Raz was either in the tower or in the market surrounded by desperate students. Monday mornings were her peak. A new week. Word running of the specifications for every core subject.
She tightened the handkerchief around her neck. Two knots usually ensured that no loose wisps broke free. Her stall; deception to outsiders. It looked like she sold vitamins. Swallow this, your hair will shine so sharply you’ll be top news on Instagram’s page to fame.
A short Asian kid: “AQA. Spring 2017. How much?”
“Subject?” Raz asked.
“Maths.”
An insultive cliché brimmed in the back of her throat. “Two hundred.”
The kid tensed. “Two?”
“I didn’t stutter. Do you have it or not? If you do, pay up. Don’t? Move aside, I’ve got a queue.”
“Will you take one fifty?”
Raz: “Next!”
This one, brunette and busty: “OCR. History. 2017. Here’s the cash.”
She pulled out a wad of notes and rushed them into Raz’s palm.
Once counted, she snuck her left hand inside the handkerchief and waited for the requested strand to heat up. She pulled it loose and tucked it inside a clear bag. The brunette snatched it, mumbled a quick thanks, and scurried off reading the strand. Valid for 48 hours.
Raz carefully re-tied the handkerchief seconds before the smell of musky cologne surrounded her. She turned to see 6ft of a suited and booted male.
“Can I help you?”
His eyes drank her in.
“Well, do you find yourself capable to help the Prince?”
“Capable, of course. Willing? Definitely not. Now excuse me, I have a business to run.”
He stepped closer. “You call helping students cheat their way into University, a business? As the Prince, I can have you cut. The Kingdom will happily take you a prisoner.”
Someone in the que: “And we’d bail her out, you pompous ass! Get lost, will you? I want my strand.”
The Prince thrashed out his hands and snatched the handkerchief from Raz’s head, calling in gasps of shock. Her hair cascaded down her back and onto the ground, forming a pile of golden waves on the gritty floor.