Magic Box, Wednesday

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew rushed about the store to get it ready for opening. Then he checked to see if a certain specially ordered hat had arrived and made a phone call to let the new owner know he could come pick it up.

He unlocked the door, and settled in behind the counter to continue rereading the Barry Plodder series in anticipation of this weekend. At any given moment, he's either really intently reading with his nose inches from the book, or standing up and yelling something along the lines of, "NO, BARRY! IT'S A TRAP!"

Comments

[missed-the-gate.livejournal.com]

John had never been inside a magic store, but since he had no workshops, he figured he could spend some time.

Seeing Andrew at the counter, he grinned and said, "Hey, sidekick, what's up?"

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Looking up from his book, Andrew broke into a a wide grin, "My Hero!"

He hopped out from behind the counter and went to greet his friend.

[missed-the-gate.livejournal.com]

John looked around at the variety of items for sale in the store. "How do you like working at a magic shop? There's, uh, lots of different stuff in here." He wondered if touching anything would cause bad things to happen.

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," Andrew nodded, "There is a lot of stuff. Could I interest you in a protective amulet or something else pretty or shiny?" Andrew gestured towards a rack of various necklaces and such.

[missed-the-gate.livejournal.com]

"What will the amulet protect me from? Say snot monsters and you've got an easy sale," John grinned.

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew scratched his chin, "I'm not really sure. I think they all do something different." He picked up one that resembled a small, flattened frog and read the tag. "This one prevents warts. That could come in handy." He snorted.

[missed-the-gate.livejournal.com]

John raised an eyebrow and tried not to be offended, "Uh, I don't think I'll be needing that one for a few years. Maybe something for good luck instead."

[iftheseshadows.livejournal.com]

Neil was looking a bit shy uncertain around the edges as he pushed open the door. He'd heard through radio that Andrew was working down here and though Neil didn't think he had much use for a magic shop himself, well he did have comics to return.

Hey, it made a nice excuse right?

"Uh, Andrew?"

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew looked up from his spot behind the counter, dropped his book, and quickly glanced at his reflection on the glass surface.

"Hey!" He jumped out from behind the counter and went to greet Neil.

[iftheseshadows.livejournal.com]

"Good morning," Neil said with a warm smile, walking towards Andrew, though luckily stopped before walking into him.

"I, ah hope you don't mind, my coming down here when you're working and all."

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew looked around at the empty store, then back at his book on the counter, "Nah, it's cool. I was just doing a little," he scratched his head, "product research."

Andrew took a deep breath and smiled at Neil, "So what magical item can I interest you in today?"

[iftheseshadows.livejournal.com]

Damn, he probably should have thought about that before coming down here, after all, Andrew needed to show sales for his boss right?

Inwardly, Neil gulped a bit as he was just eeking by on the money he made at the Nest, it was enough to keep him from having to go to his father but he was budgetted to a shoe string. Still, he'd come down here right?

"Um, do you have a book that's maybe an overview of magic? No how to guide, I mean ... I don't have skills or powers or anything like that but maybe a ... Mundane's guide to Magic or something like that?"

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"Oh." Andrew hadn't actually expected him to buy anything. "I'm sure we do." He walked towards one of the bookcases against the wall. "Is there any particular branch of magic you're interested in?"

Andrew pulled out a book at random. "How about An Overview of Love Potions and Charms?" He was turned a little pink.

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale had indeed gotten a phone call about his hat order, and he promptly gathered up a few books he'd set aside for Andrew and headed over to the Magic Box.

He didn't look anywhere near as cheery as he had the last time, but he did manage a polite smile for Andrew as he walked in the door. "Good day, Mr Wells."

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"Hello!" Andrew jumped up and rummaged around behind the counter, coming back up with a lovely purple box. "This, kind sir, is yours."

Andrew's smile wavered a little as he noticed that Aziraphale's eyes didn't seem to have the same light-hearted twinkle they did last week.

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale picked up on the wavering smile, and he tried a little harder with his, feeling guilty about projecting his mood at other people.

"And it even has a right lovely box for it," he observed. "My other one didn't have that, and it tended to get rather dusty in the closet." Opening the box, he nodded approvingly at the hat, then he closed it back up and set a trio (http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/enuma.html) of (http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/persian/rubaiyat/index.html) books (http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/latinlibrary/victor.ill.html) on the counter.

"These are the texts I promised. I do remember that you said you could read Latin. How are you with Akkadian and Persian?"

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew thumbed through the books, his eyes wide and hands shaking just a little. His attention was very much devoted to the texts. "Um. Latin, yes. I can read."

He shook his head and looked up at Aziraphale. "Oh. Sorry. Akkadian and Persian, did you say? I haven't yet had an opportunity or reason to really study them, but I'm familiar with several languages that would claim to be their roots. I should be able to work it out."

He went back to flipping pages. Leaning in and running his finger along a particular line, he said, "Might take me a few days."

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

"Take your time," Aziraphale assured him. "And do let me know if you'd like a translation."

He smiled to himself at Andrew's obvious distraction over the books, and laid his payment for the hat on the counter. "Why don't you give me a call when you're finished with those, or stop by the Nest or Book Haven, and I'll have some more for you."

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew was still running his finger along various lines, brow furrowed. He mumbled, "Hmm. Yes. I can get you a translation when I'm done." He mouthed a few words silently to himself.

Pulling back, he smiled at Aziraphale. "Thank you for these. I'll definitely give you a call when I'm finished... the Nest, did you say?"

[robinthefrog.livejournal.com]

Robin had missed work on Sunday, and he felt he needed to apologize. Or at the very least, see what was up.

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"Hello there, little friend!" Andrew called out when he saw the frog walk into the store.

[robinthefrog.livejournal.com]

"Hi! I saw you at the beach but I don't think we were properly introduced." He hopped up on the counter top. "I'm Robin." he held out his flipper.

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew took the flipper and gave it a good shake. "Hi, Robin. I'm Andrew."

Again, he didn't seem weirded out by a talking puppet frog at all.

"So what mystical relic might you be interested in today?"

[robinthefrog.livejournal.com]

"Pleased to meet you Andrew. I actually came in to see if Mr. Giles was here. I wasn't able to come to work on Sunday so I thought I should apologize, or offer to help. Do you need any help today?"

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"Oh, you work here! That's awesome." Andrew smiled and nodded at Robin. "Mr. Giles hasn't been in today. I actually need to speak with him too -- should have come in yesterday." He was momentarily thoughtful.

"But I'm sure he understands why you didn't come in on Sunday. I mean, there were dinosaurs. One of them ate Mr. Giles' tea. It was pretty wicked; I was here to see it."