Lost and Found 1

It's a cool crisp autumn morning. You pull up after your school day to your job. You're not necessarily new here. You've worked quite a few shifts here and have had your fair share of interesting experiences with guests. Your shift starts in 10 minutes. You sit in the Paradise Mall parking lot for a second looking at the outside enterance for the workers. ***Paradise Lost and Found*** [[Start your shift]] [[Relax for a few more minutes]]

You walk in to the employee enterance and clock in a minute early. Every extra minute counts. You're trying to buy a new car since the one you currently have is falling apart. You walk to the desk and relieve your coworker from their shift. You strike up the usual small talk with them as they gather their things. "Anything worth noting?" "A wallet, a phone, and a watch are the main things." Taylor responds. "Otherwise it's the usual things. It's all under the desk if you wanna look at it." Taylor clocks out and leaves with a wave. *It doesn't seem too busy today...* [[Observe the objects]] [[People watch]] [[Doodle]]

You decide to wait a few more minutes in your car since you have 10 minutes before your shift starts. You like to have some time to people watch especially after the stress and overload of school. You watch as a mother and her crying child enter the building. The mom looks tired and irritated while pushing the stroller, her child screaming his head off, red in the face. You would hate to have to deal with that tantrum. A seemingly homeless man walks out of the mall. You've seen him before. He doesn't bother anyone, just goes about his own business. You admire that. He pats his coat pockets and turns back around into the mall. An old lady who's dressed elegantly gets dropped off by a spotless SUV. She walks with purpose into the shopping center. As if she's on a mission. You need to [[Start your shift]] now.

You look at the bucket under the front desk you're stationed at. You see: [[A gold watch]] [[A wallet]] [[A cracked phone]] [[A pocket notebook]] [[A matching pair of gloves and a hat]] [[People watch]] [[Doodle]]

The homeless man you usually see is sitting in the seats in your store. He's just looking around sniffling. He smiles at you when your eyes meet. He doesn't get up or anything. You watch the corridors of the mall since it's a seemingly slow day. The elegantly dressed lady is speed walking away from everyone, she clutches her purse to her as she moves through the ocean of people. She really seems like she's on a mission. A voice brings you out of your trance of watching people passing by. [[Observe the guests]]

You choose to pass your time by drawing on some old receipt paper. --- A chorus of voices pull you out of your trance. [[Observe the guests]]

It looks expensive. Whoever lost this has to be looking for it. You turn it over. Sure enough, it's a Rolex branded watch. It's sitting with the other unclaimed watches. [[Observe the objects]]

It's beaten up and pretty thick. You open it up to see if there's an ID inside. It's missing from the slot, this should be interesting trying to return it with no clue who it belongs to. There's a picture of a baby in there though. It looks older and faded. [[Observe the objects]]

It's not a newer phone. It's pretty old actually. The lockscreen is a bouquet of flowers on the ground. [[Observe the objects]]

They're red, and not child-sized. Very warm and they look pretty well used. [[Observe the objects]]

You open the red cover to try and find a name or phone number to help you try and find the owner. The name 'Richards' is the only thing on the cover. You don't want to read any further. This is someone's personal journal. [[Observe the objects]]

Daisy stands in the front of the line of people who are waiting to hopefully collect their items from you. She works at the pretzel stand and the two of you have become relatively friendly with each other while you've worked here. "Hey, stranger. Anything good today?" [[Tell Daisy about the wallet]] [[Don't tell Daisy anything]]

You trust her, what's the worst that could happen. "Someone lost their wallet this morning. Waiting for them to pick it up." "No way! Any ID in there?" "Nope." Her eyes widen and then a smile is plastered on her face in seconds. "That's so weird! I lost my wallet this morning coming into work!" [[Don't tell Daisy anything]] [[Give Daisy the wallet]]

"You know as well as I do that I can't disclose that information Daisy. Gotta follow protocol on this one." "I get it, no worries! I did actually lose something though. My phone. I dropped it on the way into work today. Did anyone turn it in?" "There was a phone that was turned in. Could you describe it to me in a little bit more detail?" "Oh thank god, the lock screen should be a picture of flowers on the ground. I took it for my arts class!" She smiles at you. [[Hand her the phone]]

"Did you really now?" You play into it. "I mean between you and me, you kinda owe me one with all of the freebies I've given you at the pretzel place." She winks. She's right. You slide the wallet towards her. It's the least you could do for a friend, right? The mom with her screaming toddler gawks in disbelief. "You're kidding right? You didn't ask her for any description? That was literally my wallet!! I'm going to get you fired for this." "Don't worry ma'am. They'll be dealt with accordingly. I'll discuss with their boss about their termination." The homeless looking man stands up handing her his business card. Don't judge a book by its cover, he owns the mall. --- [[Try again?|Beginning]]

She smiles and heads off to continue her shift. Good job following protocol. [[The rich lady approaches you]]

The elegantly dressed lady steps up next looking fed up. "I'm looking for something very valuable. Has anyone turned anything in today?" [[Grab the watch]] [[Ask her for more details]]

You instinctively grab the Rolex under the counter. "I hate to ask, but how much was this worth?" You've always wanted one for yourself. She laughs. "More than I could even describe, if I even knew. It was a gift!" [[Give the lady the watch]] [[Ask her for more details]]

"Would you be able to tell me more about the item you're looking for ma'am?" "Oh of course! It's homemade, there's a lot of love in it." [[Ask her about the journal]] [[Give her the gloves and hat]]

You pull the rolex up on to the counter. Her jaw drops open. "This.. This isn't even close to what I was thinking.. This isn't what I lost!" Your face goes red, quickly pulling the expensive watch back to the lost treasures. The homeless looking man stands up and clears his throat. "Protocol calls for you to ask for more details. You didn't even ask what this lady lost, kid. We'll talk about this after you give her her item." The owner of the mall states. --- Is it only valuable if it's the price? [[Try again?|Beginning]]

"Would they happen to be these?" You hold up the red gloves and hat. "Yes! Thank you! My granddaughter made them for me and I thought they were gone for good! Thank you so much!" You smile, this is why you do this job. The line is slowly going down but you still have a few more guests to help. [[An elderly man being pushed in his wheelchair by his nurse approaches]]

You smile at the pair. "How can I help you today?" "Hi, we're with Evergreen car facility, and John here lost something very important to him. Has anyone turned anything in in the last hour?" The nurse answers as John just stares at you. [[Is it something he carries?]] [[Is it something he wears?]] [[Does it have important information?]]

"Is it a journal you lost?" She laughs slightly. "Oh dear, I haven't kept a journal in ages!" You hear a 'humph' noise come from the homeless man. Neither of you react. [[Give her the gloves and hat]]

"Is it something he carries around?" "No, not exactly." [[Is it something he wears?]] [[Does it have important information?]]

"Is it something he wears?" "Yes! He wears it everyday." [[Give the nurse the watch]]

"Does it have important information?" "I guess so. There's an inscription on the back to show it's his." [[Give the nurse the watch]] [[Give the nurse the journal]]

You pick up the Rolex, you hadn't noticed the engraving on the back before. "What color was the watch?" "Gold!" John chirps up smiling. "Jean gave it to me!" *Love you always, Jean* is written on the back. You smile and hand John the watch. "Thank you so much honey." The nurse smiles at you as she pushes John back into the swarm of people perusing the mall. This is why you do this job. There's two more people standing in your workplace with you. [[Talk to the mom with the baby]]

"Is this his journal?" "Oh no, honey. We're looking more for a watch? Were any of those turned in?" The homeless man is looking at you with more interest now. You can't read his expression. Embarassed, you [[Give the nurse the watch]].

"Ma'am? Is there anything I can help you find today?" You call out to the mom trying to soothe her child. "Oh, yes. My daughter got ahold of my wallet and dropped it in the children's play area. Please tell me that it got returned here?" She pleads. "Would you be able to describe the wallet to me please?" "Oh man, it's old. It belonged to my dad so it's worn a bit. There should be a baby picture in there? It was me as a baby and on the other side would be a picture of my angel at the same age." She smiles at the puffy eyed baby. You crouch down to look at the wallet without bringing it out in the open. There's two baby pictures. The older one you saw before, and the one on the other side you hadn't seen before. "Here you go ma'am," You smile standing up. She relaxes in front of you. "Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" The baby stops crying. [[Talk to the homeless man]]

"Sir? Is there anything you need help finding?" He smiles up at you. "I lost my pocket joural. It'll be red and has the name Richards on the inside cover." He stands up and comes to the front desk. You hand it to him, not only is it the only journal that you have, but it's also all the details that you would need to prove that it's his. "Here you go!" He takes it smiling at you but doesn't leave. "Make sure that you follow protocol when returning items, kiddo. I don't wanna have to terminate your position." The last name clicks in your head. Tom Richards, the owner of the mall. He leaves and the rest of your shift you're very aware of what you have to ask guests about their items, and it slows back down to it's normal pace of no lines waiting to see you and no more bosses sneaking in to observe you. --- *Just another day in Paradise, huh?*