"So, uh, do you know where I can find a copy of Magical Mages M?"
Bell turned to face another customer who had tailed her down for assistance, oblivious to the fact that she was busy hauling a box of more goodies in her hands. "It's over by the aisle on the far side under the category 'Fantasy' and arranged alphabetically. You shouldn't be able to miss it."
The customer turned to the intended direction that Bell indicated. "Okay, thanks!"
Bell resumed going the way she meant to go, to another aisle to help restock items. It was another morning of the special sale and the day seemed just as hectic as every. Granted, no one said raking in sweet sweet cash had to be enjoyable. 'Now, can I take another couple steps forward before I get -' "Um, excuse me!"
Bell sighed as she turned around to address another customer's need. "Yeah?"
"How come your store doesn't sell 'Galaxy Aftermath 3' or 'Battlezone 2'? I mean, I looked around but I can never find them."
Upon recognizing the two titles - and the people associated with them - Bell immediately had an annoyed look. "I don't sell those particular games unfortunately. You… could find them in another store but not here. And if you're wondering why, it's a long story. So, yeah, you won't find either of those games here."
The customer seemed slightly crestfallen upon hearing the news. Without even waiting for him to turn and leave, Bell briskly went away to finally deliver the items to restock. Everywhere she walked, practically every square inch of open space was occupied by a curious observer looking around for opportunistic purchases or an eager shopper intent on splurging their credits for practically anything that remotely caught their interest.
Bell reached her destination and plopped the box down. "Right, let's see... " she murmured as she began sorting the new stock in their appropriate places while customers milled about around her. '... This would go here… this here… and this here…' She paused as she read the titles of each game in her hand. 'Huh. "Sage of Empires", now that's a real oldie… "Icepunk"? It should go right here… "Atomic Aftermath: New Wegas". Still beats some of Weaver's stuff... "Eaglefield"... "Truckrunner"... the "Just Cuz" series… the fourth and fifth games of the "Civ-ocracy" series from SPARK...'
After setting the game on the shelf, Bell picked up another item only to stop the instant she recognized the cover. 'Well I'll be. It's the original "Life-Half". Really didn't expect a copy to exist in storage all this time.' She glanced at the all-too familiar, if archaic, cover art and flipped it around to peek at the back. Everything was just as how she remembered it years ago. The one game that helped propel Bell's career as a Prospective Dev and would lay the foundation of her other works, culminating to where she was right now.
'... Man this takes me back.'
"Oh! Um, miss!" Bell looked up to see a trio of young people eagerly trotting towards her, the lead girl approaching Bell first. "Um, miss? Me and my friends have been making our own indie product and we're fairly close to making the deadline for the Festivities. But we need a seller, so do you think…?"
"If you can sell your game here?" Bell finished as she adjusted her glasses, "Sure. Just make sure to sell it in the 'Indie' section with all the appropriate buyer info and store policies." Her response was met with delight from the three enterprising gamers. Ever since The Pipe Dream started getting popular, Bell set aside a section of her store dedicated to selling small, independent games made by anyone with talent and creativity but lacking in finances or reputation.
With her job done, Bell got up to put away the now-empty box. The dense activity within her store made things noisy and hectic to keep up with, much less move around in with all the people to side-step or flagging her down with questions. (And if not questions, it would be comments about the store, comments about the product, and in one incident a love proposal. Don't ask.)
Bell walked past the arcades, the area still busy as ever with a majority of the customers trying their luck and wallets with prizes. By the machines, a contestant would win a free gift card, maybe a special sticker or collectible. Every so often, a lucky person would win something even more special, namely a free random game.
And as luck would have it, someone struck gold as Bell passed by. The only giveaway sign that it happened was when the contestant and everyone nearby immediately erupted into cheers, which in turn attracted more curious eyes and brought more attention.
"Woohooo! A free game?! I must've spent my entire allowance but hey, who cares?! Score!"
As the lucky winner continued whooping and hoisted her prize overhead while doing a merry jig, Bell couldn't help but smile at such display. Such enthusiasm was something she didn't see often or something she herself would do; she found it too embarrassing for her. Yet, it always stirred some feeling within her. Maybe it reminded Bell a bit of her past or of how her work reflected the world of video games and entertainment.
Or maybe because her customers were willingly dumping credits hoping to try their luck.
Another customer nearby at another machine inserted her credits and after a couple seconds of anticipation, a colorful small box fell into her waiting hands. "... Really?! Another loot box? Better be a cosmetic of Unusual quality..."
Bell silently shrugged as she turned to walk. 'Well, when you splurge money on luck, don't be surprised if you don't get what you want.'
Bell reached a locked door near the back where she kept her storage of stocked items and was about to push it open until she heard someone call her name. "Bell! Hey, Bell!" She turned around to see Cog jogging up to her, her expression one of something that Bell could see was not that of urgency. But whatever it was, Bell wasn't sure.
"What's up, Cog? Everything out at the front lot fine?" About a couple minutes ago, Bell had Cog hang out outside by the store entrance where the event decorations and some of the slot machines were.
"Yeah, everthin's fine and dandy," answered Cog, "It's just that there's some missy outside, said she's waiting for you."
Bell looked puzzled. 'Someone waiting for me outside?' She immediately walked over towards the entrance, carefully worming her way through the cash register area which was still crowded, but not as bad as earlier. Adjunct was busy operating the register with a queue of restless customers as people filtered in and out of the store.
Bell made it through the doorway and immediately squinted at the sun's glare. It was noon and the bright sun hung high in the sky with nary a cloud in sight. After having spent plenty of time indoors, the hot midday sun made everything seem like the gamma setting had been jacked up. And appropriately, the world outside was quite sweltering; under Bell's orange hoodie jacket she was beginning to sweat.
'Bright and beautiful day they said,' Bell thought with annoyance, 'Nevermind the fact that it's hot outside, totally irrelevant. I hate these type of days.'
Bell felt a presence to her right and glancing there, she found herself looking at young woman about her height. At first glance, Bell took the woman's attire - a white button shirt with rolled-up sleeves with a black waistcoat on top, gray pants like the kind one would see in a business setting, and her brown shoulder-length hair trimmed nice and proper with some of it tied up in a bun - as a sign that this woman was someone important. But if so, why here?
Either way, Bell believed she found the visitor. "So..."
The woman jumped with a start, not expecting someone right beside her. "Oh! I, um, uhhhh, hello? Are you, um, are you the owner of the premise?"
'Am I the…? So that's what Cog meant when someone was waiting for me, huh?' Bell reflexively adjusted her glasses before she replied. "If you put it that way, sure. So what do you need?"
The young woman fumbled for something in her handbag as she spoke. "Oh, so um, you may have already heard about the, um, upcoming Festivities and, um, as a secretary working for the Four Squares Union, I'm visiting your store as a way of advertising our group! As well as, um..."
Only a blank stare elicited from Bell as she listened. "... So you're a solicitor."
The woman was quickly taken aback. "No no no! This is, um, well, when you put it that way, it does seem like solicitation or advertising but I assure you this is, um… necessary. Allow me to -" The woman swung her personal handbag and fumbled around for something inside before it all spilled out over the baked pavement. The woman gave a surprised yelp and flustered, bent down to try to retrieve her contents of handbag: pens, a plastic bottle of water, a small hand-sanitizer, and lots and lots of brochures and pamphlets.
All Bell could do was stand where she was, staring at the clumsy thing that was supposed to be a youthful secretary all because she was called to for something that (from Bell's perspective) never needed her attention. All of this under the blazing sun, mind you. Bell sighed as she wiped a sweat bead from her brow; there was no way she was personally going to stand outside any longer than necessary.
The young woman whined as she scrambled to put together her belongings, hastily tossing them back into that bag of hers. After she put her affairs back in order and got back up, Bell could see that the woman was visibly sweltering under the same heat.
"Um… so yes! I'm a secretary from the Four Squares Union! Um, my name's Malissa." As Malissa spoke, she absentmindedly fanned her shirt collar and waistcoat, seemingly oblivious to how drench her forehead and temple were or the fact that she stood under the blazing sun for quite some time to begin with, panting to expel the heat.
Bell tried not to look at how soaked Malissa's white undershirt was once she unbuttoned her black waistcoat. "Um… you do realize that if you wanted to advertise me something, you could've just walked inside. It sure beats standing out here."
Malissa looked up in surprise. "Oh! Um, I was, um… unaware I could do that. Um, yes yes! Let's head inside."
Glad to head back into the air-conditioned environment, Bell lead Malissa to her store, brushing shoulders with customers eager to play their new games and products. As she stepped inside, Malissa looked around with the fascination of a overly-curious child, looking astonished at all the customers, the aisles of games and the speed at which they were being purchased, and of course, Adjunct as it worked away at the register. Adjunct even briefly looked up from its work to stare at Malissa with its single mechanical eye. Seeing this, Malissa quickened her pace behind Bell and Adjunct looked away to get back to work.
Bell headed upstairs and Malissa diligently followed, taking care not to stub her toe into anything or trip on the steps. After the door was unlocked, Malissa saw the cluttered and cramped mess that was Bell's home. The living room floor was comprised of a single wood table by the TV with the floor littered with various magazines, scrap paper, and what Malissa presumed to be Bell's snacks and refreshments (they were actually Cog's). The walls close to a work table occupied by a computer and various mechanical scraps and tools were plastered by even more tools and various sketches and blueprints. All in all, the place was a mess.
As Bell stepped inside and turn to look at Malissa taking in the sight, she thought the same. "I, uh, don't get many visitors up here," Bell sheepishly admitted.
Malissa didn't say anything, electing to merely take in her environment with an intrigued look. At the center of the living room, Bell went about quickly setting aside the clutter to make room. She first went about cleaning up her workspace before tossing aside the now-empty pizza box and sweeping the soda cans and cartons off the table while simply brushing the litter aside on the floor. Malissa idly stood, glancing at Bell's workstation and wallpaper blueprints before looking at Bell sit down by the now-cleared table, only realizing her intention once she gestured for her to the table.
"Alright, so let's get it over with," Bell said as she leaned back. She tried to be as accommodating to Malissa as she could, but she personally wasn't looking forward to this.
Malissa laid her handbag down on the table. Digging through it, she fished out a set of pamphlets that Bell immediately recognized as the same kind that fell out earlier. On the front the emblem of the Four Squares Union was proudly displayed: four rhombuses, red, blue, green, and orange, arranged in a big plus sign-like shape. From what Bell could remember, the Four Squares Union was a dominant political organization of Conderica, if not practically most of the PC Continent. The group got their name based on their primary beliefs, each represented by a square in their emblem.
Truth be told, there already wasn't much that Bell didn't know (or wanted to know) about the organization that Malissa wanted to advertise to her.
Malissa picked up the same pamphlet that Bell had seen dropped, partly displaying the front and the emblem to Bell. "Okay, so, um..." Malissa began, "As you may have already known, the Four Squares Union embodies the idea that everyone who lives in the PC Continent are ultimately seen as equal, in the, uh, sense that we all live in the same land. Whether they be the average Joe, someone influential, or, uh, a goddess, they're all recognized citizens. So, um, with that in mind..."
Malissa paused to hand Bell the pamphlet before fetching a notepad from her handbag. She continued with her spiel. "With the Festivities right around the corner, the Four Squares Union is greatly interested in emphasizing our ideas of equality. With all sorts of people lining up to show their talents and creativity there's no better time than to remind everyone how we're all hardworking, honorable PC citizens. That we're all coming around to have fun and, uh, celebrate!" Malissa ended the last word with an awkward smile as if hoping to cover for the fact that she had improvised the last part.
Bell remained unmoved and waved her hand nonchalantly. "Okay. So what do you need?"
"Well, um, I just wanted to spread awareness, that's all!... Maybe a small donation too," Malissa reassured, "Our rival organization would want to convince everyone how everything rests in the hands of the powerful few, how we should value scientific advancement and setting new heights for our nation, etc. etc. Needless to say, my boss, uh, wouldn't want that, you see? So, um -"
Quick banging noises on the door halted all further train of thought. "Hey!" Cog's muffled voice came through, "Get yer rear down here! Some doggone junior wants to see you!"
A frustrated sigh slipped through Bell's lips as she forced herself up. "Ugh. Again? It better be good..." As Bell got up, Malissa could only remain seated where she was, caught flat-footed by the unexpected event. "U-um, uh… miss? Miss, but what about -?"
"Malissa, I got a lot of work to do," Bell interrupted as she opened the door, "If you want, you can stay here and wait until I get back so you can finish your spiel. Chances are, I just have to deal with a customer, so this shouldn't take long. Just, uh, don't touch anything. Alright?" And without waiting for a response, the door closed behind Bell, leaving Malissa alone in the awkward silence.
'... This had better be good. This had better be good...' Bell mentally repeated as she marched down the stairs. Even from the top, she could hear the clamor of the sale and the sounds only got louder as she reached the ground floor. She rounded the corner to see that nothing much had changed: Adjunct was still typing away on the cash register with a long line of customers, the customers not in line for the register still filled the aisles and every open space of the store, while Cog -
… Just approached Bell. "Oh good. See that gal over yonder?" Cog pointed and Bell followed the finger to see a rather young adolescent girl. At first glance, that girl seemed to be interested in the wares, but Bell could see that she was standing in place rather than actively explore the store. The teenage girl sported a rather girlish colorful T-shirt along with worn blue shorts, her blonde hair was curly and tied up in a short ponytail, and with her squarish glasses, she appeared to be the definitive girly-girl, the kind who'd be all into fashion, youthfulness, and children's show about ponies.
Either way, she was the customer Cog was pointing at. And by all accounts, Bell wasn't looking forward to this.
"Alright, I'll take care of this," Bell sighed, pushing her glasses up in tired habit. She made her way to the customer and as she approached, the young girl noticed her approach. She looked up at Bell with a cursory and unsure look so Bell would have to make the first move.
With a cough, Bell introduced herself. "So I take it you have a question about the store?" she asked.
And just like that, the girl seemed to brighten up. And the moment she opened her mouth, Bell slowly began to regret talking to this little girl. "So, like, I have a question about this shop. I'm looking for stuff for this, like, certain game but I'm not sure if they're here or something. Like, ohmygosh, there's so much but there's none that I was looking for since I walked inside. By the way, it's really really hot outside." The girl did not so much as talk as she babbled, words flowing out of her mouth like a stream.
On the inside, Bell felt herself slowly dying. 'Oh god, she's even wearing braces.'
Oblivious to what Bell felt, the young peppy girl continued. "So, yeah, basically, there's this game that I was looking for but couldn't find and I was wondering if you might help me find it!"
'Oh boy...' Bell adjusted her glasses again, hiding a small sigh in the process. "Okay. What're you looking for?"
The girl took an exaggerated deep breath before she spoke. "Okay, so it's this game - I forgot what it was called exactly - but it was a shooting type of game. ('Wow. At your age? That's some responsible parenting,' Bell mentally commented) So it was like, one of those shooting games, with guns and stuff, but it was, um, wasn't so serious or something. ('In this day and age, I beg to differ.') It was like, not serious with everything; it was colorful and everyone and everything looked cartoony."
Behind the girl, Bell saw Cog wander about the aisles. As she talked, Bell could see that Cog was eavesdropping on the conversation. At this point it was clear to Bell that Cog wasn't trying to be subtle anymore and was now fully listening to the girl drone on. "So, yeah, the whole game was one of those shooting stuff but everything looked cartoony. Oh, and-and I just remembered that if you didn't want to shoot at the other players or whatever you could go look around and build stuff."
Bell glanced aside as she processed everything she heard. "... Ooooookay. We're getting warmer..."
The girl paused as she struggled to remember more details about the game she was looking for. Then her face brightened up. "Oh! And so, like, you could either shoot or build stuff or both. But not at the same time 'cause… you know. And, um..." The girl fell silent again in thought until she remembered another detail. "Oh, and I think something about chicken dinners was part of it!"
Upon hearing this, Bell (and Cog who listened in the background) died even more inside once the dots were connected. "... You're talking about 'PubNite', right?" she asked, regretting having to mention the name of that game.
While Bell's mood fell, the little girl's face brightened up even more. "Yeah yeah! That's it! I already have that game and play it a lot with my best friends but I kinda want more stuff for the game but I found out you have to go out and find them, so I thought this might be it!"
If Bell felt like a bit of her soul and mortality was slipping away, then Cog must have shared that sentiment as far as Bell could see. Unlike Bell however, Cog was willing to express it within Bell's view as the little customer continued babbling on.
"... So, um, yeah. I'm looking for the kind of stuff that just adds more stuff to that game. Stuff like, clothes - you know, special ones that you can't get - stuff like this one outfit that makes you look like a bright purple cow!" (Behind the girl, Bell could see Cog rolling her eyes in an exaggerated fashion.)
"... There's also this one outfit that makes people look like a, uh, space man with the white suit and all but it's got all these decorations that I think looks kinda awesome and cute, but some of my friends kinda don't think so." (Cog silently mouthed something that Bell interpreted it as "Are you freakin' kiddin' with my diddly hole right now?" or something along those lines. Bell honestly hoped that it was not what Cog actually said.)
"... There's also some pretty cool guns and stuff that I want to try and use, like this one huge gun thingy that's like a cannon but it's got this cool look on it with this pink unicorn drawing and whenever it shoots - it, um, shoots bombs and stuff - rainbow smoke and sparks fly out." (Cog did the "blah-blah" hand gestures with both hands as she bore an annoyed expression.)
"... Oh-oh-oh! There's also this one really cool thing that I want that other players are talking about and it's the one thing where you can get your character to do this really cool and funny dance!" (In response, Cog stuck a finger-pistol in her mouth and pulled the imaginary trigger.)
Bell let herself rest her face on her palm. The little girl for once immediately changed gears upon seeing Bell and asked, "Um, hey miss game store owner, are you okay or something?"
"Y-yeah, it's just… the noise here, that's all," Bell lied, "Anyways, the stuff you're looking for should be… somewhere over there."
"Okie-dokie, miss! Thanks!" And like that, the peppy girl twirled around and skipped away. Bell watched as she hopped off before heaving a deep sigh. Rubbing the back of her head, Bell felt like she could use a drink. Dealing with customers was one thing, dealing with children was something else; Bell wasn't fond of children. Particularly annoying ones.
Sighing again, Bell turned around and as she approached the stairs, she found herself almost running into Malissa. With a small yelp, Malissa fell backwards on her rear. Seems like the near-collision scared her a lot more than Bell.
Bell looked down at Malissa in confusion once the initial shock wore off. "Um, are you leaving right now?"
Malissa rubbed her back as she got back up. "Um, well, I suppose so. I-I certainly hope I didn't take too much of your, um, time. Um, unfortunately, I have other places to go to because… you know," she gestured to her handbag which for once, the contents were not spilled all over the floor.
"Right. Advertising," Bell replied.
"So, um, yes! I left the brochure and other essentials on the table for viewing later. I, um, apologize if I was taking some of your time so I -"
"Yeah. I get it," interrupted Bell. She stepped aside to let Malissa through. Malissa began scooting through the gap but dawdled as she did.
"Um, so, um… thank you for your time, miss…?"
"Bell. Just call me Bell," Bell answered disinterested.
But Malissa's mood was anything but disinterested once she heard the name. Her eyes widened as she studied Bell more closely, glancing at her up and down. "Woah… Um, I mean, are you… the Bell?"
"Uh, I don't know anyone else who shares my name," Bell dryly replied. She already had an idea where this was now headed, as Malissa continued to stare at her in astonishment in the presence of a Dev. So astonished that Malissa had more difficulty trying to speak.
"Wow, um…! I, uh, I didn't - didn't know you, um, lived here. I thought t-this was -"
"Not what you expected?" asked Bell, "Well, don't know what to tell you. I've been living here for quite a while; even goddesses will want to live in the middle of nowhere selling games and game accessories." Malissa opened her mouth but Bell quickly cut her off.
"And before you say it, you don't have to go out of your way to praise me or anything. I'm not the kind to demand stuff like that. I'd rather just live my life normally - as normally as a goddess can, but you get the idea."
Malissa's look of awe slightly waned as she took in Bell's words. After a second of silence, she quickly glanced towards the entrance. "So I, um, guess I'll see you later…?"
Bell simply shrugged and walked away, an action that was later imitated by Malissa who decided to make herself scarce. Making sure to not trip over her own feet or the customers' Malissa made it through the door and outside, firmly gripping her handbag as she walked off to continue her organization's advertising. And this time, she'll make sure to remember that she's free to step inside public spaces. And to zip up her handbag.
Bell plopped down in front of the living room table with a tired thud. The sun was still high in the sky but Bell felt like sleeping through the rest of the day. Or if not, go for the second best thing. So long as she wouldn't have to do more work for the next several minutes.
Bell slumped forward, resting on the table. 'Man, this whole sales thing is starting to be more work than I'd like. Wish there was an easier way than having me be there in person...' Glancing down, her eyes rested on the flyer and brochure that had the four-pointed emblem.
'Oh, right.' Picking them up, Bell cracked them open and gave them a cursory look before tossing them back where she found them. 'Just as I figured: the same 'ol usual.' She raised herself off the table and lied back, now resting on the floor. Bell continued lying where she was, blankly staring at the ceiling. Close to the ground, she could barely hear the going-ons in the store beneath her, transmuted as vibrations.
Bell continued lying down for what seemed like a minute before she slowly got up. '... I think I'll get something to drink,' she thought, 'I could use a glass of orange juice right now.'
As she shuffled her way to the kitchen, Bell cast a brief glance around her living room. All the stuff that she swept from the table to make clear for Malissa were still scattered across the floor. A sudden sensation of kicking aside an empty cardboard take-out made her jump. Bell grumbled at the prospect of having to clean it all up.
Glancing around, Bell could see that her living room was a real slob, perhaps more so than usual. Bending down, she picked up the discarded cardboard and plastic bottles and tossed them into the trash can, which itself was already starting to become full as some of the tossed items plonked off the top. Bell cursed. 'Ugh. Fine, guess I'll clean that up later.'
As she picked up an empty carton of milk, a white scrap of paper caught her eye. Glancing at it, Bell could see it was some kind of form dominated mostly by intricate sketches that took up the majority of the paper; the rest were scribbles of notes, details, and as she looked, her name.
'Oh, right. That's one of my designs from a long while back.' Picking it up, it took Bell a second to realize that she was looking at the schematic of a deployable fabricator. Reading through the notes, Bell recognized all of the equations and designs. She remembered how she made the plans, how she drew up initial ideas, evolving with each new iteration. All of it was all on the paper in front of her.
'Huh. This makes me a little nostalgic. A "dispenser" that would've been able to crank out whatever was needed as any fabricator would do would be real useful. Wonder why it was on the floor...' Peering around the paper, Bell suddenly realized that her other schematics were all scattered around her work station. The work station itself was messy, with loose paper poking out of the cabinets and file-holders.
Bell sighed at the sight. 'Really. What happened, did my living room somehow had the right conditions for a tornado to appear and run through it?' Tossing the empty carton aside, Bell went to work gathering the scattered paper and putting them in order. Each paper, Bell recognized more and more of her inventions (or would-be inventions).
'Yup. More stuff that I definitely remember making (some of them I'm not sure why).' With each paper she picked up, Bell caught a quick glimpse of each design they held. Each a small piece of her past. Bell shook her head to shake off the nostalgic feeling - people get so caught up in their flashbacks. 'Huh. I swear, I don't remember my work place being this messy before. I certainly don't remember the last time my stuff got scattered on the floor… Eh, maybe Cog's been up here when she went to take a break. At least she didn't spill any drinks on them. I'd kill her if she did that...'
With the paper all in stacks stowed in their proper place, Bell's work station now looked a little cleaner - there were still some random pencil or scrap lying around her personal computer but it was a start. Breathing in relief, Bell rubbed the back of her neck.
'Now what was I here for again? Upstairs… the AC… the Dyson-Greene model for quantum mechanics and engineering… cat repellent...
'... Oh, right. I'm feeling tired. I should take a break.'
