(OOC: This is Vibe's FP intro.)

”I said I wanted lavender. Not lilac. Lavender. Say it with me. Lav-en-der. Lilac is spring, happy, cheery scent to put in the window when you clean house. Lavender is what you use when the whole hates you and you want to go jump off of the Brooklyn Bridge. Understood? Good. I’ll expect to see my lavender by the end of the day. Well, I don’t know. You messed up the order, you figure it out. Ciao!”

Vibe flipped her phone closed on the protests coming from the other end of the line. Rolling her eyes, she turned to the salesman in front of her. Arrayed on the counter were a variety of glistening gems, set atop a bed of black velvet.

”Sorry ‘bout that,” she apologized, pulling a smile onto her face. ”Good help is hard to find. You’d think if people were going to sell something, they would know their stock.”

The forty-ish aged man nodded sagely. ”Indeed, Miss. It seems that so many take no pride in their craft these days. It’s a shame.”

”I agree. And speaking of pride....” Vibe pushed the velvet cloth back toward the man. ”.... how about you show me some real diamonds.”

The salesman tilted his head slightly, looking at her over his librarian-style glass. ”Real diamonds? I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean, Miss. These are some of our finest quality stones, each one cut with precision, and polished with individual care. Each one has only minimal inclusions, none of which are visible to the naked eye. And each one displays the trademark, colorless brilliance our establishment is know f-“

”They’re G’s.”

”Beg pardon?”

Vibe sighed and rolled her eyes again. ”G’s. You know, as in color? These are all G’s with blue fluorescence. Except this one. This one looks like an H.” She lifted one of the stones, along with the jeweler’s loop, and gave it a closer inspection. ”Hmm. Maybe a low-grade G. Meh.” She replaced the gem disdainfully, and leaned back. ”Of course, normally I wouldn’t mind so much, even with the prices you’re quoting.. But this particular client is enough of a purist that she’ll notice the difference. So....”

Vibe smiled sweetly and leaned forward on the counter. ”Let’s see the E’s. No fluorescence.”

The sales clerk held her gaze for several moments. Then his easy smile returned, and he bowed. ”You know your stones, Miss.”

Vibe shrugged. ”That’s why others pay me to do their shopping.”

He nodded once in acknowledgment. ”I will be right back.”

As Vibe left the store, her cellphone began ringing with Barenaked Ladies' song 'Shopping'. She flipped it open with one hand, answering with a slightly bored tone.

“Viola Enders, Personal Shopper. Give me your list, your budget and your credit card number.”

“Seriously, are people actually gullible enough to give you their credit card number?”

Vibe closed her eyes, and sighed. “This is a business Amp. I don’t steal from my clients.”

“Right. You can’t tell me that you don’t skim off the top, at the very least. Not unless you’ve changed more than I gave you credit for.” The voice on the other end of the line snorted, and Vibe replied in like.

“Cute, Sis. Really cute. What do you want, Amp?”

“Aww, Vibe, you hurt my feelings. You’re my sister? What makes you think I want anything other than to talk with my best friend?”

“Because I know you haven’t changed.”

“That hurts Vibe. That cut me to the quick.”

“Amp, I’m on a schedule here." Vibe held up her wrist to check her watch. "I don’t have time for your games. Get to the point. What’d’ya want?”

“Pfft! You’re no fun anymore. Fine, be that way. I need a refill.”

“A refill? It hasn’t even been two weeks!”

“What can I say? Order’s been..... busy.”

“Busy. Right.”

“Don’t shoot me attitude, Vibe. You’re the one who left without any explanation.”

Vibe glowered darkly. She placed on hand on her hip, and began tapping her foot angrily.

“You want an explanation? I grew up. I got tired of playing ‘Cops and Robbers’, of constantly being shot at and chased down. Seeing my face on the ‘Most Wanted’ list got old after the first hundred times. Remember, we couldn’t walk out of the Sanctuary or in the Park without someone going, ‘Aren’t those the Twins the police are looking for?” Vibe’s voice took on a high, mocking tone. ” ‘Yeah, that’s them. Let’s turn them in for a reward.’ Please.”

“As if they could. A little shock to the ears, an hit to the throat, problem solved.”

“And I got tired with there being a problem, Amp!" she all but shouted. "It was stupid. We had no life.”

“You could have any guy you wanted, especially with that hypno-song. And we had whatever we wanted, and didn’t have to ask for it. We had the power to take it. Why would you walk away from that?”

“I grew up.” Vibe snapped. She rolled her eyes. ”Just forget it. I’m gonna be at Macy’s for an hour. If you want a refill, you’d better be there, because I’m not waiting around for you.”

Vibe snapped the phone closed, and stalked to her bright green VW Bug. As she passed a street lamp, the bulb began to vibrate spastically, and exploded, raining glass shards on the panicked sidewalkers.