The Bag Hag [Craft Fair - September] OPEN

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

They couldn't have picked a more beautiful day to hold a craft fair in Scriptor Bay! That's what Cassidy thought anyway. The shop owner had set up a booth just outside of her own store, The Lily Pad, and for their booth she had decided to do a line of handbags. She preferred clothes to designing bags but they were easier to put outside for display without bringing out racks to hold the clothes, and all she needed was a table to set them all on. She had a tent set up over the table so her and her workers could be in the shade.

"Okay!" Cassidy clapped her hands together and looked at the assortment of different handbags that were set up, ready to promote her store in hopes to get more business. "We're set! What time is it?" She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket to check the time, hitting the button to wake it up out of its sleep mode and 6:00 A.M. flashed on the screen. She had been the first one set up, only two others were even up and starting to get things ready. "...maybe we're a little early."

Time crept by but by the time it was noon Peanut Street was flooded with people wanting to view what different vendors had set up and explore the festival. Cass couldn't help but be excited for her new line of handbags and waited, helping as many people as she could. Although the handbags were made out of expensive materials, because it was a craft fair she had decided to cut the price drastically. Each bag was worth between sixty to seventy-five dollars, but she had decided to sell them, depending on size, for fifteen to twenty five bucks each. She knew she'd make up the money she'd be losing by getting a good customer base established and having them come back.

"Excuse me, miss?" An elderly woman with a very noticable hunch stood in front of the table with one of the larger bags she had made. "How much for this one?"

Cassidy offered the woman a polite smile and made sure to pay attention to her like she had all the others who were asking questions, not wanting to look like she was half assing anything. "That one is actually twenty-five. But I'll tell you what. I'll give it to you for an even twenty. How's that sound?"

"I'll give you five dollars for it." The elder woman told Cassidy, both of her hands clutching the bag and shaking lightly from old age.

As far as Cass knew it wasn't exactly a bargaining fair. She kept on smiling though, keeping the conversation casual. "I can't do that. See this is an eighty dollar bag, but I'm willing to let it go for twenty. I think that price is more than reasonable."

"Oh no. This cheap material? It's worth six dollars at best. I'll tell you what, young lady. I'll give you seven dollars and a nickle and we'll have a deal.

Cassidy stared at the woman, forcing herself to keep smiling. Was this old hag serious?!

[ALYSON MONTGOMERY]

September was something Alyson looked forward to every year. It meant that her parents would quit bugging her to come home since she was on her summer vacation, and it meant that since classes had begun already, she could buy a new wardrobe and not feel as guilty. The fact that the craft fair happened in September was a HUGE bonus, since she often found great deals on expensive things she couldn't normally afford, but Al had been saving her pennies, quite literally, for this very occasion. She was on the market for a new denim jacket, a couple pairs of pants and a handful of shirts if she could. She could use a new handbag, too. She loved her purse; it was a Fossil, which was her favorite brand, but those purses were usually way out of her price range unless she got them used, and the problem with used purses was that often they came a little worn. The one she had now was quite literally falling apart at the seams and she knew it wouldn't last much longer.

She got to the fair early, knowing full well the early bird got the worm, and had already done one whole side of the fair, taking her time to pick through each table, clothing rack and bin set up for the best deals. She had a couple of bags of clothing and had even found that denim coat down at one of the streets consignment shops! It had been on sale, too which was especially extraordinary because it was rare to find the word sale at a consignment shop seeing as everything was already sort of on sale.

The table of purses caught her attention and Al slowly made her way over towards the Lily Pad. She had been in the store once before, around the time it had opened, and hadn't dared to come back since. It wasn't that she didn't like what the Lily Pad sold. Quite the opposite, actually! She loved everything in that damn store except, of course, the price tags. Each shirt was three times what she was willing to spend, and she had hoped maybe to find them on a sale day, but it had been some time since she had gone shopping, so she never did quite make it back.

When she got to the booth she looked at the handbags and, naturally, fell in love. She held her breath waiting to find the prices out, knowing full well they would be out of her price range, but it WAS the craft fair, and most store owners used this to gain business by lowering prices for the day. When she heard the woman haggling she grinned, sliding a hand to her mouth and covering her lips with a couple of fingers to try and hide her amusement. She reminded Al of some of the women from her home town, always out to get a bargain even if it meant bashing the product in which they were buying. These ladies always thought they were being crafty, when really they were being rude but Al was used to them. "$20 is really a steal." She chimed in. "These bags are handmade." She picked one up and looked at it, loving the design. "It would be like selling a handmade quilt for $10." Al tsked lightly, shaking her head. She knew her words would probably have no effect on the woman, but she knew it was worth a shot anyway. She felt bad for the girl selling the stuff; she probably got hit with these crazy old broads all day!

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

Cassidy was getting fed up with the old lady and opened her mouth getting ready to say something back, her index finger pointed towards the old woman impatiently when another customer speaking up made her stop. She took a deep breath, shut her mouth and just looked at the old lady with a stern look and listened to what the other customer had to say.

The elderly lady turned to look at the tall blonde lady, confused. But the confusion turned to a big smile at the mention of a quilt. "This young lady has good taste." She wiggled a boney finger at the blonde and nodded. "Okay then. Twenty it is." She agreed and slowly reached into her pocket book. That darn arthritis! "Just a moment deary." She told the woman who worked there.

Cassidy calmed down and was glad that someone else was able to come over and diffuse the situation. Cass was nice enough, but she could also have a pretty bad temper if the fuse was lit. "Take your time." She told the old woman in a polite but quiet voice and then her eyes panned over to the other customer and mouthed the words 'thank you' to her without saying anything.

She took a few side steps so she wasn't standing in front of the old woman but instead was closer to the blonde. "That was really nice of you." Cass told the girl and thought how she looked like a nice person. Cass should know better than to judge a book by its cover by now, but sometimes she couldn't help it! This girl looked like she was nice and sweet and that made Cass smile. It wasn't everyday you met nice people. Although the people of Scriptor Bay were a lot nicer than New York that was for sure. "If there's anything that I can help you with just let me know, okay? I don't want to seem like I'm hovering." She motioned to the space between them, making circular motions with her hands and then laughing like it was a joke.

"Ah, here we go." The old woman found what she was looking for and started to slowly pull pennies out of her pocketbook, one at a time and counted them off out loud. "One... two.. three..."

Cassidy heard the counting and looked over to see the woman putting pennies on the edge of the table. "That's just great." She muttered under her breath knowing it was going to probably take that lady all day to pay now!

[ALYSON MONTGOMERY]

Al caught the little thank you from the shop girl and offered a small little smile in return, shrugging her shoulders as if to say it was no problem. She didn't think what she had said would work, but it had! The ladies down in Texas were mad about quilting. There were quilting clubs and such all over the state, especially in her town. She even had a quilt from when she was born seeing as the club regularly donates small ones to the hospital for the nurses to give to each child born.

She continued to browse the selection knowing she was going to definitely be getting a purse. Maybe even two! When the shop girl spoke again, Al lifted her big hazel eyes in her direction and gave a small nod. "Actually, I was wondering how much these purses all were." She said, looking down at the selection in front of her. "I have no idea which one I want to get, but...wow. I love the stuff they have here." She said, not realizing the girl with whom she was speaking to owned the place and designed all the things there. Her eyes glanced from one purse to the next. "I normally can't afford the stuff here, but... I mean, this really is a good deal."

Al picked one of the purses up and flipped it upside down and then slid it on her arm to see how it felt. "Do you get a discount for working here?" She asked, looking up at the shop girl once more and then the old lady as she continued to count her pennies, laughing softly. "She could have at least rolled them first."

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

Cassidy looked down at the different purses that were laid out and displayed nicely so that each purse was visible without being moved too much. That way it didn't get messy. Cass had taken a few business courses in college and knew that appearance was one of the keys to being able to sell a product and to be successful. Luckily, she had an eye for that sort of thing so it was easy for her to do.

"Well the ones in the very front are fifteen." She leaned forward a bit and motioned to the first row with an open hand. They were smaller than the rest. In fact, they were actually clutches. Nice clutches that had a small strap that could be put on the wrist so you didn't have to hold it all night long. Cass had a few for when her husband took her out for nice dinners. All she carried in it was a couple of bucks in cash, her I.D. and some gum most of the time. Occasionally she'd even stick a pencil in there if she was in a creative mood.

"Second row are twenty." Cassidy motioned for the middle section of purses. These were a little bigger than the wristlets, with a strap that could go over a shoulder but tucked nicely just under the arm. Cass liked those when she went shopping. It was easy to fit a wallet in it and it was close enough to your body that nobody could steal it unless they ripped your arm off. "This one is my favorite." She picked up a purse that was made of very strong fabric that was printed with a red and white swirled pattern. The two straps were made with four strips of leather, two coiled around each other on either sides to give the impression of rope. It had a sailor feel to it. "I have one of these at home and I use it when I go to the pier."

"And these here are twenty-five. Regular price they range from seventy to eighty in this row so they're pretty much next to nothing today." Selling purses wasn't too bad. Although she preferred to sell clothes over purses she could sell a purse if she had to. Especially if she had designed it. The third row of purses were on a platform so they sat higher than the rest so they wouldn't be hidden and neglected by the front two rows. The purses were all very different in shapes and sizes but they were the sort that Cass normally carried with her. She could fit her sketchpad, an assortment of drawing utensils, her wallet, a baby bottle and some diapers. Even though Lily wasn't with her now, she had diapers in her bag. Knowing her husband, he and their daughter would likely be making an appearance at some point.

"To tell you the truth they are pretty pricey." Cassidy remarked when the customer spoke about not being able to afford them at full price. Cass would never shop in her store with those sorts of prices a few years back. She wouldn't have been able to afford those sorts of clothes either. And that gave her an idea! Sure, the fabric was expensive, but maybe she could start a line of less expensive attire? It would need a cheaper fabric but she wouldn't have to go too cheap. She'd have to see if she'd be able to budget it right later.

"Do you get a discount for working here?"

She couldn't help herself. Cassidy gave the other female a big smile and shook her head. "I get them for free." She told the customer and nodded her head as if to confirm it. "I'm the owner." Cass laughed quietly. She gave her employees a great discount though. She didn't need the money from her business. She could never work a day in her life and be set but she'd also go crazy.

"Seven hundred thirty five.. seven hundred thirty six.. seven hundred thir-" The old woman was startled when she heard the lady laugh and looked over at her, giving her the eye before she scooped all her pennies back up and put them in her coin purse. She pulled out a single penny and set it on the table once more. "..one.." She pulled out another, then another. "two.. three.. four.."

Cassidy turned to look at the old woman and the blonde's comment made her laugh again. This time she shut her mouth and covered it with her hand, her cheeks hurting from trying her hardest not to laugh out loud.

[ALYSON MONTGOMERY]

When the girl mentioned she got the clothes for free Al couldn't help but pop her head up in surprise, her already large eyes seeming to go wider. Free? Heck if this girl got free clothes for working there she would march her little butt right on in there and ask for an application, but then she went on to say that she was the owner.

Well, that made sense!

She gave a small closed mouth smile and nodded, tucking her curly hair behind her ear before bashfully looking down at the clothing. She should have realized! But this girl didn't look old enough to own a store and be a clothing designer. To Alyson, she looked to be fresh out of college! Most fresh out of college girls did not own their own line of clothing and their own boutique in a major city. It just didn't happen unless they had beaucoup bucks. The store was overpriced, so there was a good chance this girl actually did make a lot of money. Probably a rich daddy or something. Who knew.

She silently kicked herself for judging the nice shop girl. Why did she have to make such rude assumptions about someone she did know? Especially someone who had moments before been very friendly to her, and still was being. In fact, this girl was dropping the price of all her purses for the day! There was no doubt she was taking a financial hit just to get the word out and to share her product, which was a really cool thing to do! Al suddenly liked the girl a little more, and forgot about the quick judgments she passed. They were unnecessary. Sometimes Al hated the small town girl mentality that had followed her to the city. She had always prided herself on not being the type of girl that came from a small town, but no matter how hard you tried, sometimes you couldn't take the country out of the girl no matter how far out of the country she escaped.

"You make really nice stuff." Al complimented genuinely, offering another kind smile to the girl, though she felt a little awkward about it. She wasn't really the sort to throw compliments around to other people, finding it to be awkward. Alyson was often very awkward, but not intentionally. As long as someone was cool and laid back she rarely had a problem with them. It was people like Miles that got her worked up. She had met Miles at Dylan's and couldn't stand his personality. How could someone be so narrow minded? Not that he was completely with fault; there was a side to the boy that she had admired. He, unlike so many other people in the world, took time to get to know the individuals around him, even if he had no intention to really befriend them, they were still considered friends. It was a quality she wished she possessed.

"I like all the patterns you use. They're kind of different, y'know? Like you don't see this sort of thing anywhere else. It's unique." She nodded as if to truly agree with her own statement and let the girl know she was being genuinely honest. She picked up one of the $20 purses and then moved her eyes towards the little old lady, her smile brightening and going wide. "Good thing this fairs going on for a few more hours. I'm pretty sure she'd going to be there for a while." Al wished she could pay for the lady's purse for her, but there were still a few things she wanted to get and buying an old lady a purse wasn't something that was a priority. "Hey, you don't anything with birds on it, do you?"

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

"You make really nice stuff."

Cassidy noticed that the girl looked a little nervous. Or uncomfortable? She wasn't sure but it was probably just because she was talking to a stranger. Maybe it was because, like most people who have met Cassidy and found out that she was the owner of the Lily Pad, almost couldn't believe that she was the owner of such a high end store. She had an old woman ask once if her father was single, and when Cass told her that he was single she asked if she could have his number. The woman might have been kidding but the joke wasn't funny to her. She had been considered a money grubbing tramp by Carter's parents on several occasions. She was pretty sure that Carter's dad still felt that way at times.

"I just sort of put things together and see if they blend or not in most instances." She shrugged a little and smiled at the girl. She was really pretty and nice. It seemed there were a lot of nice people in this city which was a polar opposite of New York City. That place was Hell on wheels but she still loved it. "They come out nice though. I'm starting to fall in love with clashing patterns, like stripes and polka dots. If you use the right colors they look beautiful together." She commented and then pointed to a purse that was that exact pattern, but because of her choice in colors it looked like it meshed well and could be used with any kind of outfit. She loved that purse.

Cassidy looked over towards the old woman who was still standing there and barely counted out four dollars in pennies. Cass was debating just giving the old woman a purse but not just yet. Let the old hag count out the coins for a little while longer!

When the blonde asked her about bird patterns her attention went back to her and she thought about it, pursing her lips to the side. "I haven't done anything with birds yet. The thing with animals is if you don't do it right it can come out looking tacky. Then again I haven't experimented with animal prints much. I did tiger stripes once? It came out so bad that I had to toss it." She laughed and shrugged her shoulders. This girl had helped her with the old lady and she knew she couldn't exactly give her a discount in front of the old bitty but maybe she could do something with birds on it.

"You aren't looking for a job, are you?" Cassidy asked the girl curiously. "I'm pretty short staffed and I have to let one of the girls go." One of her employees just never showed up for work. She felt bad for the girl, but she still had a business to run. "I think I could probably design something with a nice bird design?"

[ALYSON MONTGOMERY]

"I like clashing patterns." Al agreed checking out the striped and polka dotted purse the girl held up. In fact, Al liked most unique designs or designs that others found to be obnoxious or ugly. It made her stand out a little, which was exactly what she didn't want, but she didn't like falling in with a crowd either. Unique was better in her opinion. Being her own person, not following order or what others deemed as normal. She got funny look sometimes from the elders in her hometown, but her peers seemed to respect this quality about her, oddly enough. Maybe it was because she had that attitude that she just didn't give a fuck what others thought, but was still attractive and kept herself looking nice.

"Animal prints can look tacky. I'm not a fan of zebra or leopard stuff usually." She admitted, hoping she didn't offend the shop keeper. "I like birds, though. They're... I guess they're sort of popular on stuff now. Maybe it's good you don't have anything with them." She said with a light laugh. "Don't want to be too mainstream."

"You aren't looking for a job, are you?" Alyson turned to look at the girl, her eyes growing wide again in surprise. Was she serious? She had known her for all of, what, 30 seconds? And she was being offered a job? She hadn't really been looking for work but some extra money wouldn't hurt, and the girl was cool. Still, it seemed almost odd, especially when she added the bit about her designing a purse with birds. It was almost like the girl was bribing her to join the staff.

Her shock turned into a bashful smile and she shrugged her shoulders. "I guess a job wouldn't be a bad thing." She said with a little amusement in her voice. She looked up at the store and then at the girl. She could totally work there, except she knew her entire paycheck would probably role right back into the store. She would have so many cute new outfits! That was dangerous... "I didn't think my selling skills were that great, but..." She realized she was downplaying herself to her potential future employer, something that wasn't a very good idea. "I'm Alyson Montgomery."She introduced, holding her hand out for the girl to take and shake. "I would actually really like a job."

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

Cassidy let out a happily squeal, hopping up and down on the balls of her feet which caused her heels to click against the pavement with each bounce. It was harder than she thought it would be and her calve muscles were getting a very nice workout! So she did it a little longer knowing that maybe she should do it more often so she'd have awesome calves. Not that they weren't already awesome. She had sexy calves!

"That's great! I'm Cassidy Merryweather," she stopped bouncing up and down and shook Alyson's hand with enthusiasm. "Such good news. I only have one girl who is actually reliable, but she can only do so much before I burn her into the ground." Cass was a hard worker. She poured her problems into her work and even though the store closed at regular hours she'd be there for hours after.

"As soon as you can start would be perfect! And as a sign on bonus I will make you a bird purse and it will be the greatest purse you've ever seen. Ever!" Cass was overly excited! There wasn't much excitement compared to the way it was in New York, so her excitement levels had changed. "Oh! But not today. Because you should enjoy the rest of the fair. I hear they're selling these cute little bags of tea from this little shop about a block away? They have great tea if you like tea!"

[ALYSON MONTGOMERY]

She pushed a smile on her face that showed how shocked and a little uncomfortable, but completely amused by this girls antics. It was a bashful sort of look and she let out a nervous laugh but nodded, unsure what else to do. She had just been hired to work at a store when her only intention was to go out and get some clothes for school. It was just strange.

"Umm, I could probably start as soon as you needed me. Yeah, maybe not today, but.." She licked her lips and gave another little laugh and shrug, "I mean, whenever..." She shook her head and licked her lips, knowing the tea place. Sunshine's was one of the local places she enjoyed going to. Karaoke night was always a favorite. She never sang, but she always liked to sit in the back and watch the others either make fools of themselves or put on a hell of a show for the audience. Occasionally some guy would get up there and make everyone think he was going to bomb and then belt out something borderline magical.

"Well, how about I give you my information? That way you have it. Or, if you needed to run a background check or something..." She made a face almost like saying she didn't need one. "I mean, I don't have any felonies to my name or anything, but... you know... for legal...I don't really know, I've never been hired without filling out an application. I...don't know how it works.." She turned and pulled her current purse over and started digging through for a pen. "Do...you want me to fill one out, or... I could just give you my number?" She pulled a pen out from the local bank and then raised a brow at the girl, laughing again. "AM I completely making this weird? You're not going to fire me yet, right?"

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

Cassidy instantly loved this girl! She was smart and sarcastic but in a nice way! She gave off that 'leave me alone' vibe almost right off the bat but the way she talked and how she helped Cassidy with that old hag Cass just knew that she would be perfect for working at the Lily Pad!

She listened to the girl ramble on about background checks and applications and when she could start and whatnot. Cass already knew this wasn't the way most people got hired but she could care less. She'd rather have people that she could trust working in her store than people who were completely stiff with no personality but they looked good on paper. She didn't think a piece of paper gave you the information you really needed. Her husband would probably disagree but that was him and he didn't run the store. She did.

"Don't worry about the application." Cassidy told her and laughed, scrunching up her nose as she smiled at her finding her funny. "Just give me your phone number.." she reached for a clipboard she had just hanging around and snatched it up so she could rip off a small corner of paper and handed it over to Alyson so she could give her the number. "And how about coming in at the beginning of next week? Is that enough time to get everything in order and be ready to come to work? Then when you come in we can set up all the paperwork." She'd be able to use the girl's social security number when she came in and do the background check and then just have her type her information into the system so that Cass would be able to send it all to the person who handled their working forms and W-2's.

"Just try to have a good time today." Cassidy did a quick glance up and down Alyson, almost as if she was trying to check out the girl's figure. Which was exactly what she was doing. In the past Cassidy would never be that sort of person to just blatantly look someone up and down like that during a conversation but she was older now and didn't care what people thought of her now. And Alyson had a nice body. She'd be a great live model to use for new ideas that Cass had. Yep. She was going to work well. "And if you need anything you can swing by the store or give me a call." Cassidy had a small stack of business cards on display for people and she picked one up and held it out for the girl.