I have to get her a new phone case.

“The only way she will unlock me is if I return with a new phone case for her. But then I realized that she had my wallet with my cards in it. ‘You’ll have to steal it!’ My friend told me. ‘Only then will I let you out.’ So here I am.” Explained Tanya. “Now I don’t know what to do.” A tear began to form in her eye again. Sapphire tried her best to comfort the girl who was either an extremely good actor or was telling the truth. She gave the girl a hug and told her it was going to be ok.

“I’ll give you the case. And the cost will be on me. But in return for the damages you have done to the store, I can’t just allow you to walk away without some kind of payment being made. Mike, my manager, will never let that pass. So I’ll talk to him and see if he is willing to let me make a deal with you.”

“What kind of deal?” Asked Tanya, her voice cracking a bit.

“Well, you go back to your friend with the phone case and get her to let you out of the coat first of all. Then as payment, you will allow me to call your friend. I will explain the situation, and she will give me the bluetooth passcode.” At that point, Tanya’s head shot up with a confused look. Sapphire continued. “I will get the passcode as well as permission to use the coat from your friend. Then you will come back to the store tomorrow carrying the coat with you. I will have you work out your restitution for the store damages.”

“You mean….I’ll have to wear the jacket again??” Asked the horrified girl.

“You will.” Said Sapphire. “It’s the only solution I can think of that will appease my manager who is going to call the police if I don’t tell him something. It’s up to you.”

The dejected girl knew she had ****. This dare was going too far and getting more and more out of hand. But what else could she do. “Ok.” She said simply.

“Call your friend and give me your phone.” Said Sapphire, to which the girl complied hesitantly. Tanya reached into her puffy pocket and pulled out her pink phone. She quickly found the correct contact, pressed call and handed the phone over. Sapphire took the ringing device, and quickly asked Tanya what her friend’s name was.

“Anne.” Came the reply.

The phone rang, then a female voice answered, obviously recognizing Tanya’s number. “Are you sweating yet?” Said the voice with a laugh.

“Hello, is this Anne?” Asked Sapphire, ignoring the shameful question pointed at Tanya. There was a short pause on the phone.

“Yes….who is this?” Asked Anne.

“This is Sapphire from Green Electronics. I’m an associate and I must say this is quite the elaborate trick you have played on your friend.” Another pause.

“What happened?” Asked Anne, not knowing wether to trust Sapphire.

“Well that’s what I’m calling about. I have Tanya here with me in the back office. She is dressed in an oversized coat that she said you made her put on….and then locked so she couldn’t remove it.” There was only silence on the other end of the phone. Sapphire went on. “Tanya didn’t steal anything, but she will return to you with your phone case. But I need you to realize how serious the situation is here. Tanya could have gone to jail for shoplifting. Was that your intention?”

“No!” Came the rushed reply, “I just wanted her to be embarrassed. I know Tanya is very self conscious about what she wears and about how other people view her. More so than anyone I know. I thought it would be a funny prank and I never meant for it to go this far.” Anne had some sincerity in her voice, and the prank was done, but Sapphire was not.

“Tanya didn’t steal anything, but she did destroy some store property, which she has told me she is willing to make right. What you have done was wrong. So I have proposed a solution. You will give me the Bluetooth code now and I will let Tanya out of the coat. She will give you the phone case when she sees you next. Then you will give her the coat to keep so this kind of illegal nonsense doesn’t happen again.” Sapphire had no idea how much the puffer jacket cost, and she knew she was pushing her luck with the last demand but she had to try.

“And if I don’t?” Asked Anne.

“If you don’t, your friend will be fined and jailed and have a shoplifting record permanently.” Another pause on the phone made Tanya shift nervously in her chair.

“Ok fine!” Said Anne finally, “My dad makes these coats at his warehouse anyway and I got that one for free anyway. I’ll just get another.” This was Anne’s mistake, and Sapphire immediately jumped on the opportunity.