You make a new friend

You burst in the confessional room, and the cameras all point towards you.

“Mr. Jones? Can we help you?” Mr. Tyrell asks.

Mona had her hands to her face and was still sobbing. The laptop showed an old man looking on disapprovingly and a stone-face lawyer. You let out a breath and speak.

“I’m sorry to barge in like this, but I figured this was about that necklace Mona had...” You say, an uncomfortable smile over your face as you couldn't exactly figure out how to sandwich yourself into this pickle.

“You know about that?” Mr. Tyrell asks, his eyebrows raise.

Mona looks up, and her face was all red. Her mascara streaked on her cheeks, and her eyes were wet and strained. If she was just acting, then she should really get an Oscar.

“Yes. There seems to be some mixup or confusion about it,” You explain.

“Listen, Buddy, I have the video right here,” Mr. Dillinger spits, and then you can see him shuffling his hands and typing into his keyboard and try to pull it up and then looking confused and utter curses.

“I actually bought the necklace a while ago. I left it there so the original owner of it can reclaim it when he or she wanted.”

Mona looks genuinely confused at this admission and the rest of the attendants bore the same shocked expression. It was a huge coincidence that made them all display questioning looks at one another.

“This is too big of a coincidence. You can’t be the purchaser of that item. I have the receipt right here, and the fella never picked it up,” Mr. Dillinger says. He looks at the receipt and says, “It says right here... what the…? Matt Jones.”

“Mr. Dillinger, this man is Matt Jones,” The lawyer, Mr. McGill spoke up.

“What? How? What the fuck is going on here?” Mr. Dillinger is flabbergasted and so is Mona.

“Yes. Mr. Tyrell, Mr. Dillinger, and uhh… lawyer guy? I have the receipt right here on my phone.” you answer.

“I thought the phones were disabled from the internet?” Mr. Tyrell says taking your phone. The AMA disappears, and he connects it to his USB port on his laptop and pulls up the PDF file on his laptop and sends a copy to Dillinger and the lawyer.

You laugh, nervously, “Umm… yeah, I managed to bypass the internet block using a proxy and downloaded it from my e-mail. Mona told me about the necklace and I... when you guys came I had it and figured you might want to look at it....”

While they talked and looked over the file, Mona stares up at you with gratitude. She hardens and wipes away her tears and straightens up on her chair and like a switch, her face turns resolute.

“This looks all to be in good order,” Mr. McGill, the lawyer, says. “Everything is fine here unless, of course, Mr. Jones wants to take back the necklace or press charges against Ms. Bridgewater.”

You give Mona a shit-eating grin and stare suggestively, and she looks at you nervously like you did when you first blackmailed her.

“No, I bought it intending to return it to the owner. Now that the owner has it, everything is fine,” You say.

“Mr. Dillinger, is everything alright on your end?” Mr. Tyrell asks.

Mr. Dillinger crosses his arm and said reluctantly, “I still know the bitch took it. Next time buddy, pick up your damn items on time. I can't be responsible if it goes missing, capiche?”

The video feed for Mr. Dillinger's camera cuts off, and only the lawyer’s window is left.

“Ms. Bridgewater, I am sorry for taking up your time. I think we are done here. Let’s go back to the normal schedule, shall we?” Mr. Tyrell said, closing his laptop and putting it away in his briefcase.

Mr. Tyrell shakes hand with you and then Mona, who still was shocked by the events. Mr. Tyrell left as abruptly as he entered.

You decide it was good to leave as well and Mona stops you.

“How the hell did you get that receipt?” Mona asks.

This girl is far too quick

“Let’s say I have a friend in production who helped me out. The same one that fed me the information about you in the first place.” You lie.

“Why did you do that for me?” Mona asks.

“Because you would do that for me,” You say, smiling weakly.

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“Maybe not now, but hopefully someday. Mona... I did it cause it was the right thing to do. I’m not going to say things are good between us after all that happened, but someone much better than me told me everyone here deserves a chance to find love. I hope you take this act of kindness and stop being a cunt and just learn how to live with other people here... Like I did.”

“Just so we are clear. Don’t act like I owe you anything,” Mona says, using her forearms to wipe away her remaining tears.

“Yeah, whatever,” You say, holding up your hand and waving at her and not looking back as you left the confession room.

New notifications appear in your vision as you leave.

15:21 – Mona’s affection has increased by 40 – You stood up for her

15:21 – Mona’s love has increased by 10 – She has a crush on you

You have leveled up your relationship with Mona

You are now -Friends- with Mona