd for a thief. Even if Jasper hadn’t noticed the stranger’s intentions to begin with, any responsible shopkeeper could tell something was off by this point.

Jasper chose a moment to look away, interesting in seeing if the man would take the opportunity. Sure enough, as Jasper turned his head back around, he saw the guy’s hand move away from his jeans pocket, which suddenly had a slight bulge. Sure enough, there was now an empty spot between two of the watches on the shelf.

The day was definitely not going as Jasper had wanted it to.

He was shocked. The guy had actually tried to steal from him. Jasper wasn’t sure whether he should be angry or amused. The guy was either extremely cocky or a complete fool. Probably both.

On one hand, he’d had the gall to try and steal from Jasper. Jasper, who’d never lost account of a single piece of inventory. To top it off, he hadn’t even shown Jasper a smidgeon of respect while trying to do it, only glancing up once before pocketing the watch. He must have thought that Jasper was too dull to realize what was happening. Big mistake. Nobody underestimated Jasper Dandarian. Nobody got in the way of his plans.

Then again, the guy had done such a bad job at burglarizing Jasper that it was hard not to laugh at his failure. First of all, he’d thrown so many red flags that Jasper had lost count. He could have stopped the robbery cold multiple times if he’d so desired. This guy was clearly an amateur. Second of all, he had delayed the actual pocketing and hadn’t checked to make sure he was in the clear, which was what had allowed Jasper to witness the act as it had occurred. The guy was quick with his hands; Jasper would give him that. But clearly, this wannabe thief was lacking up top. Third of all, of all the watches he could have picked, the guy had chosen one of the cheapest watches on display, albeit one of the most brightly-colored ones. “He is no better than a raven,” thought Jasper, smirking smugly to himself, “Thinking all that glitters is gold.”

As Jasper watched the boy, age no longer mattered, he could not think of him as an adult, walk from one side of the store, trying again to create an image of innocence, the two potential reactions fought for control. Eventually, the stranger turned to leave, and Jasper could feel anger taking over. He leaned over the desk, ready to yell at the man to stop, ready to run after him if necessary, when –

THUD!

The one-man comedy act had tripped over his own two feet and almost done a face plant right into the ground. He’d stayed upright, albeit barely, but the watch had flown out of his pocket and now lay right in the middle of the floor, a glaring indicator of the boy’s actions. Jasper looked up from the watch to find the boy frozen, his entire demeanor resembling that of a deer caught in headlights.

Jasper tried to maintain his own expression, a stern one, one that allowed a bit of the anger he had felt until this moment to shine through, but the boy’s expression was too much. The situation had gotten more ridiculous by the second, and the look on the boy’s face was the final addition needed to send Jasper’s scales tilting in the other direction, from anger to amusement. His mouth had been open, ready to unleash a yell, but now, all that escaped was an unsuppressed laugh that filled the entire shop.

The day was definitely not going as Jasper had wanted it to.

But for once, he didn’t mind.