The Placeholder

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 5, Post Number 119

-Capital Crocus Mall, early afternoon-

Wearing her casual outfit with boots and black shoulder bag with iLac but having left Shining Light and Lumie at home for this job, Lucia stepped into Capital Crocus Mall and was greeted with the sight of a long hallway opening onto a food court that had numerous restaurants to choose from. Lucia was tempted to walk into it and browse its wares, but she was here on a job and that job was to hold someone's place in a line for a new music album that was arriving in stores today. She was to report to a music store on the third floor named The Music Vault and locate a young woman named Angela Helton, whose place in line she was to hold until she could get back from afternoon classes at a school named Crocus Magicka University.

Lucia walked through the entrance hall and entered the food court area. To her left she saw a stairwell and made a beeline for it, carefully weaving her way through a long line of people heading for the food court. Lucia reached it just ahead of a gaggle of young women who talked excitedly about going to a clothing store named The Modern Woman on the second floor. The blonde ascended the stairs as quickly as she could to avoid being trampled by them.

-On the third floor, three minutes later-

Lucia ascended the stairwell to find a young woman with long brown hair and two strands of hair that curled up in an antenna look standing about a meter to her right. She wore a white long-sleeved t-shirt with the letters "CMU" in gold and a knee-length black skirt with black high heels plus a large black purse. The young woman noticed Lucia and began to approach her.

"Hi there! Are you Lucia Winchester?" The brunette asked Lucia. Luca nodded.

"Yes, I'm Lucia Winchester. You must be Angela Helton." Lucia said to the brunette. The young woman smiled.

"Yes, I'm Angela Helton. By any chance are you related to a Diana Winchester?" Angela asked Lucia. The blonde nodded.

"Yes. I'm her older sister." Lucia replied in the affirmative. Angela smiled.

"Ah, I can see the resemblance! If you don't mind me saying this, she's such a cute young woman, but she's so serious that it's kinda hard to get close to her!" Angela critiqued the personality of Lucia's younger sister while Lucia stood and looked around the mall for the line in which she was to wait. Some distance ahead she spotted a store named The Music Vault with a long line of people standing outside of it. A very long line of at least one hundred people.

"So you see the line too, huh?" Angela jumped from the subject of Diana to the subject of the line. Lucia calmly nodded. The line was more than a little daunting, but this job would not be too hard.

"All I need you to do is hold my place in line until I get back from classes in around three hours." Angela briefed Lucia on what she needed to do. Lucia nodded. All she had to do was wait in line for three hours or so and Angela would return to take her place. Those instructions were simple enough.

Angela looked at an aqua iLac she pulled out of her purse and panicked.

"Oh man, I really need to go! I'm gonna be late for class if I hang around any longer!" Angela said in a panic. She quickly put away the iLac and reached into her purse, pulling out a small slip of paper with a number on it. She handed it to Lucia and started for the stairwell.

"On that paper's my Lacrima Indentification Code! I'll call you when I'm out of class and on my way to the mall! Thanks for doing this for me!" Angela hurriedly explained the number's significance before walking briskly and disappearing down the stairwell in the space of a minute. Lucia looked at the number, then placed it inside her shoulder bag and walked towards the line forming outside of The Music Vault. She took a place in the very back of the line and started to play the waiting game.

[Post Word Count: 712]
[Total Word Count: 712/2,500]

-Thirty minutes later-

Lucia was patiently standing in line as Potential Customer Number 104. The number of people behind her had increased by thirty-one since she had gotten in line thirty minutes ago. The blonde had been hired to stay in line no matter what, so that was exactly what she was going to do. So far no one had tried to cut in line and everyone was either minding their own business, surfing the Lacrimanet with their iLacs, or talking amongst themselves if they were waiting in line with friends. Lucia had no one with her, so she remained facing forward and patiently waiting in line and holding Angela Helton's place until the brunette got out of class and arrived to take her place.

The blonde wondered what album everyone was waiting on and managed to hear the person behind her mention the name "Marina Renault." Lucia had no idea who that was, so she brought out her cerulean blue iLac and found a Lacrimanet browser, then tapped on it. She typed in the name "Marina Renault" and found a search result. A picture loaded and Lucia learned that Marina Renault was an aqua-haired concert violinist who also contributed to the soundtracks of a few movies like Celestial Conflicts, Cybernetic Conspiracy, and some other recent blockbuster movies that Lucia had not seen yet.

Lucia exited the browser and looked forward to find that the line had moved forward by one space, so she quickly lowered her iLac and moved up before the people behind her complained or someone decided to try and cut in line. Once she had filled the space she raised her iLac again and re-opened the browser to read more about the aqua-haired violinist. It was not like Lucia had anyone to talk to or anything better to do.

-Thirty minutes later-

Lucia had read more about Marina Renault and learned that in addition to movies the violinist also contributed to video game soundtracks. Two of her most prominent credits were for the soundtracks of the games Malevolent Tenant and Malevolent Tenant 2. Intrigued by this, Lucia opened a new browser tab and searched for "Malevolent Tenant." Within seconds she found what she was looking for.

Malevolent Tenant was a game series that dealt with a zombie virus outbreak that was the result of top-secret research gone awry. The first game took place in an isolated mansion owned by a pharmaceutical company named Parasol Inc. and the second took place in a city that was accidentally infected by the outbreak when some infected dogs from the mansion made their way to the city and spread the virus by biting people. Lucia had never played video games and did not have much interest in doing so now.

Out of curiosity Lucia decided to read reviews of the series. Before she did she looked up and found that the line had moved up two places. She quickly moved up and the line behind her moved up as well. Now that that had been taken care of, she raised her iLac and resumed reading reviews.

The reviews for both games read the same. The voice acting was B-grade and the voice actors/actresses either sounded like they were bored out of their minds or were comically overacting. The dialogue was described as "hokey" and written by B-grade scriptwriters. The plots were interesting but were noted as taking a lot of liberties with science, such as certain types of zombie being able to run at human running speed despite having rigor mortis and the inability to produce adrenaline. However, for all the criticisms critics were quick to note that the Malevolent Tenant games had many good points.

The games were cited as being labors of love because no shortcuts were taken in animating things as trivial as an open book being left near an open window where the wind was blowing. The graphics were also a big selling point and the game's length was another selling point: in a time when the average AAA title lasted about three hours Malevolent Tenant lasted six before the bonus material like remixed versions of the single-player campaign that offered a greater challenge and scenarios involving secondary characters. One of the strongest points of the game was its soundtrack, which invoked feelings of dread, despair, and science delving into places it should not go.

Lucia looked up again and noticed that three more people had gotten out of line, so she moved forward and took her new place. The line ahead of her was still ninety-plus people, so it was not like any great progress had been made. However, Lucia was glad to take any progress the line had made. That meant that Angela might be able to get the album she wanted a tiny bit sooner than if Lucia were still in the very back of the line.

[Post Word Count: 814]
[Total Word Count: 1,526/2,500]

-One hour later-

Lucia had put away her iLac to focus on the line ahead of her, but she reached into her shoulder bag and brought out her iLac to see what time it was. She was happy to see that she had just reached the second hour of the three-hour wait. All she had to do was stay in line for at least another hour and Angela would arrive to claim her place... at least in theory. Angela said that she was going to try and get here as fast as she could and Lucia believed that the brunette had every intention of keeping that promise, but as the blonde knew from personal experience, life had a tendency to throw curveballs at people. One night Lucia was drinking a rare vintage of wine with her family and the next thing she knew she was dead until a little over a month ago.

Lucia still did not understand how she had come back to life. Well, that was inaccurate. She knew how she had come back to life... she had been brought back to life by a divine entity who had decided that her time on Earthland deserved to be extended. A better question would be why she was brought back. A second good question would be who had brought her back. She would have to find that out later because some loudmouth behind her was giving her grief in an indirect way.

"I wish that blonde bitch up ahead would move already. This is like the fourth time she's stood there like a dumbass who doesn't know how to wait in line! When the line moves up you move up!" Some loudmouth young woman complained about Lucia. The blonde mage felt that the other person was trying to bait her into a fight in public so that she could play the victim and get Lucia arrested. This was not a battle that had to be fought.

Lucia wordlessly moved up in line so that the person behind her would shut their mouth and stop trying to cause a scene. Lucia needed to pick her battles carefully and this was not a battle that had to be fought. So she endured the thinly veiled complaints about her ignorance of basic social courtesy by reminding herself that there was a decent payday waiting for her once Angela got here.

Once the grousing died down Lucia made it a point to stay off of her iLac so that the complainer would not have any ammunition to use against her. She continued to face forward so that she could not be painted as the hostile party. No one was going to paint her as the villain in this case... except for the people who disliked her for having the temerity to look at her iLac for just a few seconds too long for their liking. There was just no pleasing some people.

Lucia would do her best to endure the wait until Angela showed up to take her place. When three more spots in the line opened up she moved forward that very instant so that the loudmouth behind her had no justifiable reason to complain. Thankfully the person had the decency to remain silent instead of causing another scene. It was true that Lucia had held up the line by looking at her iLac a bit too long, but the other person was clearly trying to be an "alpha female" by picking a fight in public to look tough. Once Lucia completed this job she would do her best to stay away from the mall for awhile so that she could reduce the number of encounters she had with people like that.

[Post Word Count: 620]
[Total Word Count: 2,146/2,500]

-One hour later-

It had been an hour since the heckler in the back had went quiet. After her colorful tirade against Lucia it had been an uneventful wait in line, something that the blonde was thankful for. She did not care for that kind of drama and she especially did not like struggles for dominance. Her mother Elizabeth was a domineering type who was a firm believer in "my way or the highway" and never hesitated to let anyone know that.

Lucia moved forward when two people ahead of her had reached the end of their patience and got out of line, then waited a few minutes to see if anyone else was going to get out of line before reaching for her iLac to see what time it was. Once she was certain that no one else was getting out of line she reached for her iLac and got it out of her shoulder bag, then tapped it to see the clock. It was a little over three hours since she had gotten in line and Angela should be calling her at any moment now.

Lucia quickly lowered her iLac and moved forward when a young woman had reached her limit and got out of line, vowing to return to The Music Vault when the album was already on the shelves. The blonde mage moved forward to fill the gap and did so without any complaints from anyone. The moment she stopped moving forward she thought of something... she and Angela had not exchanged Lacrima Indentification Codes!

Lucia felt very awkward as she pondered the ramifications of that mistake.

How was Angela going to know that she was still here?

Lucia should have asked to exchange Lacrima Identification Codes, but she did not think to do so before Angela left for class. That was her fault and her fault alone. At least she had Angela's code on that slip of paper. Then the thought hit her like a ton of bricks.

She had Angela's code. All Lucia had to do was send a text message and Angela would get her code.

Smiling to herself, Lucia fished the slip of paper with Angela's Lacrima Identification Code on it, found the Contacts List, carefully entered Angela's code, and labeled the entry "Angela Helton." Then she saved it. Now she had Angela's number.

Lucia moved up another space when a middle-aged man in a business suit left the line because he had to go to work. She then started to write a text message to Angela.

"This is Lucia Winchester. I realized that I didn't give you my Lacrima Identification Code, so I'm sending this text message. Will you be able to make it to Capital Crocus Mall?" Lucia asked Angela in the message. She sent it and a DING confirmed that it had been sent. Now all she had to do was wait for a reply from Angela.

-Twenty minutes later-

Lucia stood in line another twenty minutes awaiting a response from Angela when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Lucia turned around and found that Angela was standing there.

"Oh hi Lucia! I got your text message but wasn't able to respond to it because I was in a Literature class where the professor rambled on and on about an old book or something called Beowulf, so I ducked out early and got here as fast as I could!" Angela apologized for not responding to the text.

"It's no problem. I should have given you my Lacrima Identification Code before you left for class, but I didn't think to do it. That mistake's entirely on me." Lucia apologized for not giving Angela her code before the brunette had to leave for class. Angela smiled.

"It's OK, Lucia. I made it here, so no harm, no foul. Thanks for holding my place in line for me!" Angela told the blonde that there were no hard feelings over the mistake and then thanked her for holding her place in line. Angela produced a bag of Jewels from her purse and handed them to Lucia, who accepted it and put the bag in her shoulder bag.

"I'm kinda hungry, so If you don't need me for anything else I'll see you later, Angela." Lucia said to the client.

"OK, Lucia. I'll call you if I need your services again. Tell Diana that I said hi when you see her!" Angela bade Lucia farewell. With that Lucia walked away and endured some envious glances from people who obviously wished that they had gotten paid to stand in line for someone else. Lucia did not give them a second glance as she made for the stairwell. The mystery heckler was also silent... where was her bravado now? Where were the snide comments and insults that had flowed so freely almost two hours ago?

Lucia did not know and she did not care. She had done her job, so now it was time to go home. But first she really wanted something to eat... hopefully the food court was not too busy.

[Post Word Count: 848]
[Total Word Count: 2,994/2,500]