𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄, jj maybank

FOURTEEN, huge mistake

kiara, who was growing so annoyed with jj, crossed her arms, tilted her head, and asked, "when?"

"hey, hey. shh!" john b shushed them, separating them with his arms. "chill out, okay?"

"it's easy for you to say that. you're not the one that has to pawn this piece of shit off." jj scoffed. "how did i get this job anyway?" 

"cause you're the best liar." pope replied, as they began to walk towards the entrance, making cassie giggle.

the group walked in and all split up, as to not look suspicious. "afternoon, ma'am." the blonde greeted. cassie found herself by the electronics section, staring between a microwave and an old guitar as she listened.

"afternoon."

"i see you buy gold." jj commented, walking up to the counter. 

"that's what the sign say, don't it?" the woman replied, bluntly.

"well, i sure hope you buy a lot of it, because i'm about to blow your mind."

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

cassie chuckled a bit, walking over to join sarah, who was looking at old books and stuff on a bookshelf.

"how 'bout them gold apples?" jj remarked, setting the clump of gold onto the counter.

"that ain't real." the woman replied instantly, chuckling.

"that ain't real?" jj repeated.

"it can't be."

"feel how heavy it is." jj urged her. she picked it up, struggling to hold it. "mm-hm. mm-hm!" he leaned in, over the counter. "let's get some light on that."

the woman shined a light on it, before concluding, "spray-painted tungsten."

"spray-painted tungsten? really? okay." the boy nodded, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. "why don't you see how, uh, soft it is?" 

"you mind?" the woman asked, bringing out a chisel and hammer.

"no, go for it." 

she taps the hammer against the chisel, then feels the gold after. 

"wow. would you look at that?" jj remarks, smirking.

the woman shakes her head, telling him, "hold your horses. we ain't got to the acid test yet."

"ooh! the acid test." jj exclaims, his smirk growing huge. he turns to face pope and kie, then sarah and cassie, remarking, "my favorite, guys."

the woman drips a small bit of it onto the gold, then she watched it in disbelief. "well, it ain't plated, and it ain't painted." she mutters to herself.

"ma'am, i'm telling ya, this is as real as the day is long." jj assured her, nodding.

"it looks like somebody tried to melt it down."

cassie grasped sarah's hand, scared that they had been caught. but of course, jj maybank, master liar, had a plan. "my mom." he replied. "she had all this jewelry laying around the house, and she thought it was best to... to melt it down. to 'consolidate' it."

the cashier dropped the gold into her scale, questioning, "seven pounds? that's a lot of earrings."

"okay, to be honest, ma'am..." the boy started, frowning. "it's really hard to see my mom fall apart with alzheimer's."

the pogues all looked around, questioning him before the woman nodded, obviously buying into his sob story. cassie had to hand it to him, he knew what he was doing.