Comic Book Indecision (Giest)

[Ramona "MoJo" Knight]

Ramona Knight had become a bit of a regular at Hidden Dungeon Comics once she had learned of it's existence. When her siblings elected to ignore her on a Saturday morning, or lay claim on the television while she was trying to watch old Justice League cartoons, she'd find herself running downtown to spend time at the shop. Sometimes she just wandered around aimlessly. Sometimes she sat herself in one of the reading nooks and got lost in one of the comics. Other times she practiced drawing her own. Basically, it seemed to be a place that somehow kept the girl in one place for more than three minutes at a time - as long as she remembered to bring snacks. 

This Saturday morning was one where MoJo's older sister, Cosima, decided that 'America's Next Top Model' was a suitable substitute for 'The Flash'. Annoyed that her sister tore her away from her favorite super hero (and turned off closed captioning), MoJo asked her mom if she could go to HDC for a while, and buy a new comic book. So with the crisp $10 bill her mother gave her in the pocket of Mojo's purple jeans, the girl headed down to the comic shop. 

She was currently sitting on her knees in one of the isles, rummaging through a box full of clearance priced comics, wondering if she could make her $10 go even further by buying out of the sale box. She had about six books in front of her from a few of her favorite series - The Flash, Wolverine, Spider-man, and Batman (which she thought if she bought she could show it to Mr. Lilien at school). Unsure what she should do about her purchase, the girl spread the books out in front of her, and began flipping through the pages, attempting to decide which story she would most enjoy. She knew she'd enjoy all of them, though. Which made the process all that more difficult. Looks like she was going to be here a while. 

[Thomas Geiston]

((ooc: sorry it took so long ))

Inventory day. Geist loved inventory day. He got to manage the store almost entirely by himself. His boss took the morning shift and got most of the things out of the way. So, his main job was restocking the shelves. That and occasionally playing with the random figures scattered about the store. This was kind of his favorite part. The boss would let him arrange things however he liked, which was a lot of fun. Once he'd finished mucking about with the toys, he moved on to the "On Sale" boxes. A few younger boys had been in earlier and practically destroyed them. 


No sooner had he finished and taken his place at the register, the bell chimed as a costumer came in. Peering over the shelves that he could, he noticed a familiar mop of dark curls and smiled. Grabbing a notebook and pen, he made his way over to where the young girl had plopped herself amongst the books she'd spread in front of her. Slowly, he tapped his foot nearby, to let the girl know he was there. As he did, he wrote in the notebook. 


"Hey there Mojo, how are you?" 

He tapped the notebook with his pen as he glanced down at her choices.

"Oh, rough choice there kid. Need some help with the decision?"

[Ramona "MoJo" Knight]

Mojo really enjoyed some of the people who worked at the comic book store. They were extremely accommodating to her, which was quite refreshing. She didn't always get the same treatment at retail establishments, especially any involving food where customer service was meant to be concise and simple. Mojo tended to stay away from those if she was out alone. She particularly liked Geist though. He was the first employee to really go out of his way to get to know Mojo and helped her pick out comic books on more than one occasion.

The little girl nodded vigorously when Geist asked if she needed help with her decision. She was pretty awful at choosing between a bunch of really good things. How were you supposed to eliminate options when all the options seemed equally great? Mojo stuffed her hand into her jean pockets, and took out the crumpled ten dollar bill her mom had given her. She smoothed it out a little bit, and placed it next to the notebook as if to say 'this is how much money I have to spend... this is not enough money for all of these comics'.

She then stuck out her hand, gesturing for Geist's pen. When she received it, she scribbled down next to where the man had finished writing...

I am good. I just not decide!

Her grammar was definitely not the best. Word flow didn't work in Mojo's head the way it worked for others, since her primary language was ASL. It was difficult to translate that directly to English on paper. She tried really hard though. She gave the man a innocent, slightly pleading look. All of her facial expressions were over the top and dramatic, since it was easier to get her thoughts across that way.

[Thomas Geiston]

He had to smile at Mojo. She was such a sweet girl and she never seemed to let her troubles get in the way of who she was. It was admirable to say the least. Honestly, she was the type of kid that gave Geist a little hope for the newer generation. That, and he just absolutely adored her.

As she held out the money, he took the opportunity to kneel down. Geist wasn't a tall man by any means, barely taller than Mojo herself, but he believed that when you talk to a kid, you get down on their level. It made them feel equal. He read that somewhere, and he remembered his mother doing the same thing when he was kid. It always made him feel a bit more important, and much more like a person than just a kid. In the process of kneeling, he also handed his pen and notebook over to his excited young costumer. Yet another thing he enjoyed, her happiness. It always made the Dungeon seem a bit brighter.

Geist nodded and smiled, letting her know he understood and was glad she was doing well. Slowly he took the pen back and tapped his chin with it, obviously deep in thought. Well, deep meaning he was teasing her a bit. Geist had every intention of surprising her with what he was going to write, but this was fun. Plus, it was another way of communicating without writing. He did sometimes feel bad that he didn't know sign language, though he was attempting to learn. Mostly because he thought it would be useful.

After a moment of making her wait, he slowly started to write in the notebook. As he did, he made sure she couldn't see what he was writing.

"Tell ya what. You help me put out some of the new comics and toys I have left and you can have all of what you got there for 8 dollars. Sound good?" 

Geist smirked, he had a feeling she would like this arrangement. 

[Ramona "MoJo" Knight]

Mojo could tell Geist was teasing her. Like he had some sort of opinion or idea about what she should do with her money, but was making her play his little waiting game. She rolled her eyes for a moment and gave the man a look that said something along the lines of 'come on... I know you don't take that long to think'. Though the sassy look melted away as the man started writing in his notebook again. The little girl cocked her head to the side so she could follow what Geist wrote, and a smile spread across her face as she realized what he was asking.

Really? Mojo signed, while mouthing the word. She did this every now and then, as a way to slowly teach people little signs that were easy to remember. And it wasn't hard to mouth certain words in an exaggerated way so people could tell what she was saying. She snatched the pen from Geist as if giving him too much time to think about it would make him change his mind. "YES YES YES" Mojo scrawled quickly, underlining each yes as she wrote it, enthusiasm coursing through her.

She loved helping Geist out around the shop, and couldn't wait until she was 16 and could actually apply for a job there. She really hoped the amount of time she spent around the place would serve her well in that endeavor. Even if she was just a cashier. Hell, even if she just swept the floor and restocked shelves. If it meant she could spend more time in the comic book store (and maybe even reap the benefits of an employee discount) she'd be all about it. The little girl stood, and picked up each of the books she had picked out, skipping over to the counter where she placed her selections for safekeeping while she helped her friend.