S1008B

Come on, don't I deserve a little more enthusiasm than this? Hearing my voice is a very rare privilege, you know. Plenty of people here spend their entire lives searching for a Voice they could follow... only to fade away before they ever manage to hear one.

Where's your etiquette? It's evident no one taught you that showing your face is the barest courtesy when initiating conversation.

I know, it's a shame. I would've taken you all out to this lovely local café for a chat had we met outside the Grand Magasin Sisyphe.

But unlike you, I'm not a customer here at the Grand Magasin. I'm one of what are called the "Giants" - the pillars that keep this place standing.

One of the "Giants," you say? This isn't the first time we've heard that denomination, following the trial at the courthouse.

We are what the people of the Grand Magasin refer to as the "Voices." Tough job, really - the daily operations of the Grand Magasin rely entirely on us Giants' management. We don't even get to take PTO when we want to, which I'm sure Meursault remembers well. Isn't that right?

E-excuse me...

Sinclair gingerly sidled into the conversation.

What exactly did you mean when you said things between you two got... "pretty steamy"?

Oh, thank you. And I was starting to think nobody would ask.

I meant it quite literally - the kind of relationship burning with mutual yearning... doused only by immediate gratification. We never squandered so much as a single moment to get things steamy between the two of us.

Isn't that right, ma puce?

Sounds like utter nonsense. That brick wall of a man would never engage in such indecent -

She is right.

We were formerly engaged in a relationship.

You what?

Oh my. Already in the past tense phase, are we? Nothing hurts a girl's feelings more than that... Especially a girl who hurried straight to the courthouse the moment she heard you were back in N Corp.

<Then that figure we saw during the trial must've been...>

I was suddenly reminded of that particularly intense gaze from one of the spectators - the same one that lingered on us for much longer than the others.

You knew entering N Corp. territory would sign your Sisyphe warrant. You knew that, didn't you?

Please don't tell me you didn't expect this to happen. Or that you didn't know the lengths I'd had to go through to keep them from sending you here.

Yes, I did expect this outcome.

Then... No way, are you actually here for me? Because you missed me?

No.

Meursault replied without hesitation. Jeanne let out a sharp gasp, then soon drowned it out with a peal of giggles as though she'd just heard a particularly hilarious joke.

There's the Meursault we know and love, everyone. And here I was wondering if the time spent in your company had softened him around the edges, if only a little.

Most ex-lovers would at least say they've missed you - the kind of basic courtesy one extends to an old flame. Or am I reaching for the stars here?

... I will say something like that next time.

Another thing. I also know you did everything within your power for me back then.

Pfft... Fine, at least you tried. It's not in your book to forget, after all.

The fact that you conveniently neglected to mention that your ex-lover is in a managerial position here at the Grand Magasin notwithstanding...

Really? You made new friends but never bothered to breathe a word about me? Now that's another nail in my heart.

... we don't plan on staying trapped in here forever. While I'll admit to a certain degree of reservation about our odds of escaping this situation, someone in a managerial position at the Grand Magasin Sisyphe will surely be of great assistance to our cause. Do you know any way to get us out of here, woman?

That's a big ask. So big that I don't know if I would've immediately said yes had Meursault been the one to ask for my help. In fact, why don't you try pleading? Put some emotional grease into it - show me some genuine feels.

May I carry out the attempt as per the woman's instructions, Manager?

<... Sure, couldn't hurt to try...>

Are you able to direct us to the exit, Jeanne?

Please.

The sheer drought of - as she called it - emotional grease was like something straight out of some ridiculous comedy routine. The Voice again let out an amused giggle, clearly tickled.

Haha... They're really making a good use out of you, aren't they?

Thanks for the moving performance, but I can't let you leave.

Let me help you put your request in perspective. Imagine I'm the manager of a flea tank, teeming with hundreds of millions of bouncing fleas that are ceaselessly refreshed with a constant influx of new batches. Then, one day, I'm asked to spot and pinch out a single, gold-tinted flea among countless that are practically swimming in a sea of themselves, all the while the new ones keep pouring in. That's what you're asking of me.

Besides, I'm a Giant, and it's my responsibility to maintain the status quo here at the Grand Magasin Sisyphe. I'd be risking getting the Sisyphe Penalty myself by helping you escape.

Hmm, but I guess that means I'd get to spend eternity with you in here. That's an acceptable ending, too.

Your presence isn't all that welcome, woman. We don't appreciate being subjected to your constant stream of ocular surveillance.

As much as I'm tempted to do exactly that, I can't always keep my eyes on you. Managing a department store's tough work, I'll have you guys know.

So try not to get too disappointed by the lack of my omnipresence. There are a lot of other things in the Grand Magasin that demand my attention more than you do...

If you're not planning on helping us, or even watching over us... why'd you even chat us up?

The weather in this place is agreeable enough. Brings me back...

Remember Café de Flore? Drinking their profoundly black coffee would dredge up memories of you. How bitterly vivid they were, knowing that I'd never get to see you again.

And what do you do? Marched right back into N Corp. of your own volition and promptly got yourself a life sentence in the Grand Magasin Sisyphe.

Are you really so surprised that I'm invested enough to let my gaze linger here?