Louis's first attempt at catching a ghost didn't exactly go according to plan.
The first thing to go wrong was the loss of his bait before he could actually use it. He'd planned on using his lunch, but he apparently needed to find a better place to set his lunchbox down, because the big green thing found it and scarfed the whole thing down again. But no matter, he'd just get something else. He decided to pay for it out of his own pocket, even if he technically could write it off. No one but him seemed to look into the books anyway, but just in case, he didn't really want to explain why fried chicken was a business expense.
The next thing to do was set up the trap. The whole thing seemed simple enough. All he had to do was leave it under the bait and spring it at the right time. What could go wrong? Really though, nothing could go wrong, right? That was what he was trying to convince himself, at least. Though he still couldn't help feeling jumpy as he stood there, anxiously bouncing his foot as it hovered over the switch to activate the trap.
He could smell the ghost coming long before he saw it. Even though he could feel his heart pounding in anticipation, he did his best to force himself to stay calm. If he wanted to get something right, now was no time to panic and lose his head. This wasn't like a form that he could re-check as many times as he wanted. This was the sort of thing you got one shot at.
He very nearly hit the switch fast enough. It just turned out the ghost was a lot faster than he expected. It not only managed to run free, it made off with the bait as well. And… it also turned out you really shouldn't put those trap things up on a table if the ceiling wasn't high enough. At least, not if the avalanche of plaster that came crashing down was any indication. He should probably call somebody to fix that. And maybe pay for that himself too. He just hoped he could afford it.
Okay, so it was definitely a setback, but he tried not to let himself be too discouraged. So what if one thing had gone wrong? Even if that one thing was technically the entire plan. He'd just have to figure something else out. And preferably keep people out of that room until he got it fixed.
He spent a few days without managing to track down the giant slime ball again. He still did have a regular job to do, and that thing moved pretty fast. But he was sure he would come up with something, and he was already hard at work coming up with new plans. Though he did wish the ghost would stop stealing his lunch in the meantime. It always seemed to be hungry, but Louis was pretty sure it was making a special effort to gobble down his food every day. He'd have to figure out something soon if he ever wanted his lunchbox to remain untouched until noon.
"Whatcha working on there?"
In the middle of revising a flow chart of ideas on how to proceed, he didn't notice Janine approach until she was standing by his desk. She looked over his shoulder, took a brief glance at the paper, and raised an eyebrow.
"Operation: part of the team?"
He hurried to place some other papers on top of it before she could read any more, and then looked up with a nervous smile. He wondered if he should stop labeling his plans. Even if he did kinda like how it made him feel like he was in a spy movie. "That's just, uh… personal project."
She looked mildly intrigued, but didn't press the matter. "Well I hope you've also got your shopping list finished, because I can't wait to get this whole thing over with."
He responded with a bright grin, and eagerly began fishing through a few folders to find another carefully organized piece of paper. Trying to catch a ghost had taken up a lot of his attention, but he still hadn't forgotten that he and Janine had plans to go shopping for the holidays together. He had this whole thing down to a science, and she seemed to hope it would go faster if she brought him along. After finding what he was looking for, he hopped out of his chair, and didn't even seem to realize he was brimming with so much energy he was bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"So, I'm thinking that Herald Square is gonna be our best chance of finding everything we need in the same area, which I figure is a good thing, since, you know, probably don't want to go walking all over the place carrying a bunch of stuff. And they've got a subway and a train station right there, which you definitely wanna have, 'cause the cab drivers like to charge you for having boxes, which they're really not allowed to do, but they get pretty mad if you try to point that out. Plus over there they've got the big Macy's with the Christmas window display, and that's always fun. But if there's anything else you were thinking-"
"Louis, I think you're the only one I've ever met that actually gets excited about this sort of thing." Janine gently interrupted him.
"Are you kidding? It's a day full of financial planning and standing in big crowds full of holiday spirit! That's pretty much the two greatest things!"
She shook her head at him, almost like she was trying to look exasperated, but she still smiled as if she couldn't help finding his excitement charming. "Okay, but just keep in mind that we're in the middle of New York. I'm not sure how much goodwill and cheer you're going to be able to count on." She leaned back as she took him in, the corners of her eyes crinkling with amusement. "Though I think you might have enough for the whole city."
He didn't answer right away, but he looked even happier than before, if that was even possible. He didn't know what it was about her, but she seemed to have a way of setting off butterflies in his stomach. It was hard to explain how someone could make you nervous in a way that still made you desperately want to be around them, but he knew that was what he felt about her.
"So, I think it's about time to close up. You ready to head out?" She finally broke the quiet moment.
"Okay!" He responded enthusiastically. Figuring out whatever it was could wait. For now, he knew that this was one of the best days of his entire life. He always looked forward to this sort of thing, and he was sure it would be a million times better now that he got to do it with her.
Though Louis had already done plenty of research into exactly what stores would have what and where they needed to go, it turned out Janine was more of a 'wander around and see what catches your eye' sort of shopper. It wasn't what he was used to, but he found that he liked trying it her way. Not to mention that if he wasn't following her, he never would have ended up walking into a pet shop just because she thought it would be nice to get a break from the crowds and see some animals. He didn't mind crowds, but he was eager to do whatever would make her happy. Normally, he never would have gone into a shop where he didn't need anything, but it turned out to be a fun idea.
He usually prided himself on never making impulse buys for things he didn't need. Maybe he wasn't quite as good at it as he thought. It turned out that going into a pet shop 'just to look' was how you wound up with a hamster. But even if it wasn't on his list, he couldn't help it. It seemed like such a sweet little thing, and when he mentioned that he was going to be sad to have to put it back, Janine wondered out loud why he didn't just keep it. He was then very glad he always made a point of knowing every rule about the buildings he lived in, because he knew that his new apartment allowed pets if they were small enough, and a hamster certainly fit the bill.
Even if it was breaking his usual rules of frugality, he figured a soft ball of fluff that could sit in your hands and make cute little squeaking noises was the best impulse buy one could possibly make.