She awoke beside a man she'd only met the day before. Her eyes opened to find his face opposing hers, lying on a soft white pillow, his eyes shut tight. And when his eyelids finally fluttered open, the first thing he saw was the blonde's beautiful smile, as his eyes locked with hers.
"Sleep okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, I actually did." He smiled. "Wait, what's the time?"
She glanced at the bedside clock, "It's 11:30." She said.
"We missed the breakfast menu at the motel." He groaned.
Emma giggled, playfully punching his arm. "Breakfast may be important, but we can just get lunch instead."
She climbed out of the bed, exposing her eyes to the sunlight that shone through the window.
"Wait." She sighed. "My suitcase, I forgot to get it last night, kept it at this hotel downtown."
"And why do that?" He asked.
"It was expensive, but I didn't want it getting in the way."
He pulled a blue suitcase up from under the bed and handed it to her. "Couldn't sleep last night, went to the hotel to pick it up, you're welcome."
She grinned and took it, opening it to find all her items still there.
"And they believed your name was Emma Swan?" She laughed.
"Looks like you didn't pick a high security hotel." He said cheekily.
She pulled out what she needed, just a simple red floral dress, with some boots she'd picked up from a thrift store. She quickly got changed into the outfit as Neal put on a red flannel shirt, and a pair of black jeans, and he tied his sneakers and styled his hair.
Emma quickly tied her hair out of the way into a ponytail, and cleaned her glasses to ensure a clear fresh view. Neal approached the door and held it open for her as they exited and discovered a beautiful sunny day, which would likely soon be ruined by rain. Quickly locking the door, Neal lead Emma to the motel's restaurant.
A brunette woman greeted them as they entered the room, and she ushered them to a two seated table, away from all the families and their young children.
"Here are the menus, your complementary breadsticks, and don't order the fish cause that didn't end well for the last person who did." Said the waitress.
Emma and Neal looked puzzled as they just silently nodded. The woman smiled and left them to choose.
"What are you in the mood for?" Asked Emma as they gazed at their menus.
"Not the fish." Said Neal.
Soon when the large portioned plates of food arrived, they quickly went right for the food. Emma took a large bite of her grilled sandwich like she hadn't eaten in days. Neal twirled his spaghetti around a fork and ate it too.
"You know, the money from the house isn't going to support us forever." Neal said.
"Then we just steal more. But not from the same house, they'd notice if a large amount kept disappearing and we got caught. We need to be strategic." Emma whispered.
"So what, we plan our next move? Maybe we both need to get jobs, like secret identity type things." Neal suggested.
"I mean, sounds good, it'll bring in a bit more money, and plus what better way to get money than to sneak some from the cash register you work behind?" Emma said quietly.
They finished their meals and planned their next move, they both went their separate ways into the Portland streets to find places to work.
Emma spotted a sandwich shop asking for employees, and so she entered with a confident smile and politely asked the woman at the counter if she could have an interview.
"Can I have your name please." Asked the woman emotionless.
"Jennifer James." She lied, it would be best to use a cover name, just in case. The woman led her to a room behind the counter, which looked a pathetic attempt at an office, but it was just full of boxes of lunch meat and bread. This place wasn't exactly high standard anyways, it would likely be easy to get the job.
"Now, here is Sammy's Sandwiches we do have quite the standard for employees." Said the woman boldly. "Any work experience?"
"I worked at my local McDonalds for two days." Emma shrugged.
"That's good enough for me." Sighed the woman. "You'll be working the register." She pulled a hat from behind her and handed it to Emma. She proudly put the Sammy's Sandwiches hat on her head as she got ready to plan her next move.
Down on the other side of the street, Neal entered a dollar store, which was looking for someone to employ. He entered with a welcoming grin and greeted the man behind the register.
"Hello there, I'm Michael Morrison, and I would like a job here!" He lied. He quickly chatted about his previous experiences as a janitor which made the man give him a job as a cleaner.
Of course this meant it wouldn't be as easy to get to the cash, but Neal assured himself that if the cleaner stayed late hours, he could take the cash while no one awaited.
As Emma tied her apron on, and Neal entered the janitor's closet, the two prepared themselves to bring back enough money to sustain for a while, they just had to find a clever way to get away with it.