Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
She walked up to the front counter. Under the scratched plasti-glass she could see necklaces and earrings, toe rings and nipple rings—all pawned in moments of desperation by their respective owners.
Behind her the bell at the door jingled and she turned her head to see a scruffy looking man in dirty clothes standing just inside the doorway. Seeing him there made Aleena nervous, but he appeared to be staring at the entertainment cubes, so she turned her head again, being careful not to meet his shifty-eyed gaze.
“Yes? How can I help you?” a familiar voice asked.
Aleena felt a small spark of relief. It was Mr. Tanz, the Lucky Leaf’s owner, just coming out of the back of the shop. She had dealt with him before, when she and her mother had pawned things.
Mr. Tanz was a tall man with rounded shoulders and long silver hair that had gone white over the years. He was rather deaf but he was also fair—he offered women who sold to him exactly half of what he would have given a man pawning the same item. In most shops, a woman was lucky to get a third, so this was considered a good deal by most of the women Aleena knew.
“Eh—now who might you be, young lady? You look awfully familiar!” he bellowed, misjudging the sound of his own voice, as people who are hard of hearing often do.
“Hello, Mr. Tanz,” Aleena said loudly. “It’s me—Aleena. I have something I’d like to pawn, please.”
“Aleena—that’s right! I haven’t seen you here in ages. And where’s your mother?” he bellowed.
“She’s sick, I’m afraid—at the House of Healing,” Aleena shouted back. “That’s why I’m here to pawn something—I need to pay for her treatment!”
“Oh, that’s sad! Sad indeed!” He nodded, the light winking off his ancient gold-rimmed oculars. “Sorry to hear it, my dear.”
“Thank you!” Aleena said loudly. “Here—this is brand new,” she added and drew out the golden breast shield.
Mr. Tanz took one look at the shield and whistled through his scattered teeth.
“Whew! And where did you get such a thing, young lady?” he demanded.
“I…my father gave it to me. As a nameday present.” Aleena felt bad lying to the old man, but she was afraid if she told him the breast shield was a present from her husband he wouldn’t let her pawn it for the same reason the manager of the shop hadn’t let her return it.
“This is some nameday present, my dear!” Mr. Tanz declared. He held up the shield and turned it this way and that. The fine golden links shimmered and the jewels picked up the light streaming in the front window and sent rainbows bouncing all around the shabby little shop.
Aleena wished that he wouldn’t show off the breast shield quite so obviously. It made her nervous that the two of them weren’t the only ones in the room. However, a quick glance over her shoulder showed that the man who had come in after her appeared to be completely engrossed in the entertainment cubes.
She turned back to Mr. Tanz and looked at him hopefully.
“What can you give me for it? It’s brand new. See? Here’s the receipt.”
She showed him the sales slip and he whistled again and shook his head.
“Well, I can’t give you that price, I’m sorry young lady,” he said. “What I can do is give you half.”
“Only half?” Aleena protested. “But that’s not nearly what it’s worth.”
“No, but it’s what I can pay,” he said firmly. “How much credit do you think I keep on hand? I’d only give a man two thirds of the price so I’m actually doing you a favor,” he added.
Aleena’s heart sank but she knew she had no choice but to accept. It was getting late and she still needed to get to the Medical Center to pay at least part of her mother’s debt and sit with her during her treatment.
“All right,” she said heavily. “I’ll take half.”
“Good girl!” Mr. Tanz broke into a snaggletooth smile and nodded. “Now just you wait here and I’ll get you the cred chips.”
He disappeared for a moment and then returned with a small velvet bag that clinked musically when he shook it.
“Here it is—I’ll count it out for you!”
“Er, that’s all right, I trust you,” Aleena said nervously, glancing behind her at the strange man again. Now he was looking at a broken fast-cooker—what would a man want with that? Men never cooked for themselves.
“Nonsense! Got to be sure the deal is fair. Now look here…” And he spilled the metallic cred chips out onto the scratched plasti-glass counter and began loudly to count.
“…twenty-five thousand credits!” he finished, some time later and then scooped the chips back into the velvet bag. “There you go, young lady! That should keep you comfortable for some time!”
Aleena started to explain again that the credit wasn’t to “keep her comfortable” but to pay for her mother’s medical debt, but it wasn’t worth trying to make the deaf old man understand. So she simply nodded and thanked Mr. Tanz.