Chapter 12
The BookShop owner And Mia
Mia entered the bookstore, browsing for interesting reads on a leisurely Saturday. After selecting her books, she approached the counter to pay. The bookseller tallied the books and demanded $200. Mia's eyes widened in shock.
"$20? Are you serious? I only have six books, and you're charging me that much? Might as well rob a bank!" she exclaimed.
The old man rolled his eyes.
"That's the price. If you think it's too much, leave. I'm not the only bookstore around."
Mia took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
"Grandpa, each book is $1, so that's $6 total. How did you come up with $20?" she asked, her voice laced with skepticism.
The old man snapped,
"It's my bookstore. How I price my books is none of your business."
Mia's irritation boiled over.
"As a customer, I have every right to question the price. And why are you yelling at me?"
The old man, taken aback by Mia's assertiveness, feigned offense.
"You're shouting at an old man? Didn't your parents teach you to respect your elders?" he said, playing the pity card.
Mia wasn't fooled.
"Respect works both ways, sir," she retorted.
"If you weren't an old man, I'd have given you a piece of my mind... or worse," Mia threatened.
"You should thank your age for sparing you."
"You"
The old man tried to respond, but Mia cut him off.
"You what? You think you can do whatever you want just because you're old? And act however you like?" she said disdainfully.
"This isn't the first time I've bought books, but it's the first time I've encountered such outrageous prices," Mia complained.
"I usually buy 4-8 books, and it's always $1 per book. $4 for four, $5 for five, and so on. So, why is your bookstore different? Why are your books so expensive?" she questioned.
The old man sneered,
"How I run my business is none of your concern. Nobody's ever complained about the prices before. If you can't afford my books, go elsewhere. Nobody's forcing you to buy from me."
Mia's anger boiled over, but then she had an epiphany. She smiled wickedly and shouted,
"I get it now! You're extorting people, and they're foolishly letting you extort from them!"Mia exclaimed
The crowd murmured feeling humiliated by what she said. Then one middle-aged man said,
"What do you mean by we are allowing the store owner to foolishly extort from us"
Mia turned to him and said,
"If you're not being extorted, then explain why you're accepting these prices. Don't you deserve fair treatment?"
"Ah, let me guess, you're rolling in cash and can afford to throw it around recklessly?"
Mia said, provoking the middle-aged man.
The man bristled,
"You little—"
Mia cut him off,
"What's wrong? Can't handle the truth? You look like a regular customer here, which means you've never complained about the prices. You're enabling this extortion by going along with it."
She turned to the crowd,
"I'm should not be blaming the old man; I should be blaming all of you. You're encouraging him to act this way. If you didn't tolerate it, he wouldn't dare."
Mia's eyes locked onto the old man,
"Nobody's called him out on it yet, but I will. I'm reporting him to the police."
The old man shouted,
"Are you out of your mind, mind your own business, young lady! You better not call the police, or else—"
Mia smiled,
"Or else what? What can you do to me?"
She pulled out her phone, dialed the police, and put it on speaker. The old man's face turned pale as he realized what was happening. He tried to grab the phone, but Mia dodged him,
"You think you can take this phone from me? Are you foolish or do you think I am?"
When the police answered, Mia said,
"Hello, I need help because I'm being extorted by the bookstore owner at 165 Main Street. He's demanding $20 for six books that are supposed to cost $6. I'm feeling threatened."
The old man's eyes widened in shock as Mia hung up the call, a triumphant smile on her face.
"You lied!" the old man shouted.
"I lied?"
Mia repeated innocently.
"How did I lie? Isn't it true you're extorting money from me? I don't know about others, nor do i care, but it's true you're extorting me. So, tell me, how did I lie?"
Mia's words left the old man and everyone in the shop stunned by her clever twist.
Unbeknownst to Mia, she was being watched, particularly by Richard. Since the beginning of the altercation, Richard had been observing her, fascinated by her argument with the shop owner. He couldn't help but smile at her determination. His smile was so captivating that the young girl beside him was struck by his handsomeness.