A Lumen Ripple | An Elemental Story

Chapter 15 - Sham Op

Yes. I'd love that. Date night it is. Love you! <3

And though the day could very well be a disappointment from the work side of things, Wade could hold high hopes that the night could make up for it.

"Date night. Yes! Oh... she said yes!" he thought.

Alas, his joy needed to be saved up for the evening's activities. For now, he was on the job.

. . .

Following a while of walking on foot given his coworkers took all the company cars - to be expected - Wade found himself at the location Mutrick blasely sent him to. 

He looked about the neighborhood just before walking in; this part of town was nice. A bit too nice. The streets had older folk slowly strolling along admiring life. The air felt fresher, more spring-like - more serene. This felt a bit more like Wade's stream of pace. 

Regardless, he took a deep breath awaiting some kind of cruel Mutrick-esque twist, slicking his hair back.

"Okay. Breath took, and..." he began.

He confidently pushed through the entrance door with his body. Lo and behold...

"...it's an op shop." he finished.

To his genuine curiosity, he found himself in the complete opposite of Bar Elementus Ashenwood; a quiet, friendly op shop with old folk calmly shopping about. Wade's jaw fell to the floor like a waterfall. This was nothing like he expected. He gently began walking through the aisles, looking from side to side with a face of mystification.

"What did I just stumble into?" he questioned himself.

He gently sloshed from side to side as he walked through, noticing the cashier's desk at the back of the shop. Slowly strolling along to it made him think no cashier was present, prompting him to ring a bell on the desk in wait.

"Down here," a voice said.

Looks like he thought wrong. A cashier was present after all. He looked about trying to find the voice, peering down over the desk. To his shock, a little old rock lady not 2 feet tall stood with a welcoming smile.

"How can I help you, deary?" she asked.

Wade's eyes shot open in surprise, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"Nothing like I expected." he refrained.

Clearly a bit hard of hearing, the old lady put a hand on her ear.

"What's that, deary?" she asked politely.

Wade let down a heaping gulp, bobbing his head forward as he did. That was when it hit him; he was there to do one of the worst parts of his job; shut the place down. This really was a Mutrick job. As he realized, a tinge of regret overcame him. 

Hesitantly, he slowly reached over and down the desk as he handed her the foreclosure paper.

"I'm Mr. Ripple, from the Elementopia-City Building Inspection Division. We've been made aware that you're operating despite multiple foreclosure warnings and citations," he said regretfully.

The old lady merely looked down at the paper, before blankly handing it back.

"Oh. You must have the wrong store." she notified.

Knowing that this could be a lot more difficult than he thought, Wade bit his lip hard, sweating.

"Oh-- no-no. That's not how this works." Wade advised, pushing it back.