big man in town | sabriel

1 | starving artist

sam.

"um, jess?" i said nervously, searching through my pockets.

"what is it sam?" we were grabbing a bite to eat because we hadn't hung out in a while. i had saved up a little money to pay for my food, but there was a small problem.

"have you seen my wallet?" i grew more frantic as more of my pockets turned up empty. she moved a few plates around on the table, looking.

"no, i don't see it anywhere." i sighed, long and loud, and rolled my head back against the booth.

"fuck. i lost it." i kept looking, searching the floor underneath the table and giving my pockets one last pat down. nothing turned up. i laid my head in my hands.

"come on, don't sulk. we can retrace your steps and find it." she brushed a piece of hair out of my face and i smiled at her halfheartedly.

"yeah, but how are we supposed to get out of this restaurant?" her smirk turned mischievous.

"we could always just walk out." she said. i thought about it before deciding against it. me and jess always ended up doing something illegal every time we hung out. it just kinda happened like that. but this time i would feel bad.

"if it was mcdonald's or something, i'd say yes. but this is a family owned eatery. i'd feel guilty." i replied. jess tilted her head and deliberated before agreeing. it's pretty ironic that two kids who went to law school tend to do illegal shit together, but life just works that way sometimes i guess.

"i guess i'm paying then." she said. i rolled my eyes.

"you know i hate that." i said, giving her an infamous bitch face.

"yes, i know. but unless you wanna wash dishes, i think it's your only option." i sighed, knowing she was right. i couldn't really feel too bad. we dropped out of school together and she did the smart thing and searched for a job in insurance. it pays well, and you don't need a whole lot of experience. so now she's basically rolling in dough and i'm still broke as a mofo. oh well.

she threw a twenty and a ten on the table and we left. i got into the passenger's seat of her gray 2005 toyota camry. i didn't have a car, and my license was expired anyways. did i mention that my life is basically going nowhere?

before she could even start the car, jess got a call. she answered in the fakest voice i'd ever heard and it made my jaw drop.

"hi, this is jessica with nationwide. how may i help you?" she was perky and light and welcoming. not at all like the sassy and sarcastic jess i knew. there were a few beats of silence, and i was using this time to search the floor of the car for my wallet. it wasn't anywhere. not even between the seat and the console. and i didn't see on the ground outside before we got in the vehicle. jessica spoke up again in that fake voice.

"well, i'm actually on lunch right now, but when i get back to the office i'll give you a call back and we can get this sorted, okay?" another beat of silence. "great, thanks!" she hung up and i stared at her with wide eyes.

"what!?" she said, obviously irritated. aha, there was the jess i knew and loved.

"you sounded like you came straight out of a 90's teen movie. and you were the stuck up cheerleader no one likes." she smacked my arm.

"shut up! at least i have a real job." she said playfully. we always joked like that, so it didn't affect me negatively. we laughed for a few seconds before she spoke up again. "hey, i'd love to help you find your wallet, but i gotta get back to work. do you want me to drop you off at the last place we were at or do you just wanna go back home?"