Eternity Glass

II: Placebo Effect

"Have a good one Mr. Brown!" Fallon called over her shoulder to the middle-aged shopkeeper as she pushed through the exit.

"I trust you'll be in bright and early for your morning shift after you get back!" the man called back.

Brown Magick was the only metaphysical store for miles. Though it only carried basic crystals, candles, herbs, and books, she believed that her boring little town of Beverwall was lucky enough to have it. It gave the crowds else to talk about other than fishing and the weather. That being said, the crowds didn't exactly talk well of the owner himself.

Rumor had it that Mr. Brown popped into town in his twenties with a strange idea and a copious sum of money to back it up. No matter how hard those in Beverwall tried, even the most shameful gossips couldn't figure out where he got the money. Some said that he used to be a member of some underground gang but decided that he was better off solo and stole some money to make it on his own. Fallon didn't believe that for a second; Mr. Brown was the gentle and old-school uncle figure. Sure, he had a tattoo on his back that peaked up right above the collar of his suits, and sure, he would always change the subject whenever the girl would ask him about it, but that didn't mean that he was a gang member.

Someone else started a rumor that Mr. Brown was a swindler. He would charm single, desperate women into marrying him and then take off with their money. To Fallon, that was more believable. Still, Mr. Brown had insisted that he hadn't had a relationship in decades.

Honestly, the only good those rumors did was invite curious cats to enter his shop, so the man was fine with them. Fallon didn't mind them, either.

Checking her list once more, Fallon smiled. It always felt nice to complete something, especially since she would always put her own grocery shopping on Saturdays and had to wait the whole kk. Only eight in the morning, and my list is complete! Ooh, it's eight o'clock!

She lifted her head to face Herrera's Catch, and right on time, Jeffrey opened the door and flipped the sign for it to say "Open." He caught her eye, waved, and looked over his shoulder to call Jeremy down.

Fallon quickly crossed the street despite there not being any cars just yet. Up close, she could see the stubble on Jeffrey's face and the stray hairs across his forehead. Leave it up to him to open the store half asleep. "G'morning, Jer," she greeted.

He looked at her over once, his eyes still glazed over. "Morning, shrimp."

Fallon snorted at his still-groggy voice. "Aren't you a ray of sunshine?"

The thudding from the staircase behind the elder Herrera brother announced Jeremy's arrival. "Who's a ray of sunshine?"

Fallon pouted. God, that's not fair. For some reason, Jeremy always looked like a prince whenever he woke up. It didn't matter that he tended to move around like an octopus with a seizure. His hair was always attractively messy and his lips had that pout that told everyone else that he didn't want to be up yet. It was a mystery how he never had a serious relationship yet. Throughout high school and a little bit of middle school, the young man did date a few girls who went to the same school as Fallon and him. The longest relationship was three months, and even then, he never looked too heartbroken from it.

The two had talked about it once during junior year, when he had broken up with his last girlfriend. "I'm confused," Fallon had started. They were amid studying for their AP exams, but apparently that was the one thought that interrupted her study routine.

Jeremy, though, wasn't studying. He was naturally smart, the only one of his qualities that Fallon completely envied up until this point, and only needed to read something once in order to know it for the test. No, he was busy playing one of his countless video games, those of which she never had the time to understand for herself. "Make sure your calculator is in the right mode." The bastard didn't even take his headphones off.