We always get a bit excited when Jessie says something like that It usually means she’s found something incredible like a prehistoric pencil sharpener or an ancient apple peeler Sometimes it’s even something electronic a big specialty of ours Can’t you just show us through the goggles I ask Why ruin the surprise she laughs You’ll love it I promise Even though we still have 110 of credit left on the game I take my phone goggles off and hand them back to Oscar Five minutes later we’re darting into the dark alley we use to get into Jessie’s storeroom We 5
take a quick look back to make sure no one’s seen us go in and hurry toward the far end of the alley Just on our right there’s a little ventilation grate at ground level I shake it loose and pass Oscar through to the other side I hear him sliding down the metal pipe we’ve set up inside and bouncing onto the mattress at the bottom I climb in close the grate behind me and slide down after him We both jump up and dust ourselves off It takes a lot of effort to un-dust ourselves in such a huge dusty storeroom From here I can see our packing case and the endless mountains of mysterious old items lying around waiting to be identified and categorized At the far end of the 6
storeroom Jessie is sitting at her computer in her workshop We run straight over and tumble through the doorway Wow she says that was quick All part of the service I reply Where’s this exciting item of yours Jessie walks over to a desk on the other side of the room There’s a small square shape on the desk covered by a plastic sheet Hold your breath she says You’ve never seen anything like this As we all gather around the desk Jessie grabs the edge of the sheet and whisks it off We find ourselves looking at a small metal box with two long rectangular holes at the top of it 7
What do you think about this Jessie asks Oscar and I look at each other I can tell he’s as disappointed as I am Jessie’s eyebrows drop You’ve seen one of these before haven’t you Sorry to disappoint you Jess but yes I’m sure I’ve seen a few of these around If I recall correctly 8
