In the center of the room is what appears to be an "Exposition Booth", with the sign crossed out and a post it note on top of it reading "Gopher Gold Shop".
Manning the shop is a girl, tapping her fingers on the wood. She has white hair, neatly tied in a bun, with her bangs wrapped on the front. She's wearing a mantle that must've been a color, at some point; it looks like it's been discolored with time. You can't quite make out the rest of her figure.
Her eyes lock on with yours. Her eyes are red. You've become aware they are red. You feel like you've seen them before. This is disconcerting to you, for some reason. You shake your head, and the feeling is gone.
On the booth, there is a white landline telephone. Hold music fills the air.
You approach, tentatively.
"Hello? I can buy things here. Uh. With Gopher Gold?"
"Well, not one for conversation, hm?" she says, stifling a short laugh. "Straight to the point. I like that. It's an admirable trait in someone."
She smiles. It's warm, inviting. "But yes, you /can/ buy things here with Gopher Gold."
There's a shine in her eye of... of what? Expectation? She's expecting you to say the line. She /wants/ you to say the line.
There is a white landline telephone. Hold music fills the air.
You /want/ to say the line. You desperately want to say the line. You want to make the only nice person you have found in this confusing and unsettling world happy.
But you cannot. You do not know what the line is.
You have failed her.
She admires you being straightforward though, so you plow ahead, resolutely ignoring the white landline telephone.
" What can I buy?"
You wonder if its the telephone. Can you buy the telephone? How would it even connect to anything if you took it? How is it connecting to anything now?
Her smile turns into a devilish grin at that. You are suddenly aware that you have said the line. If this strange realm had social points, you think you'd probably have one extra.
"I suppose that question has two answers." A sigh escapes her. You're keenly aware she isn't actually sighing, as her chest methodically lowers with the exhale. "I'm afraid I can only tell you what you can buy if you have enough Gopher Gold for it."
Then the slyness returns, like a punchline to a bad joke. "But you can't actually buy anything. Maybe if you had the Gopher Gold for it?"
There is a white landline telephone. Hold music fills the air.
You feel a wave of dissapointed confusion. You have been wandering these endless rooms for what feels like forever. How could you possibly not have enough Gopher Gold?
"H-How much Gopher Gold do I need to buy the cheapest thing, then?"
How much longer will you need to wander these hellish corridors?
She brings out a ledger book from underneath the booth and starts flipping through its pages. “Well, you’d need 1 more Gopher Gold for the cheapest item. So I suppose you’re in luck there.”
The shopkeep brings a hand to her chin at that, lost in thought. You stand there idly for what feels like a minute, and then she slams the book shut and looks back at you. “But you know what? I like you, and I /suppose/ this was an exposition booth before, so most information is free, if you’d like to sit down and chat. If you’d rather find more Gopher Gold, be my guest,” she says as she gives you a sly wink. “I’m not going anywhere.”
There is a white landline telephone. Hold music fills the air.
You feel your heart rate speed up as anxiety starts to take over. This doesn't make any sense. It DOESN'T.
"But...last time I was here...you ALSO said I needed ONLY one more Gopher Gold?"
The shopkeep's eyes widen, but then they turn to something resembling either concern, or pity. You can't tell which in your altered state. "Hey, hey. now. Breathe."
She goes to put a hand on your shoulder; the feeling of the weight of another living being overwhelms you. You feel like this has happened before.
"You always need one more Gopher Gold because you haven't picked up any. Simple as that." She chuckles. "My condolences if the specifications of the buying process have been an inconvenience to you, but it's the rules, and you're a smart one to be able to navigate this... world, in the first place. So you understand, right?"
There is a white landline telephone. Hold music fills the air.
You. You dont have any Gopher Gold.
Your mind helplessly flits to memories of finding various amounts in every room youve been in. Always finding. Even in rooms you've been in before.
"Oh god..." you whisper.
"What. Why. WHY?" you plead, to your only friend in this world.
She laughs again, like if the inherent destruction of this world's economy is some sort of practical joke.
"Because you've /found/ Gopher Gold. Not necessarily /picked it up/. I don't know why you haven't, but who am I to know your reasons? I wouldn't worry too much about it, though. And, again, we can always just chat. I'm not actually on duty yet."
She gives a cursory glance at the telephone. There is a white landline telephone. Hold music fills the air.
You finally focus on the landline, grasping at it as if a lifeline, the answer to all the confusion and chaos.
"Why...do you have a white landline telephone?" you ask, in a flat, monotone voice, as if reading from a script. "Why is it on hold?"
She raises a brow, amused by your question. Nevertheless, she seems pleased by it. “To answer calls, obviously. Very important calls. It’s what I do. It’s on hold because someone has to answer, first. And today… is a very slow day.”
There is a white landline telephone. Now that you are focused on it, you notice it is actually a light grey, and most of the numbers on the keys have been faded out. The hold music is ringing in your ears. There’s a subtle static in the air.
