Eric is running rapidly away from the scene. He had only mere moments to react to the situation that transpired, but he was tactful enough to realise the gravity of the situation as soon as he heard it.
It was another typical day in Suburbia. This scene could have easily been in Los Angeles or that town named for some Confederate general. You wouldn't know. Every day, Eric went out for his usual outing. He woke up, cooked breakfast, ate, packed his stuff, and went off to his classes at his university. He's a typical college undergraduate just trying to find his place in the world.
Today, he made sure to pack extra currency. He's got a hot date tonight, and he'll really need to impress her. He knows at least two other people like the same girl he does, and they'll do anything to have her. Heck, he's willing to as well.
So after his classes, Eric got back to his dorm and prepared for his date. He puts on a nice T-shirt, a pair of pants with deep pockets, and a Columbia jacket. He keeps his phone and wallet in his pocket. He made sure to pack 300 bucks for this night out.
Eric went to his car and pulled out of his driveway. Instantly, a few ringers go by. He doesn't mind and drives off to his date. Eric made sure to scout out the place ahead of time. It's a new restaurant with no online presence, so he makes sure to scout out the place before he goes there with his date. Nobody knows how much money it's going to cost.
The restaurant is a Mexican place called La Rebanada. The Loaf. Eric doesn't understand why, but it's a new place in town. Surely such an adventurous idea would sit well with his date.
So Eric enters the tastefully decorated place and asks for a menu. Most of the menu is quite expensive. It's 100 bucks for an appetiser, another 150 for a main course, and the drinks are twenty or thirty each. Eric immediately realises he can't afford this place. But, he still has to eat here. Otherwise, his date might go off to another man. He can't let that happen.
Eric looks outside. He hasn't gotten paid in forever, His workplace experienced a major reduction in income due to decreased customer traffic. He'll have to make do. Eric spots a few people across the street from him. They're wearing nice vests and some nice slackers over some slacks. Of course, it'll be difficult to steal from them, so he has a much better option.
Eric pulls out his wallet and checks that he's got bucks in it. Of course, his wallet is only so big, so he keeps the rest of his bucks in his Columbia jacket. Eric walks to a location near the two people. They're waiting at the bus stop across the street. They're on their phones, clearly not aware of Eric approaching, Once he's close enough, Eric pulls out his wallet and rings them up.
The ringers hit the two square in their heads. Both of the bus stop people drop dead on the spot. Eric calmly walks up to the two of them and inspects his currency. One is a young man with golden blond hair. His muscular frame and solid features makes him easily worth 2000 bucks. He realises they're both about the same age, and his vest and slackers indicate he's of equal status. Eric elected not to wear his tux for his occasion. He'll really need to be somewhere if he did. The other is a young woman maybe two years younger. She is absolutely stunning. Together, Eric could probably pay a year's worth of rent with these two. Of course, he'd really like to ring an ironvest, but those guys spend a lot of time indoors. They can pay people to ring for them all the time.
Eric hauls his currencies to La Rebanada in time for his own hot date to arrive. He immediately spotted her silky black hair and blue-green eyes. Jada is her name. They've only known each other for a few weeks. Jada immediately took a liking to Eric's ability to ring. Perhaps he could become an ironvest one day, but there are just too many ringers. He'll need a better wallet, and that can only come with a good college education. Eric chose psychiatry as his profession. That ought to pay for the better wallet.
Eric got 90000 bucks for those currencies. It's a hefty amount that he can invest into his future. Perhaps he can open a coffee shop or a psychiatry office with this. For now, he spent it on Jada. They hit it off instantly.
At the end of his dinner, Eric is acutely aware of someone's conversation. The person in question is behind Jada, and he's complaining about how he's broke. Eric immediately realises what's going to happen next. He urges Jada to duck, but she's simply sitting too close. A loud ringer explodes right in front of Eric, leaving the beautiful Jada simply currency. Eric immediately bolts out of the door.
That was too close a call, Eric thought. In this world, it's ring or be rung. Eric is lucky to realise soon. He's out of a hot date now, but those can always be replaced. Eric needs to ring more people for his next date. He'll climb up the ladder to become an ironvest and will do anything to get there. Then, he'll be safe. For now, he's got to contend with millions of his contemporaries in this limited world. Everything costs bucks, and the only way to get bucks is with currencies or working. Oh, how he envies the ironvests. For now, Eric runs back home and stashes away his remaining 80000 bucks.
