A skinny boy, short for his age, with messy black hair leaned over the glass counter top trying to get a better look at something near the back of the case. His eyes searched everything fast and eager and when he stood back up he was bouncing on the balls of his feet. He was the only person in the shop and as he searched the shelves and display cases he tried not to make a lot of noise but his excitement radiated loudly.
"Okay Ricky I think I got something." An older man walked out from behind a door at the back of the shop, carrying a box in his arms. The young boy, Ricky, bounced over to the man as he sat down the box on the counter. To his surprise the box was sealed with fresh tape which got him even more excited because he knew that what was ever in that box, it was new and probably way cooler than anything that was already on the shelves, or in his box at home. The man cut open the box with a knife and started taking things out and setting them on the counter. Everything he sat down, Ricky would pick up and fiddle with. Some sort of rubber ball that had no bouncing ability, a classic hand buzzer thing you used when shaking hands, a flashlight that shocked you when you turned it on, which elicited a chuckle form the old man and an ouch from Ricky as he quickly sat the light back on the counter. Then out came a small box of handkerchiefs, a bigger box of very real looking fake worms and a tiny box that replicated the standard magician and swords act. Ricky's face fell.
"That's it?" he asked, looking up at the man's face.
"Sorry Ricky, small shipment this week. Just a few things we ran out of and a few things we wanted to try and start selling." The old man picked up the shocking flashlight and winced as he pushed the button.
"I guess I was just expecting something cooler." Ricky said falling back on the heels of his feet as he picked up the box of fake worms.
"Why don't you look through that catalog over there?" The old man pointed to a book sitting on a stool behind the counter. "If you find anything cool, circle it with a pen and I'll look into getting it shipped in next time." Ricky perked up a bit then and walked over and flipped open the book. The pages were full of prank items and magical objects. His eyes grew wide and the old man chuckled. "Take your time, we're open for a few more hours." Without saying a word Ricky took the book and sat down on the couch in the corner of the shop and started flipping through the book. When he found something cool he took a pen that he always carried out of his pocket and circled the item, making a note next to it in the margin.
He sat there for the next hour, reading intently about the newest props and pranks, circling things and making notes. He had eventually taken out his notebook that he carried in his back pocket and started to write down jokes he found. He would laugh quietly to himself as the old man worked his way around the shop, attending to the few customers who had come in and out over the hour. Ricky was distracted by someone talking loudly outside the window. He raised his head to look but couldn't see much through the logo painted on the window. The squabbling was getting louder but it sounded to him like a parent and their kid, probably arguing about wanting to come into the magic store. He shook his head as he propped his head up on his hand and continued to read through the page he was on. He didn't get very far before the bell on the door rang and the sounds of New York traffic and people walking by filled the shop. "Kate, just don't be too long. I'll be up the street, I'll come get you when I'm done." The voice of a woman floated through the door as a tall, dark haired girl made her way into the shop, waving her hand behind her head as she dismissed whatever the other woman was saying. Ricky watched as she made her way around the cases as if she had done it numerous times, stopping in front of the register to look at some of the things the old man had sat out on the counter as he dusted the shelves. The old man came out from the back of the store and a grin covered his face.
"Kate! It's been too long! Finally run out of that gum you like, or did your grandfather send you in this time?" the old man chuckled as he rustled through some things on a shelf. The girl leaned against the counter, hands pressed against the glass. Ricky could catch a smile on her face as she turned to look down at something.
"Just walking by actually. My mom has business just a few blocks up. You know how boring lawyerly meetings can be – practically had to beg her to let me come in." she knelt down to get a closer look at something, Ricky couldn't quite see what it was.
"Ah, lawyers. Just want to ruin all the fun." They both laughed as the old man sat a small box on the counter. "Your grandfather would just love this. I got it in just last week." Ricky couldn't quite see what was in the box, but whatever it was, it made the girl gasp and start laughing. Ricky couldn't help but realize how fantastic her laugh sounded. He was watching her move something in the box as the old man looked up and caught his eye. Ricky tried to look away but he knew he'd been caught. "ah! Ricky, come check this out. You will love this too!" the old man motioned for him to get up, and it took Ricky a second to clear his head and understand what he had just been told. He fumbled with the book in his lap as he pushed it aside and stumbled as he stood up, realizing he hadn't really moved for the last hour. The girl had glanced behind her but only for a second before returning her attention to the box. He made his way over to them, keeping a bit of a distance between them, craning his neck to see inside the box. "Get closer, it won't bite!" said the old man, which made Ricky jump and fumble forward a bit. This made the girl turn and look at him, a small smile on her face. Ricky suddenly felt frozen in place yet suddenly extremely hot. Those eyes. He locked onto them only for a second but they felt like they bore into him and he stuttered for words but nothing came out. He glanced in the box but couldn't understand anything he was seeing. His head felt light and he tried to clear his throat but nothing seemed to work. He wanted to move his hand to his face to fan away the sudden heat flushing across his face but all he could do was stand there staring into a box that seemed to have another and another and another box inside it. He was confused, it took all his energy to muster up a fake laugh and some sort of movement that he hoped showed interest in whatever it was he was looking at. Good thing neither the girl nor the old man seemed to be paying much attention to his presence, they were too fascinated with pulling strings and doing things to the box.
"Why don't you take this to your grandfather, he would enjoy it. Just tell him to bring it back whenever he's done being amused." The old man put the box into a bag for her and sat it on the counter.
"Oh he will love it, thank you. Did you get any new things in?" she glanced down the counter at where the box the old man had shown Ricky was still sitting.
"Oh I did actually!" the old man quickly made his way down the counter and the girl looked up at Ricky. She smiled up at him nicely, and just as Ricky was starting to cool off a bit he got warm again.
"Excuse me." She said, pointing beyond Ricky and his head suddenly snapped awake and he jumped out of her way, a little too far, almost knocking into a table behind him. She chuckled at that, watching him as she made her way down the counter. Finally getting distance between them, Ricky's mind began to stir. What the heck was happening? He cleared his throat and willed his feet to move as they carried him back to his couch. It was a relief to sit down on the comfy sofa and he pulled the catalog back onto his lap to make it seem like he was doing something. He heard car horns outside and the faint chatter of passersby but his attention was all fuzzy. He couldn't understand what was happening; he'd never acted that way around a girl before. He was generally good with… girls. They liked him and he liked them and everything was fine. But something about this girl. What was her name? Ricky had completely forgotten in the chaos that seemed to only be plaguing his own mind. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, staring at the empty space between his face and the book in his lap before someone sat down on the couch next to him. It made him jump, a little to much for someone who should be paying attention to the things around him, and when he looked up it was the girl sitting next to him.
"Drake said you had the catalog, could I look at it with you?" she said, leaning incredibly too close to him. He stared at her.
"Drake?" he managed to slur out the name. Not understanding what she meant.
"Ya, Mr. Drake." She motioned to the old man behind the counter.
"Oh ya." He shook his head, he knew that, he knew the man's name. He slid the book over to her and she looked at it intensely. She flipped through a few pages, stared at a few items and kept flipping. He was managing to pay attention to what she was doing now, and she was missing all the good ones! "did you…" he quietly forced out of his mouth. She looked over at him expectantly. He cleared his throat. "did you see that one where it's a, its…" he looked down at the book, reaching over to turn back a page. "that." He pointed at an item he had circled with this pen, which he realized she was probably now sitting on.
"oh ya, interesting, but did you see this?" she flipped a few pages ahead and leaned the book towards him. He nodded.
"ya, that one is pretty cool." That was all he could manage to say. Somehow his thoughts were managing to come through this time, he just hoped he wasn't coming off as a slow looser who couldn't act normal around girls – because there were a lot of boys his age going through that phase, and he prided himself in having skipped it.
"ooo do you have a pen?" she asked as something caught her eye a few pages more into the book.
"ya um," he awkwardly pointed to the other side of her where his pen had fallen between the cushions and she pulled it out.
"thanks." She circled an item on a page, all Ricky could make out was a big red box before she flipped the page. He sat there looking at the items, realizing he had to look quickly before she turned the page, but he didn't mind. He was about to mention the item she had just circled when the bell on the door chimed and in walked a women who, if she hadn't been wearing a suit and looked much older, could be this girls twin. The girl beside him sighed as she handed the book back to him. "Thanks, make sure Drake sees those items I circled." She smiled at Ricky as she stood up from the couch. Walking to the counter to get the bag the old man had given her, she waved goodbye to Drake and left with the woman. Ricky watched her every step as she left, after she had left the store he kind of wished she would have glanced back at him one more time, maybe he could have managed a wave.