I tap my foot to the beat of the song screaming into my head through my headphones, drowning out the absurdly annoying hum of the quiet dry-cleaner's machines. My hands are dry and cracking from hauling clean, warm clothing around all day. The bell rings and I start, dropping the bundle in my arms. Ugh, good thing Agnes wasn't here to see it land on the floor.

"Be right with you!" I yell from the back, picking up the pile. 

CLANK. Something hard hits my knee. What the hell? I pick up the jacket that's dangling below the rest of the bundle. It's so... heavy. Whatever it is would have absolutely destroyed our machines if it had made it in there before destroying my knee.

"In you go," I say to clothing as I dump it into the giant machine, but I hold on to the jacket in order to inspect its hidden treasure. I slip behind a rack of hanging clothes, out of view of the camera. Agnes hates it when I snoop through customers' things.

I reach into the pocket that's pulling the rest of the jacket down, and pull out a round, metallic orb that fits in the palm of my hand. I stick it in my own pocket, throwing the jacket behind me and into the machine. Score! Now to attend to the customer that's incessantly ringing the bell at the front desk.

"Hello," I say, removing my headphones.

The woman continues to ring the bell.

"Okay, I get it, I'm sorry I made you wait a couple minutes," I retort, "Could you please stop ringing that bell?" She switches to long, annoyingly spaced out rings.

She doesn't know I'm here. I reach in my pocket for the orb, but it’s gone. No, no, no! I’m stuck like this.