Alex grabs a comic book and slumps down in an armchair wedged into a corner between two bookshelves. He flicks through the comic sulkily, barely reading it. Stupid women. Its unfair that they should get first pick of the jobs simply because the shy, nerdy patrons of the store will empty their wallets just to be able to talk to a girl.
What hurt even more was that he had himself purchased countless worthless editions of Daredevil just because he'd known Linda was a fan. For a time he'd even entertained the thought that she liked him.
Ted walks past Alex's corner, not noticing him, engrossed in a phone conversation as he drags his fingers through his hair. A moment later he returns, pacing towards the counter. "...are you sure you can't make it... you'd be doing me a huge favour... not even for triple time?...yeah, no, I get it. Bye," he finishes rather bluntly, hanging up with a jab of his thumb. He rings another number and continues to walk up and down the length of the small shop.
"...Cassie, hi! Listen you- ... you're in Madrid... not back until tuesday... nevermind. Have a good holiday."
He continues to burn through his phonebook in this way until his endless footfalls push Alex's patience over the edge. He clears his throat loudly and Ted looks up. "Sorry, Alex. Didn't see you there."
"Staffing trouble?" Alex asks half-sympathetically, wishing Ted would just leave him to the peace and quiet and the solace of his comic book world.
"Everybody is busy," Ted groans. "We're supposed to be having a big comic book release this afternoon and I just assumed Linda would be around to fit into the costume. Wasn't expecting her to leave me in the lurch like this. Looks like I'm just gonna have to disappoint the customers." His eyes tetchily narrow as he spots the comic in Alex's hands. "Are you paying for that, yeah?"
"If I had money I would," Alex mutters back sullenly.
Ted is suddenly staring at him in a very strange way. "How... how much do you weigh?"
"Huh?" Alex has always been of a slender build. He shifts uncomfortably as Ted's eyes rove over his body. "Maybe like... 150lb."
Ted's face lights up. "Great! Listen, you need money, I need a worker. All you gotta do is stand around and greet the customers. It's easy money and if you do well there might be a permanent position in it for you. Only catch is there's a... uniform. You up for it?"
"Whatever, I'll take it."
"When I say "uniform" it's actually more of a costume. Specifically Linda's..."
"What!"
"Relax! If we do this right nobody will even recognise you!"
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