“Now then,” the clerk said and pulled him over to the counter. “I’ll transfer control over to you just as soon as you make the payment. Here’s the bill. Is something wrong?”
Ranma stared at the bill in absolute shock. Where was he going to get that kind of money? It seemed that Akane and Ukyo had spent whatever they had to make a down payment for the makeover but Shampoo had simply signed up under his name.
“I see,” observed the clerk knowingly as Ranma continued to stare at the bill while making ‘urk-urk’ noises in the back of his throat. “Don’t worry, if you cannot afford to purchase all three makeovers, perhaps other arrangements can be made.”
Ranma sighed with relief then frowned with suspicion. “What other arrangements?”
“There are two options,” the clerk listed, “firstly, we can give you credit. Just sign the forms and you can pay by instalments. Of course, the standard penalty clause will apply in case of non-payment. Alternatively, you can put one or more of the pets up for sale to cover the cost of the others’ treatments. We should be able to get a good price for any of them. You can, of course, sell all three if, for some reason, you don’t wish to keep them.”
The pets interrupted with cries of, “Don’t sell me, Master!” “Keep me, Ranma!” “Sell them!”
“Quiet!” the clerk commanded and the pets’ protests muted to a dull murmur.
“Can’t you just change them back?” Ranma whined desperately.
“And who is going to pay for that?” the clerk asked acidly. “We’re a business, not a charity. Now, which option is it - credit or resale?”
If he brought three furies home (Akane among them) there’d be heaven to pay. Not to mention that he wasn’t certain he could even earn enough to pay back the credit loan without invoking a ‘standard penalty’; and whatever that was, it was bound to be bad. But as much as he’d like to permanently get the girls out of his hair, selling them was not the solution. It would come back to haunt him sure as it always did.
(Posted Wed, 30 Oct 2002 19:00)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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