"Welcome to Maverick's Toys! How can I help you today?" Leonard assumed the typical fake smile and overly confident posture of a retail Floor Manager, despite his current designation as Sales Associate; a glorified way of saying Clerk. And he eyed the shapely young blonde who just walked in as much as he could. Sure, he risked offending her and losing his job, but he didn't care. And the customer didn't seem to care that he was looking either.
"Actually, I'm looking for a boardgame to bring to a family gathering. Just something that will keep the kids occupied."
Leonard perked up at the chance to have some fun. Sure this girl had a nice body, but something in her voice bored him nearly to tears. And he couldn't tell what it was.
"You know," he started "the problem with most boardgames is that they get stale after a little while. But I do believe we have an old classic that will do just the trick!" And at once he began walking to the section where they kept Ouija Boards.
Alas when he got there he came face to face with all 98 lbs (not including boots, purse or makeup) of friendly neighborhood goth chick who was the bane of his employment. Janey. She was five foot three, slender as a corpse and jus as pale with long blue black hair and soft green eyes, and clad in lace and leather and silver chains. The fifteen year old girl had an interest in witchcraft and a rebellious streak the size of The Grand Canyon.
A century ago, he would have made her his plaything without so much as a blink. And everytime he saw her now, he felt that temptation anew. She was so naive, so ripe for the picking. She would have eaten up his old shtick like it was a buffet dinner. And he would have feasted upon her innocence with even more hunger, degrading her body and mind until all that remained was a husk of her former self. The torture of being in her presence was akin to taking a former addict, who'd been clean for decades, to a debaucherous Hollywood party. It tested every ounce of his willpower.
"Janey, what are you doing here? You know your parents have expressly forbidden us from selling you Ouija, or anything else from our sleight of hand section."
"Oh come on, Len. A girl can dream, can't she?" She was looking at him and then at his customer. She gave the older woman a cocked eyebrow as if she were the goth.
Leonard quickly fumbled with the Ouija Boards, handing one to his customer and assuring her that there would be someone at the check out counter to assist her. He then turned back to the teen. "Don't you have a cemetery to hang out in, or a coven to form, or something?"
"I thought those weren't real?" She mocked, citing something he'd said to her several times before.
"Hasn't stopped you from wanting one of these stupid boards." He was getting too frustrated and angry. The girl was pushing his buttons and he hadn't even realized it. He hadn't realized how close he had come to her or how violent his voice was becoming, even though it was not loud. "If you want to talk to a demon so badly...!"
He caught himself. That one was a little too close. But she was no fool. Now she was certain he knew more than he let on, whereas before that little outburst it was just a hunch.
"Oh, don't go all quiet on me now, Len." She said in a near whisper. Her voice was getting a little too devious as she went on. "Tell me. What should I do if I want to talk to a demon so badly? Hmmm?"
"Quit watching horror movies and playing videogames, and get a life." He started walking away as he spoke.
Looks like today is going to be a real fun time, he thought sarcastically.