Topaz
“Allo, can I help you with something, miss?” asked a well-dressed chocolate-dipped strawberry in her characteristic French accent. Marceline’s eyes swept back and forth across the store before coming to rest on the top button of Chocoberry’s blazer.
“I’m just looking around.” Marceline drifted over to the front counter and examined the transparent glass. She fingered the seam of her pants running down the side of her leg and looked closely into the glass, careful to not touch and smug the meticulously clean barrier.
Chocoberry shrugged and moved over to where Marceline was floating.
“Do you see anything you like? I could take something out of the case for you to get a closer look.”
“Hrmmm,” Marceline tucked an unruly lock of inky hair behind her ear, “can you just show me your most popular one? What do you think most ladies would like?”
Chocoberry ducked her head down to hide her knowing smile and unlocked the case. She took out a platinum banded ring with one large diamond in the center flanked by a ring of smaller ones.
“How is this one?” Chocoberry placed it carefully into Marceline’s hand. Marceline pinched it between her thumb and forefinger, twisting it back and forth in front of her face.
“Hmm, do you think this would look good against pink?” Marceline asked. Chocoberry was about to respond when the bell to her shop tinkled lightly.
“Oh, good morning princess. Are you here to pick up the gems you ordered?” Chocoberry went into her back room and for a few moments, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline stood in silence (or floated in Marceline’s case).
“So what brings you here Marceline?” Princess Bubblegum asked while looking at the ring in Marceline’s hand.
“Uhm, well I uhmm, the thing is...I’m robbing this store. Yep, I need the cash to buy this sick new bass I saw the other day.”
Princess Bubblegum raised one of her eyebrows and Marceline coughed.
“That is to say, I mean I saw some mutant ghost robot space pirates robbing Chocoberry’s store so I jumped in and stopped them,” Marceline puffed out her chest with false bravado, “They ran off as soon as they saw me.”
Princess Bubblegum continued just looking at Marceline.
“Fine you got me,” Marceline sighed dramatically, “I recently developed a crippling pixie dust addiction, so I actually was here to pawn off some of my things to get money for drugs.”
Chocoberry came back out into the store with a plain wooden crate. Princess Bubblegum handed her a pouch of coins that jingled when she placed them on the spotless counter. Princess Bubblegum tucked the crate underneath one arm and turned to leave the store. She opened the door with another jingle and paused for a moment before leaving.
“By the way Marceline, I like topaz.”