Lesson 43- If you can't reach it, you probably shouldn't be playing with it.

While we open up, Catcher tells me all about his wife and the way he talks about her is adorable and makes me weirdly jealous. Then he shows me pictures of his kids and I swear I nearly cry. I’m starting to miss the kids I worked with every day. Working with them wasn’t my dream job or anything, but I did get fairly attached to them. I mean they could be annoying, and taking a break from them has been nice, but it would be more comforting if I knew that it was just a break. I wonder what they think happened to me. I just stopped showing up with no explanation. I bet they tried calling me. Unless I can give some very good explanation I suspect that I’ve been fired, or reported missing. Honestly I might already have been reported missing by my brother. This is the longest we’ve gone without talking in… Well… Ever. We’re very close. He’s probably looking for me. I’m a little bit sick at the idea. He must be so worried, and to be fair, he probably should be worried about me. I would hardly call my situation ideal. I’m a prisoner. As much as I wanted to convince myself otherwise, it’s the truth. Sure, I’m not locked in a cell or anything like that. But it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t have freedom. Even if I make friends with the ones keeping me here, even if I like them and even if I agree that they have a valid reason to be concerned, I still haven’t been given a choice. I might be here because someone is threatening me (maybe… I’m still not so sure about that) but I didn’t choose them to protect me, I had no choice. If my brother knew what was going on right now he would be raining hell down on this place. I don’t care how scary Torin supposedly is, my brother would definitely take him on to get me out of here. I can totally picture my brother fighting a demon for me. I mean, he basically raised me. He’s just as much my father as he is my brother. Definitely more than my actual dad ever was.

My thoughts are interrupted by Torin arriving and unlocking the place. Since we aren’t talking, I expect him to go back to his office. But nope, he plants himself back in his usual spot at the end of the bar. He doesn’t sit and watch for all of Laura and Catcher’s shifts, just mine. I thought it was because he was worried about me, or so we could just hang out. But now I’m fairly sure it’s so I don’t try to convince someone to help me out of here or do something ridiculous like steal from him or something. Usually I also go out of my way to offer him drinks and smiles during my shift. To make it clear to people that they don’t need to be all scared of him. But not today. I’m here as an employee, his reputation and social life are none of my concern. After about an hour of me basically ignoring him, I notice out of the corner of my eye that his brow is furrowed and he looks unhappy. Good. Although that definitely isn’t going to help him make friends. He looks more intimidating than ever with that frown plastered on his face. He’s also definitely staring at me. I notice Catcher is giving him a lot of sideways glances. I don’t think he appreciates having Torin hang out for the entire shift.

When Catcher smashes a glass because he’s so busy trying to watch Torin, I decide enough is enough. I stomp over to him and cross my arms over my chest.
“Is there a reason you’re sitting here instead of in your office? It’s freaking people out.” I say pointedly with a sideways glance at Catcher, not wanting to call him out too obviously. Torin actually flinches and I feel a little bit guilty. I was the one who originally told him he shouldn’t worry about that so much, who encouraged him to spend time here and talk to me. But this is different, he was there as my friend, not my jailer. Still, my voice is slightly more gentle than intended when I continue. Being angry is hard, I’m not sure I have it in me to be really mean.
“Look, this is your bar, you can do as you like obviously. But you aren’t having a good time, anyone can see that. You’re sitting in the corner brooding. So lighten up, order a drink and stop glaring at me.” I demand. Torin blinks at me in confusion.
“I’m not glaring at you.” He mutters. I roll my eyes.
“Sure you aren’t. Just… Take it down a notch, okay? You are clearly displeased and it’s making things uncomfortable for everyone else.” I add. Torin considers for a moment before giving a deep sigh. Then he nods, gets to his feet and leaves the bar, presumably heading to his office. Finally, we can all relax.

Despite being kind of down after that argument and my mental spiral, I perk up a little as I work. I chat to people, make small talk and hand out drinks. I discount the drinks of anyone who smiles at me or says something nice. Anyone who acts rude I add an asshole tax. Catcher seems amused by it and while he doesn’t include an asshole tax of his own, he also doesn’t give discounts. So it probably balances out. Partway through the evening when my mood has improved significantly, Steph sweeps into the bar, her gorgeous feathered wings trailing behind her. Her blonde hair is falling out of a ponytail and is tucked behind her pointed ears. She looks tired, but pleased.
“Hello again human.” She says with a grin. I roll my eyes.
“It’s Rina. Gin and tonic again?” I offer and she nods.
“Sure, why not? Also I just completed a job from the notice board, I need it marked off so I can get paid.” She says proudly and I nod. This is the first time that I’ve had to deal with this. Usually Laura takes care of it. I suppose I could ask Catcher for help. Well, at very least I can get the book out and start recording the details.
“Congratulations. Did you bring the flyer and job number?” I ask as I make her drink.
“Yeah.” She slips a piece of paper from inside her cleavage and places it on the bar. HAH I knew I wasn’t the only one storing things there. It’s the most useful pocket I’ve got. Once I give her the gin and tonic, I drag out the large magical book out from under the bar and call out to Catcher for assistance.
“Hey, when you have a minute, I could use a hand over here.” I wave him over. Catcher comes quickly and walks me through the process of filling in the book.
“Wow, you caught the troll that tried to make its home at Keystone bridge. That must have been tough. I didn’t expect anyone to take on that task alone.” Catcher tells her, impressed. Steph puffs up and gives me a look that implies she wanted a similar reaction from me. I just shrug but give an encouraging smile. I don’t know anything about trolls, so I have no idea if what she did is especially impressive or not. Steph rolls her eyes at me.
“At least Catcher knows to be impressed. Most people would need an entire team to take on a troll, but not me. Besides, this way I get to keep all the reward money for myself. It’s far more ludicrous.” She explains.
“That’s true. So I’ve marked it as complete in the book. If you’ll just sign here.” He holds it out to her. Then to me he explains;
“When they sign it activates a truth spell. If they have not legitimately completed the job they have claimed then the ink will turn red.” I watch Steph sign and the ink stays completely black, although I didn’t really expect otherwise.
“Great, I’ll just give a call to the one who posted the job and they will arrange your payment right away.” Catcher says cheerfully, pulling a phone out of his pocket. My eyes are drawn to the black smart phone. It would be so easy to just… Ask to borrow it for a moment. Catcher might not know that he’s supposed to keep it away from me. Or I could take it from his pocket when he’s not looking. I’m fairly good at it. I managed to steal the wallet from that drunk on my first night here. True he was drunk, but I’m still a fairly decent pickpocket. My brother and I used to play a game where we tried to leave silly notes in the other person’s pocket. Taking something from someone’s pocket isn’t much different from putting something in. It wouldn’t be that hard. He’s working, it’s busy and loud in here, plus there isn’t a lot of space behind the bar. It wouldn’t be that weird for me to brush up against him. It would be so easy! But is it a good idea?