>> "These are really cool,"[/color]

Akshay grinned and nodded as he watched the boy look over all the comics that he had handed him. The boy’s eyes had lit up with amusement and interest as he described each one (except Hero People interestingly enough) and Akshay knew that he was hooked. He was glad for that too! Every child should get to know comic books! They should be a natural part of every child’s life with absolutely no excuses! They were an escape, a chance to get away from the pressures that modern society was pushing onto kids these days.

Yes, it was safe to say that Akshay was an advocate for comics. He really hoped that he didn’t come off as too obsessive to othes.

Shaking off his muse, though, Akshay turned his attentions back to Chase and watched as the boy looked at the covers of each comic. He seemed to be in the middle of some deep thoughts, or calculating or something, before he finally looked up again…

>> "I'm not really good at doing math in my head, How many can I buy?"[/color]

Ahh, a self-conscious shopper. Akshay had to nod approvingly. Unfortunately he always had the opposite issue with other kids. They wanted every comic, they wanted to just walk out of the store with as many of them under their arms as they could, but that always turned to an issue when they came up the counter to pay. Sadly a five dollar bill doesn’t buy twenty comics anymore.

But, seeing as this kid was nice and definitely needed the life lesson, Akshay was only too happy to offer him a once in a lifetime deal.

“Well, with what you have, you can afford three,” he said with a nod of his head. “But, I’ll tell you what,” he grinned. He then leaned down and pointed to his own comic that Chase was holding. “Since I am the owner, writer, artist and distributor of that fine piece of comic book there,” he stroked his own chin thoughtfully. “I’ll let you HAVE it. One hundred percent free. I’ll even sign it for you. How’s that?”

>> “Well, with what you have, you can afford three.”

Chase also nodded his head. Three. Okay... he'd probably leave Hero People, then. Of the three that had just been introduced, he'd been the least intrigued by that. Chase nodded, glancing between the three. Alright.

>> “But, I’ll tell you what... Since I am the owner, writer, artist and distributor of that fine piece of comic book there, I’ll let you HAVE it. One hundred percent free. I’ll even sign it for you. How’s that?”

Chases' eyes grew wider and wider as Akshay spoke, the small smile on his lips growing broader. His eyes churned with shades of delight, and he looked back up at Akshay.

"Really?"

Wow. That was just so nice... and so cool. Chase hadn't even done anything to earn it, was giving nothing back in return. Akshay would even give him an autograph. Chase filed the comic book to the top, dropping his gaze before lifting it once more.

"A-are you sure?" Chase asked, still all-smiles. He couldn't possibly. Chase had to pay for it. Had to work for it... people didn't just give handouts like that.

But if the clerk had been kidding, how could he now say no to a child whose face looked like it was Christmas morning all over again?

"Th-that'd be really amazing," Chase admitted, seeming to be in blatant disbelief, "Thank you..."

His gaze dipped down to the comics once more, than flickered back to Akshay, and he gave yet another, "Are you sure?"

Stunned silence. Akshay had to grin at that. He really was not expecting anything less from the boy. After all, he was being offered a FREE comic book! Akshay had worked nearly every “Free Comic Day” since he first started working for this comic shop so he knew exactly how much of a frenzy fans could get worked up in. Kids, teenagers, adults, they go wild for free comics! So it was of little wonder that the boy here was excited by the prospect for a free book.

>> "Really? A-are you sure?"[/color]

“Yeah!” he beamed happily. After all, it was his comic and up to his discretion who he wanted to give it to. If he wanted to dip out of his own pocket to give one away, then why not?

>> "Th-that'd be really amazing…Thank you..." [/color]

He smirked and nodded. Chase seemed to truly be grateful. That warmed Akshay’s heart a little bit. He dealt with a lot of comic fans but not many of them really showed the mutual respect for him that many of them should have. He was just another clerk for them to order around, that was all. But Chase seemed different. He was just starting out, he had a lot to learn about comics, but maybe it was his pureness in the matter that garnered him Akshay’s respect.

He hoped the boy managed to retain. The world loved to find nice, pure people and dirty them up a bit. He would never wish that for Chase.

>> “Are you sure?"[/color]

A blink and he had to chuckle a bit. He nodded with a happy smile on his face.

“Yes, Chase. I’m sure. Stop trying to talk yourself out of a good deal,” he winked and waved him over. “Come on over to my counter. I’ll sign your comic and I’ll start bagging and boarding all of them. Sound good?” He said as he led him away to his counter.

>> “Yes, Chase. I’m sure. Stop trying to talk yourself out of a good deal. Come on over to my counter. I’ll sign your comic and I’ll start bagging and boarding all of them. Sound good?”

Chase nodded and followed, still all-smiles as he followed Akshay to the counter. While Akshay stepped behind the register, Chase drew closer to the counter, sliding the books up first, before anchoring his hands onto the counter's edge and pulling himself up so that he had a better vantage point.

"What's boarding mean?" Chase inquired openly, teasing the small stack of comics with his hand.

The other boys that had come with Chase had come with a purpose, thus a few of them returned to the counter upon spying him, bearing their own comics and various purchases.

"Hey, little man," one of them greeted, ruffling Chase's hair, "Looks like you struck gold."

"Akshay helped me," Chase said matter-of-factly.

The amount of smiles that Chase gave him was simply awesome. He was glad that he could bring the boy that kind of joy. It was a moment like that that made the countless hours of dealing with crazed fans, with bullies, and with boredom that made his job worthwhile. Just know that he had done something that could be perceived as so nice to Chase just made the wordsmith happy to have helped him at all.

Besides, who knows, maybe the kid would get so into the comics that not only would his comic shop get the boy’s exclusive patronage, but maybe he could even get a friend out of the deal. Akshay liked to make friends out of his customers.

Once back at the counter he plucked up his own comic book and grabbed his felt-tip pen from his drawer. Quickly he removed the cap before he placed the tip against the cover and signed it simply:
“Chase,
Keep on readin’!
Your pal,
Akshay Malik
Not that the note was exclusively telling Chase to keep reading/buying his own comic. On the contrary. Akshay wanted Chase to keep reading comic books in general. They were good for a boy or girl’s soul.

Once it was signed, Akshay set it aside and grabbed a few bag and boards from his supply. He hummed to himself as he began to carefully pick up the comics and slip them into their protective covers.

>> "What's boarding mean?"

“Huh?” he blinked as he turned to Chase. “Oh! Just this. See? If you keep the comic in these slips, it’ll protect them from getting bent anything spilled on them. It just helps to preserve them so you can read them at your ripe of age of 156 before you sell them for millions of dollars,” he chuckled.

He then continued to bag and board the other comics before the rest of Chase’s cohorts began to show up.

>> "Hey, little man, Looks like you struck gold."

>> "Akshay helped me,"

He grinned as he nodded to the rest of the boys. “That I did. My pal here has quite a good taste in comics. Unlike some of you heathens. Sammy, I know you have that copy of Laffin’ Gas there. ” he joked. Sammy turned beet red but smirked and laughed along with the joke. Akshay joking was all in good humor. Once he was done bagging, boarding, and ringing up, he smirked as he nodded to Chase. “$10, please.”

Chase watched Akshay write, but from this angle, he couldn't read it. Not yet. He smiled and focused instead on remaining anchored to the counter, watching as Akshay drew some plastic bags and small pieces of cardboard from beneath the counter, his eyes wide and quizzical.

>> “Huh? Oh! Just this. See? If you keep the comic in these slips, it’ll protect them from getting bent anything spilled on them. It just helps to preserve them so you can read them at your ripe of age of 156 before you sell them for millions of dollars.”

"Millions?" Chase echoed, looking at the boards and the bags with mild interest. It seemed silly that books that were so cheap could be sold for millions of dollars. But also, very cool.

>> “That I did. My pal here has quite a good taste in comics. Unlike some of you heathens. Sammy, I know you have that copy of Laffin’ Gas there... $10, please.”

Chase smiled along with the older boys as they accumulated around the cash register, nodding his head to the side as the eldest attempted to ruffle his hear. They were all grins and chuckles. Chase unzipped his pocet and fished in, fingers seeking out the ten-dollar bill blindly. While the singles bore a more prominent "Chase" genetic signature, the ten-dollar bill bore Gemmas' vibes. Thus, with ease, Chase's hand found it, before sliding it onto the table.

A question donned on him, and he looked up towards Akshay, inclining his head to the side.

"When I was younger," Chase said, his voice crisp, "Authors would sometimes come to my school to talk about their books and then sell them to us. Once a year, usually in the spring... Do comic book authors do that?"

It was pure BRO-TIME! Akshay smirked as he watched all the older kids ruffle up Chase’s hair and peer at his purchases. The wordsmith knew that there they were not jealous by the amount of time Chase got with him. After all they were older, they already had their tastes and their likes, they didn’t need him coming around and shaking up their worlds by introducing them to things that they were simply not ready for. Though Akshay saw their purchases and knew that they desperately needed his help, he never said anything.

Chase was different though. He was young and inexperienced in the field of comics. Therefore he was a blank slate that Akshay could mold and refurbish. It was something that Akshay excelled in doing.

He stood back and merely smirked at the antics of the other boys and waited as Chase began to fish around in his pocket for the money to pay for the books. When the money was finally brought out, the crumpled ten-dollar bill was placed on his counter and slid over.

“Thank you, young master Chase,” he grinned as he took the money, punched keys into his register and waited for the receipt to finish printing.

>> "When I was younger…Authors would sometimes come to my school to talk about their books and then sell them to us. Once a year, usually in the spring... Do comic book authors do that?"[/color]

Akshay tilted his head as he ripped off the receipt and handed it back to Chase. Huh, that was an extremely interesting idea. He didn’t know why he had never thought of it before. To be honest it seemed like the perfect thing, especially since he was trying to get his comic book out to a wider audience. And Chase, being with those boys, obviously came from the same school. So that meant that there was already an audience of comic lovers that were just waiting to hear about his book.

Heh, maybe I should make the kid my agent, he mentally chuckled.

He nodded in an impressed manner.

“You know, I never thought of that, Chase.” he said as he slid the books back over to the boy. “Maybe I should. Which school you all go to anyways?’ he asked curiously. “Maybe I can talk to a staff member about a free comic day or something.”

Akshay accepted the ten-dollar bill with a word of thanks, to which he earned a quiet smile, a nod, and a faint "mhmm" in reply. Chase was slightly distracted by the return of his group, attempting to dodge noogies and hair-ruffling by tilting his head out of the way and ducking. Yet one of his friends successfully managed to capture him around the shoulders and leaned against him in victory. Chase sighed, and dropped from the counter.

>> “You know, I never thought of that, Chase. Maybe I should. Which school you all go to anyways? Maybe I can talk to a staff member about a free comic day or something.”

The reciept and the bag of books were returned to him. There was that small dilemma. The color in Chase's gaze wavered as he looked at his cohorts, who shrugged and nodded permissively. Chase drew the reciept and book bag closer to the edge of the counter, so that they were within reach, before brushing them over the edge and into his arms.

"Xavier's Sister School," Chase replied matter-of-factly, grinning at his helpfulness.

"It's that mutant school," the eldest boy confessed. They didn't really need to expand upon the description must more than that, but the ringleader of the group gave a short description of its location via the streets and its proximity to the Hudson River. Chase dropped his gaze while the oldest boy spoke, for he'd nonchalantly mentioned that the school was in fact for "mutants".

Akshay was already thinking about what he could possibly do for the promotion. He knew that the store would love the free publicity and Akshay had no problem giving away his comic book for free. That was just the type of guy that he was. He reveled in gaining an audience through absolutely any means necessary. After all it was his comic so he could give it away whenever he pleased. Besides only the first issue would be free. If they wanted to know how the story continued then they would just need to buy the rest of the series.

Chase took the comics back and cradled them to his chest. Akshay was really liking this idea now, all he needed was to know the name of this school.

>> "Xavier's Sister School,"[/color]

He blinked as he tilted his head.

>> "It's that mutant school,"

What. Were. The. ODDS?! He grinned, wide, at the idea of it. He remembered when Sveta was here so long ago, she had mentioned the EXACT same school. He had sworn that he was going to go and check it out but he never gotten the chance to do it. A school full a mutants! That was so totally wicked that he was in love with the concept. Part of him was actually a little sad that he was already done with his education because he would have LOVED to have gone there.

He just smirked as he nodded to the group while they gave him directions. Quickly he had jotted them down onto a notepad.

“Then I will DEFINITELY be there,” he said with a grin. “I’ve heard a lot about the place but I’ve yet to go. Sounds like it’ll be a blast!” he said with an approving nod as he began to ring up the rest of the kids that were milling around his counter with their own purchases.

Chase surveyed his shoes while the older boys spoke, before allowing his gaze to wander to the floor beneath his feet, before daring to let his gaze wander back up the checkout stand to Akshay.

The man was grinning broadly, and as the older boys gave him directions on how to get there, Akshay jotted down what they said upon a notepad. He watched Akshay closely, and uncertain smile upon his face. He didn’t mind that they were mutants? That there were mutants there? Maybe he was a mutant, or at least a sympathist.

>> “Then I will DEFINITELY be there. I’ve heard a lot about the place but I’ve yet to go. Sounds like it’ll be a blast!”

“That’d be really cool,” Chase agreed, stepping aside so that the next boy in line could purchase his comics.

>> “That’d be really cool,”

Akshay had completed the rest of the of the kids transactions. They had all their usual comics, the one’s that he knew that they always came here to buy. Some of them were quite predictable with the choices in series that they were never going to stop buying. There was a surprise or two but Akshay was still on cloud nine thinking about going to that school. A school for mutants, a school with people who had abilities that inspired artists like him every day. He simply could not wait to go there.

After he handed over the last of the purchases in exchange for money, Akshay sighed as he had another successful sale. He truly and deeply did love this job.

He grinned as the kids began to spread away from his counter, reading their purchases and talking amongst themselves. It was obvious that they were slowly getting ready to leave. But even as they started to, Akshay turned his eyes back to Chase. It was only then that he noticed the boy’s eyes changing colors. So…he must have been a mutant!

Akshay loved to meet mutants!

He smirked as he nodded to the little man.

“Hey, Chase,” he beamed joyously. “When I go there, you think you could give me the grand tour? I would be eternally in your debt. Maybe I’ll pay you with another free comic.”

>> “Hey, Chase. When I go there, you think you could give me the grand tour? I would be eternally in your debt. Maybe I’ll pay you with another free comic.”

Chase ducked his head shyly, but nodded in agreement, wearing a mild smile in reply.

"Sure," Chase agreed, "I could do that."

He wasn't exactly a tour guide, but Chase knew his way around the school. He would be more than willing to give Akshay a tour if he came there.

Chase waited for the other kids to finish checking-out, and they all started saying their goodbyes. Most were of the "See you later," sorts, because the other boys would be returning. Chase hoped that they'd let him tag along again, too--

"Thank you, Akshay," Chase chirped, when his turn finally came to speak-up, "See you around?"

One of the older boys had draped an arm around his shoulder, and was ready to shepherd the little shapeshifter away as soon as he was done talking to Akshay.

>> "Sure, I could do that."[/color]

“Sweet! I shall look forward to it,” Akshay added with a grin.

He finished the last of the transactions as he started to consider what he could do for this possible promotion. He was absolutely happy to do it. Not only would he get to meet interesting mutants but he would be able to get his comic book out there to a populace that would have loved to have read it! He didn’t know how many of the students at this school had already read it, but either way his comic was getting some type of exposure!

There could not have been a more perfect plan! The more the young wordsmith actually thought about it, the more that he was getting excited to do it. Now he simply could not wait.

Once the last transaction was done, Akshay watched as the crew began to gather up their belongings and made ready to leave. Before long he was hearing their normal goodbyes and announcements to see him later. He smirked as he waved them all their own goodbyes. They were his regulars so he knew that he would see them again.

Along with him, Chase was pulled away.

>> "Thank you, Akshay, See you around?" [/color]

“Of course!” Akshay said with a wide grin. “I know that I’m not going anywhere!” he added with a quick chuckle. “Enjoy those comics and come back to learn more!”

Akshay sighed happily as he watched them go and turned back to his desk. It was a good day today…