Stars Forever Falling

Chapter 21: Silent Search

The twins' midday argument had soured the mood for the rest of their day. It had left a bad taste in both of their mouths as neither sibling had much to say to the other, other than the occasional directional prompt or question as to where they should try next on their joint mission to find employment.

Velvet attempted to gaslight herself, telling herself over and over again that she was more than capable of finding a job. It was so simple. However, in reality, she wanted only to give up on their hopeless search now and ask Ritz somehow to help them build connections by any means necessary. She had told Orchid the day she gave away her money, that she should work hard towards her goal. But now, Velvet was in a position that she had no other choice to, and she wanted nothing to do with her own advice, which she had given based on unsaid regret. But her desire to prove Carol wrong, to prove everyone wrong about her, was much stronger than her laziness.

Veneer walked a few paces behind his sister. Letting her lead as usual. A habit that he had now actively been trying to break since he got out of prison, with Ritz's reassurance. But a habit that he feared would not give him peace from Velvet if he didn't let her enable his dependency. He kept his head down, scrolling through his phone, reloading his dm with Ritz multiple times to see if a new message from him would pop up. But to no avail. He sighed as he thought that perhaps Ritz had been avoiding him. He had been feeling guilty about the events of the party. They were both incredibly indebted to Kid Ritz, and yet despite this, he hadn't been around to collect what was owed. Veneer sighed and slipped his phone back into his jacket pocket, coincidentally bumping into Velvet from his lack of attention, stepping on her heel.

"Ah! Oh my god, watch it! These are shoecci!" She shrieked at him, spinning around so fast, her plats were an inch away from whipping Veneer across the face.

"Sorry! Sorry-" He put his palms up in defence, followed by a lengthy sigh. "We've been asking around for hours. Maybe we should quit for the day." He suggested as he watched his sibling roll her eyes at him, clicking her heels over to a glittery street bench to park her aching feet for a moment. He followed suit.

"Still obsessed with quitting, I see." Velvet bit and arched her back forwards, resting her elbows on her knees, holding her heavy head in her hands. "I don't care what that old bag Carol or any of these stuck up, pompous pricks say about us. We're not quitting. This should be easy! These idiots wouldn't know a talented worker if it hit them with a car."

"Vels. We're not going to run over our poor potential bosses. Besides, I'm still suspended." Ven shrugged and sat back on the bench, resting his arms behind him.

"Just one little threat-" She scowled and locked her fingers together.

"No! Look, maybe we're not using the right approach- something tells me the dramatic entrances and flattering introductions aren't working." Veneer tilted his head back to continue his long-winded groan.

----

Moments earlier~

Mount Rageous was home to many branded shops, from cute clothing stores to fashionably fit cosmetics, vehicles, and of course, the latest pop-up shops suited to the latest trends. Each store was themed to match their wares. Traditionally lit with an alluring rainbow of neon, coxing the gullible teens inside to empty their wallets on nonsensical goods.

Business was running smoothly as usual along a string of high-end shops until...

BAM!

"Afternoon losers~!" Velvet announced as she and Veneer burst through the double doors of an unsuspecting store. Lowering her sunglasses to look upon the stunned crowd of casual shoppers and retail workers. The two of them stood dramatically posed in a symmetrical stature.
"No need to worry about your failing business, your new star employees have arrived~" She would call out. Each time, the troublesome twins were met with similar responses.

Blank staring from the puzzled visitors and workers.

Or...

An employee not so subtly leaning into their mic or radio, "Can I get security at the entrance, please..."

"Go." Velvet whispered to Veneer mid pose.

"What?" Veneer tilted his head, responding with confusion before the panic set in.

"Go! Go! Go! Go! Now!" Velvet repeated, her voice raising with aggressive concern as she unstuck herself from her practised position and began patting and shoving her brother out the door for them to quickly escape confrontation.

----

Back to Now~

Though, their brief conversation went mostly unheard in parts due to their close proximity to a busy road, which divided them from the long strip of shops they had been trying- It was unanimously agreed that the two of them were terrible at job applications. And for the first time, possibly in their lives, they realised just how easy they had had it.

"Ugh, you think?" Velvet snapped at him as she leant forward to rub the backs of her aching feet from her heels.

"I think we should head back. Maybe write up a CV? That's what poor people do, right? Come up with a strategy, a plan. We could keep trying into the night, but I think we're banned from the stores we've already "tried" in." Veneer was swiftly interrupted by Velvet quickly standing to her feet, smacking his shoulder to grab his attention.

"Shut up. Shut up for a second. Look." Ven's words had gone in one ear and out the other. She physically grabbed his head to turn his attention towards a building across the street.

Before them stood a crystalline towered arcade. The outside, from top to bottom, displayed neon signs and shining screens, exhibiting iconic game characters and gameplay. They ranged from classic, retro cabinet moments to the latest console game footage. The bottom floor displayed the old, retro, and the further the floors went up, the newer and more relevant the references became, as if every time there was a new trending release, a floor would be constructed to celebrate it. Rageons of all ages poured in and out of the entrances and exits. Each floor had its own despite the height. The exits extended out onto spiralling paths and stairs that led to the base of the building below.

Displayed inside a blue glass panel window on the ground floor, stuck a paper sign with black marker letters. Upon it, it read:

"NOW HIRING! APPLY WITHIN."

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Good evening, my fellow rageons! Did you miss me? Admit it, you missed me.

So sorry for the months long hiatus woops- and ofc we're starting off with a small chapter to help me get back into the swing of things. Hope you enjoyed!