The Doppelganger: Book One - Steve's Chance

by Mark Mulle

  Chapter Three

  Steve went into the weapons shop, noticing all of the displays that were set up. Swords, bows, shovels, pickaxes, all available in different materials that made his head spin. He was wondering where he should start first. There appeared to be no one at the counter, so Steve decided to browse around. There was nothing in his budget, unless he wanted a wooden sword. However, Steve wanted the diamond sword that could cut through anything.

  “Need any help?”

  Steve looked up and saw a young woman from behind the counter. She had long red hair that went down to her waist, and she had high cheeks that looked prominent when she gave off her employee smile.

  “I’m looking for the owner of this shop,” Steve said as he handed the paper in. “I’m inquiring about a job posting.”

  “I am the owner,” she said.

  What? Steve felt embarrassed and felt like he’d get rejected in no time. He had expected the owner of a weapons shop to be a hairy, buff man, not this woman who was about his age. “Sorry about that.”

  “Oh, it’s fine. It happens all of the time. My father owned this shop, but he was injured in a mining incident and went into an early retirement. I had brothers who should have gotten the torch passed to them, but my father saw me as the one who was the most capable of running this place.”

  “It looks like you’re doing a good job,” Steve said.

  “Thanks. By the way, did you come in here a few days ago?”

  “Let me guess, I look familiar? I’ve had people keep saying that, but I just moved near here yesterday.”

  “Oh. Well, this person came in and bought a diamond weapon of everything.”

  “Not me. I can barely afford a wooden weapon.”

  She smiled. “Well, sorry for the confusion. I guess you have a rich twin. Oh well, so you’re good with cleaning things?”

  “Yes, I am,” Steve said.

  “Well, I’m going to give you a little test to see if you’re good for this job. I want you to dust the display cases.”

  It sounded like an easy job for Steve. Steve was handed a cloth and looked at the cases. They all looked pretty dusty, and Steve wanted to make sure that the display cases were all pristine. He started rubbing against the glass surface, making sure all of the dust was collected from the case. He swiped it around, here and about, until the first case looked like it had been recently made. He did it to all of the other cases until they all looked clean. He looked at his cloth, which looked like a planet for dust now. He handed it back to the lady.

  “All done,” he said.

  “It looks great. I think we have a great cleaner on our hands. Also, do you want to just be a cleaner or do other things for this shop?”

  What do you mean?” Steve asked.

  “I need someone to do other tasks as well, and I could probably just let you do most of them. You can stock weapons and pick up shipments as well.”

  Steve smiled. “Sure, boss. Whatever you need done, I’m your man.”

  “Ha, I like your eagerness. I’m Wendy, by the way. Just call me that.”

  “Steve,” Steve said.

  Wendy brought out some coins and gave them to Steve. Steve eagerly put them in his pocket. It was actually a decent amount for dusting a few cases.

  “I have nothing else for you today, but tomorrow I have a job that I will pay a lot for. There is a shipment of minerals that needs to be picked up tomorrow. Without them, we can’t make any new weapons. The people who gather the materials for us don’t take them straight to here because thieves know who they are and what they have, so they try to discreetly give it to people who look ordinary. Your job is to just pick up the materials and bring them here. Got that?”

  Steve nodded. It sounded fun, and Steve’s heart was fluttering a little bit just thinking about it. He had a job and would be making money to live off of. If this went well, he’d have a great reference if he wanted even bigger jobs. He shook Wendy’s hand and left the shop. There was still plenty of time left, so Steve wandered around.

  He made his way to the castle, which was pretty expansive and located in the back of the town, resting against the town’s wall. A gate was set up, and two guards were in front of it.

  “Sorry, but although the castle is usually available for public viewing, we must close it off until the new king is sworn in,” one of the guards said.

  Steve shrugged. It was no biggie that he couldn’t get in, but he was a little curious as to whom the new king was. He decided to just begin walking home. The town was getting even busier, and he was quite eager to see what else it would have to offer. For now, though, he was hungry. With the money he had, he bought himself a meat pie from a stand. He spent the next thirty minutes munching on it on the hill outside of the town. It tasted like heaven. The meat was so rich and flavorful. He then decided to spruce up his house a little bit more. He added more structure, added some more furniture, and made sure everything looked passable for the day. Once the sun began to set, he plopped down on his bed, smiling. In just a day, he had a better job than most people in Daint ever dreamed of having. He knew that it was just going to get better, too. He wondered how his job tomorrow would go, and how he would take care of the supplies. He’d make sure that they were in good hands.