Expectations When Expecting

Book 1, Chapter 12

"Hello, can I get some he- '' Deuce called out, entering ahead of Yuu before cutting himself off in surprise. "Whoa."

Yuu pushed open the door, suddenly curious before freezing in her tracks. "Woah..." She murmured, jaw dropped as she studied the scene in front of her:

Stocked up on all of the shelves was the most bizarre collection of merchandise that she'd ever seen at a school store.

"This shop is wild. They have crystal skulls, grimoires, taxidermied... Uh, I don't even know what animal that is!" Deuce buzzed about the store, taking in everything.

"Damn, y'all have the weirdest things. My school's store only had food, socks, meds, and chargers." She remarked, bewildered at exactly how many items could be neatly stocked in a small place like this.

"You think they really sell cream here?" Grim asked from Yuu's shoulder. She shrugged, walking a little further into the store.

All of a sudden, the sound of a shutting door made Yuu yelp in surprise, turning to see a shadowy creature scamper behind the counter.

She walked over, carefully peeking over the counter before yelping as a handsome tall, charming man popped up with a very loud, "Greetings, my stray imps, How fare you today?"

Yuu jumped back, eyes wide.

"Welcome to Mr. Sam's Mystery Shop. What among my humble selection interests you?" He moved the way a cartoon salesman would, pulling out several different items as he spoke. "A charm from a secluded land? The mummified remains of an ancient king?" He seemed to pull a terrifying card from thin air, holding it out to Yuu. "A cursed tarot card?"

"I- wha- I- Umm..." Yuu stammered, completely caught off guard at the older man.

"Myah! I wasn't expectin' this kinda selection." Grim yelped, claws digging into Yuu's shoulder.

Deuce suddenly brushed past her, surprising Yuu a bit.

"Um... Actually, we wanted to buy all the items on this list..." Deuce stated, offering Trey's list to the man that Yuu had assumed was Mr. Sam.

"Ring up two cans of tuna while you're at it!" Grim said, hanging off of Yuu's shoulder as he made an attempt to get to the countertop.

"No, Grim! We're not here for tuna!" Deuce yelped.

"But-" Grim started to say before Freezing once he saw Yuu's face.

"Grim." She warned.

"What's this?" The man read over the list. "Cream and eggs and... Quite the sacchariferous list!" He smiled charmingly, "I'll get everything for you."

"Whoa... He really does stock that stuff, huh?" Deuce said, awestruck as he watched Sam move swiftly behind the counter, placing things into a bag.

Yuu nodded, impressed. "He's pretty efficient. I've only ever seen one other person be this good at their job." She praised as Sam finally placed the bag with all the items on the counter.

"Here you go. It's pretty heavy... Are you sure you can carry this?" He asked. "Luckily for you, our 1/100th size flying saucers are 30% off today. Perfect for carrying groceries!" He gave them a charming smile and a sales pitch.

Yuu began to politely decline before Grim clambered to the top of the counter. "Ooh, lemme see! That sounds awesome!"

Deuce quickly cut in before any of them could get sucked into the pitch. "We're fine, thank you. Let's go, Grim." Deuce stated, taking the cat monster by the scruff of the neck.

"Myah! I didn't realize today was National No Fun Allowed Day!" Grim whined, squirming in Deuce's grasp.

Yuu sighed at Grim's actions. "I'm sorry about him. Thank you for the help!" She said, quickly following behind.