Dreamer | Outer Banks

36 - Pawn Shop

The six of us pulled up to the pawn shop, gold in hand. Kie had finished melting it down so we could pawn it off for as much money as possible.

"Hell of a job melting it down, Dr. Frankenstein." JJ said as he inspected the chunk of gold in his hands.

"Like you could've done better." Kie scuffed.

"I could have done much better. I took a welding class." JJ argued.

"When?" Kie asked, not believing him, and to be fair I didn't either.

"Chill out, okay?" John B broke up the two, placing a hand on JJ's shoulder.

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one that has to pawn this piece of shit off." He held up the piece of gold that was wrapped in a blue cloth. "How did I get this job anyway?"

"Cause you're the best liar." Pope shrugged before we loosely followed JJ into the pawn shop one by one.

"Afternoon, ma'am. I see you buy gold."

"That's what the sign says, don't it?" The older woman replied behind the counter.

"Well, I sure hope you buy a lot of it, because I'm about to blow your mind." JJ said, digging through his backpack to retrieve the gold once more.

"I ain't got much mind left to blow, so have at it."

He pulled out the chunk of gold and placed it onto the counter. "How about them gold apples?"

The woman took one look at the gold before chuckling to herself. "That ain't real."

JJ shook his head. "That ain't real? Feel how heavy it is."

Due to how heavy the gold was, she struggled at first to pick it up. "Mm-hm. Mm-hm! Let's get some light on that."

Still unconvinced that JJ's telling the truth, the women shone a light over the gold while inspecting it. "Spray painted tungsten."

"Spray-painted tungsten? Really." JJ rolled his eyes, clearly irritated. "Okay. Why don't you see how, uh, soft it is?"

"You mind?" She questioned, picking up a hammer and a small pin.

"No, go for it." We all watched as she chipped at the gold. "Wow. Would you look at that?"

"Hold your horses. We ain't got to the acid test yet." The woman held up her hand at JJ before turning away to grab the acid.

"Ooh! The acid test. My favorite, guys." He turned around and winked at me. I on the other hand watched intently as the women dropped a dot of acid on the gold.

"Well, it ain't plated, and it ain't painted." She muttered to herself.

"Ma'am, I'm telling ya, this is as real as the day is long." JJ leaned his hands on the counter.

"It looks like somebody tried to melt it down." She said, looking back up at JJ suspiciously.

"My mom. She had all this jewelry laying around the house, and she thought it was best to...to melt it down. To consolidate it." JJ explained, saving all of our asses.

The woman picked up the gold from the counter and placed it onto the scale. "Seven pounds? That's a lot of earrings."

"Okay, to be honest, ma'am..." JJ started to tear up. "It's really hard to see my mom fall apart with Alzheimer's."

"Alzheimer's?" Kie whispered.

"Give me a minute." The woman replied before walking into the back room.

"Take your time, ma'am." JJ hung his head down until she was out of sight before turning back to us. "Was I amazing or was I amazing?"

"You were perfect J." I winked at him and we air high-fived each other.

"So, I talked to my boss. And, uh, this is what I can do." The woman walked back behind the counter and slipped JJ a piece of paper.

"Fifty thousand?" It was JJ's turn to shake his head in disbelief. "You think I walked in here not knowing the spot price? Ma'am, I know for a fact this is worth one-forty, at least."

"Well, sweetie, you in a pawnshop. This ain't Zurich. Do I look Swiss to you?" She raised her eyebrows at JJ.

"Ninety, or I walk."

"Seventy. Half price and um...I don't ask questions about where you got this."

JJ looked back to John B and I as we couldn't help but contain our smiles. "I'm gonna need that in large denominations, please."

"Well, here's the snag. I don't have that much denominated, not here anyway. I can write you a cashier's check." She suggested.

"Cash? No, ma'am. I want the cold hard. That's what that sign says." JJ pointed above him at the sign. "Cash for gold. And that's what I expect. I'm gonna get it cold hard."

"Well, I have to send you to the warehouse. I have the money there. Is that all right?"

JJ narrowed his eyes at the woman. "Where's this warehouse?"

~~~

Hey everyone! I know this was a shorter chapter but I was a little behind on posting and wanted to at least get something out.

I promise the next chapter will be much longer and thank you for your patience!