Getting a job is mostly for appearances, a foothold into small town life, and a gateway into the drama on my own terms. The money flow is nice, but now that I'm finally here, I can take a few more risks and implicate the right people.

There's a town named Goodview not far from Mystic Falls, maybe fifteen minutes away. It's much smaller by comparison; might not even have ten percent the population.

I woke myself up early this morning in order to do just this, and it will work out just fine. Grabbing my backpack, I carefully step over the boundary spell linked to the salt line, and close the door behind me in such a way to not break it. Can never be too careful.

The bus station is not far, maybe two blocks over, so I make the trek, carefully watching my surroundings. It doesn't feel quite as dangerous in the daytime, but Stefan, Damon, and Anna are all out there, and I've already pissed off one of them. In a way, I'm almost glad that I've already made an enemy. It was bound to happen eventually, so getting that out of the way removes some of the anticipatory tension.

I'm tempted to cloak when I get onto the bus, just to avoid leaving a paper trail where I'm going in case someone can connect the dots, but getting the bus to stop in the right place might be complicated. Don't want to end up all the way in Lynchburg because I can't reasonably signal for my stop.

I do it legally, paying for entry, and drop into a seat near the back. I try not to make eye contact with any commuters during the ride and step off at the right time. I want to disappear, and I think I succeeded without having to cloak.

There's exactly one street in Goodview that matters, and the bus stop is at the end of it. I've already done some scouting, so I know exactly where I need to go. A few doors down, and I enter the coffee shop.

It's nothing like the giant Starbucks at UA, not that I expected it to be. I just frequented that place so often to write in my first life that I judge the atmosphere of every coffee shop I enter based on it. The barista is a balding, portly aging man, so there's zero chance of a romantic tryst like in all those coffee shop AUs I used to read. There are three tables squat against the window, and two of them are occupied. I throw my bag down to claim the open table while I order.

Drink in hand, I fiddle with my bag, and while no one can see, I slip the container into my sleeve and under my bracelet, holding it in place. Making sure that it stays hidden no matter how I twist my wrist, I put the drink down, bag around one shoulder, and head back to the counter.

"Where's the bathroom, sir? Can you watch my drink while I'm gone?"

The barista grunts and jerks his head that way, and I weave around the corner. The moment that I open the door, I mutter under my breath and cloak, and then lock the door from the outside with a twinge of silent telekinesis.

I head for the front door of the shop and burst through it, hearing some complaint about the wind rattling the old door as I leave. Grinning, I turn down the sidewalk and head down quickly, knowing that I don't want to have to cloak myself forever. The limit for how long in one use of the spell is roughly seven minutes, but I have enough for another couple uses if necessary. Too long in the bathroom, so to speak, and it looks suspicious.

The bank looks like the only franchised location in this tiny hovel of a town, but I've never heard of the company. But it is helpfully busy, so I only have to wait a moment for someone to open the door before I follow closely behind.

The benefit to the Gemini cloaking spell is that it doesn't really have any drawbacks. I can't be electronically captured, I can't make any noise unless I absolutely want someone to hear, and as far as I can tell, I don't have a sense of smell. I can, however, touch objects, so I'm careful not to run into or bump anyone.

Well, until I need a distraction.

There's a muscular man, a redneck who looks like he might be involved in construction if his clothes tell anything about him, standing in the front of the line. And behind him is pretty much the kind of teenager you'd immediately label as "hot, rich douchbag" in your head right behind him.

The lady behind the counter looks like she needs none of what I'm about to do, but it can't be helped.

I lightly shove the douchbag into the other man with a tiny bit of magic and step back to watch the chaos unfold. The kid shoulder-checks the older man harder than I really intended, and suddenly, the two are screaming obscenities at each other.

"What the fuck is your problem?"

"I-" the hot teenager flips back to stare my general direction, utterly confused. "I didn't mean to!"

I take the momentary distraction to step behind the counter and head toward the stupidly open vault, giggling softly to myself.

"Grunberg! Get off your ass and stop this."

"Oh… Uh, right."

"I'll beat the hell of you, you stupid snot-nosed brat!"

"It was an accident!"

"Oh, sure." I can practically feel the spittle fly into my face from all the way in the vault. "It's always an accident for you stupid kids. Where's your daddy, boy? Bet you wish he was here to fix your mess for you. That's how all you millennials are."

Turning away from the argument, I smile at the huge table of open funds just lying there for me to take. Apparently, someone was counting this, but they are now in the doorway of the vault, watching the shouting match probably descend into a fight.

Money, money, money. I pack as much much as I can carry into my pockets and disguise under my thick jacket, into the waistband of my clothes, and into my bag. Due to how the spell works, the camera will only notice the money disappearing the moment that I touch them, so there won't be any odd floating packets of dollar bills. Although honestly, that would only help the mystery I'm trying to build with this bank robbery.

When I'm sure that I've got about as much as I can grab, I take the blood bag from my sleeve and lay it flat on the ground, still touching it the whole time. Carefully opening it, I let some of it spill out, and then let go.

Strolling out of the vault and past the still heated argument, I wait in the lobby for the security guard to force the two of them out, and slide past them, back toward the coffee shop.

I wait for someone to enter and then slip toward the bathroom, unlocking the door with magic and sliding back inside. I had stayed cloaked the entire time, without having to reapply. I consider that a success as I look toward my watch.

Hand on my chest, it takes moments to siphon the leftover magic from the last thirty seconds of the spell, and another chant places it directly within the watch. I might have to start siphoning the absolute last resort spelled items buried in the bottom of the backpack, if I don't find a steady supply of magic soon.

I shove the rest of the money into the bag and magically seal it shut with the absolute last of the power stored within my body, and then flush the toilet and clean my hands. Grinning at my reflection, I unlock the door and then settle down to enjoy my coffee.

I sip it and frown; might be the worst cup ever. I grit my teeth and continue drinking, studying the faces of the people inside. No one seems to think me suspicious, and that seems to be a success. I hope that I got enough money that I don't have to worry about performing anything like this again for the next few weeks. Can't wait to count it all and see just how rich I actually am.