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It amused me I left the restaurant feeling richer than before I’d paid the ridiculously expensive bill.
* * *
Sunday, April 19, 2167
The Gray Ward
Dragon Heights, Wyoming
After a rather heated argument with myself, I decided to buy a fancy cell, one I would be able to use for several years if the going got tough. Even if I couldn’t maintain service due to my misfortunes, I’d still be able to access the internet from the local libraries. While not an ideal situation, it would work for me—and give me a good tool for the next few years of my life.
In the worst-case scenario, I would prepay minutes to make calls and pretend I had a plan. With Garnet’s leftovers and her bottle of milk hanging off my wrist and the kitten sound asleep in my arms, I hunted for a cell company who’d sell me a phone and a plan without needing the excess documentation too many liked having in Dragon Heights.
After some consideration, I decided to try the largest of the companies run by one of the red dragon families in the area. They might consider my work with the titaniums as valid and accept my money despite keeping my birth identity secret. Bracing for embarrassment or at least some inconvenience, I stepped into the store.
While I’d expected dragon-kin, the store boasted enough floor space for two or three dragons, when compacted into their smallest forms, to enter the store. Two reds lounged on cushions larger than my bed, which reminded me I needed to take care of that task before heading home.
Right. There were actual dragons in the store, and they were old enough to have full control over their size and weight. From my understanding, a dragon needed to be at least a hundred years old to control their transformations to such a level. My mother promised I might one day pursue such an art, and thanks to my mixed ancestry, I’d have an easier time of it than most—including even them.
It had been then I’d learned my parents were far older than they appeared and that I shouldn’t ask questions I wasn’t prepared to have answered. As such, I had no idea how old they were, although I understood they’d had ample opportunity to learn how to control their size and weight.
According to my father, once I had the knack of it, transforming into a massive dragon with the weight of a human would be the easiest to master. While we broke many laws of science, maintaining weight made the rest of the process faster and easier. We didn’t need to shed or create additional mass, just organize everything a little.
Then, I’d questioned his use of a little.
Now, I no longer questioned, but I worried what might happen should my heritage come calling, like it or not. As the dragons lounged and there were people in the store wearing shirts with the store’s logo, I opted to avoid the obvious sources of trouble in favor of a quicker rejection and being put out of my misery.
I picked an older teen as the one least likely to be a jerk about my situation. “Do you serve anonymous residents?”
To my dismay, he pointed at the dragons. “All you have to do is verify your chosen identity with them and prove you can pay the bill. We ask for six months of service as a deposit in case of failure to pay, but you’ll start on a monthly plan. You can opt to use your deposit for payment. We offer plans with phones if you don’t have one, but you have to also pay the first six months of the contract in advance. It’s a two-year contract.”
I thanked him, and as I could make the deal work, assuming they didn’t charge an arm and a leg for service, I headed for the dragons dominating the center of the store.
In some way, red dragons reminded me a little of scaled horses, if I switched the direction their forelegs bent, added a longer neck and a thinner, longer body and a muscular, serpentine tail capable of knocking humans over—and killing them from the force of the blow.
Orange dragons could pull the same trick. Most could, although they had to work a little harder at it than the reds and oranges.
Rather than hire a tree removal service, my parents had opted to transform when nobody else had been around and turn the entire thing to mulch in a matter of ten minutes.
With two dragons openly present, only a fool would consider robbing the store.
“Excuse me,” I said, careful to keep my volume low without whispering. “The nice employee I just spoke to said I needed to talk with you about getting a phone and a plan. I’m anonymous.”
The nearer of the dragons cracked open an eye and replied, “I see you, Miss Kinsley. I’ve heard much about you as of late. It is good you carry your little one with you.”
Damned gossiping dragons. With my luck, the entire city knew about Garnet. “She’s sleeping off lunch.” Careful not to wake the carbunclo, I showed her off to the dragon, a female if I judged by the pitch of her voice, significantly higher than any of the males I’d heard. “I’m going to need a phone to look things up online for her and make sure I track her meals and so on.” It wasn’t a lie; I would use the phone for those things. To make it clear what I thought about the phone’s original purpose, I wrinkled my nose. “And make some calls.”
Both dragons laughed, and I felt as much as heard their amusement. The second rose and said, “I will have her verified while you meet the little one, my darling.”
I determined the cell phone store counted as one of the safest places in the Emerald Ward and quite possibly the entirety of Dragon Heights. Anyone foolish enough to challenge a pair of red dragons deserved their fate, especially a bonded pair. “Thank you, sir.”
“Such a polite little one,” the male cooed. “You are in safe claws with us, Miss Kinsley, so do not worry yourself. I will make the arrangements for your plan. What is your budget for each month?”
While I counted as a luddite even to dragons, I’d paid attention to how much a decent plan cost. I would have to work harder to earn the extra hundred a month after my newfound fortune ran dry, but I could make it happen. Working a little harder on the bounties wouldn’t kill me.
Well, I hoped. “A hundred,” I said, struggling to keep from wincing at the commitment I made. “I figured I would get a better model of phone so it will last longer.”
“I will make certain you have the best we have for your needs,” the dragon promised before sauntering off the cushions. He transformed into a tall, blond-haired man wearing the kind of suit I expected from a Wall Street banker rather than someone working in a cell store.