Living in Sin

It was a normal day, and Tsubaki was currently at the grocery store to pick up some things she needed. Pausing in one of the aisles, she flipped open her notepad that contained her shopping list to remind herself of what she needed to buy. 

Another person who was in the aisle stopped by her. “Oh! So sorry to bother, miss, but I totally forgot to make myself a list when I left the house. I’m kind of scatterbrained like that and a list can really keep me on track.. Do you have a piece of paper I can use?”

“No.” Tsubaki deadpanned, flipping shut her notepad that definitely contained many unused pieces of paper.

“Oh… but don’t you have paper right there?” The person gestured to the notepad, clearly confused. 

“Yes, but you asked me if I had paper that you could use. I do not. You may not use it.” Tsubaki wasn’t sure how much she had to spell it out for this stranger. 

“What? But it’s just a piece of paper. I’m not asking for money or anything.” The stranger pressed.

Getting annoyed now that they wouldn’t take no for an answer, Tsubaki snapped. “This notepad, this paper, cost me money. By giving it away, you are essentially asking me to give you money. Nothing in life is free, don’t you get it? I’m not giving you this because it’s mine. End of discussion.” With that, Tsubaki swung around and began pushing her cart down the aisle to get away from them. 

Behind her, she could hear them cussing her out and saying something about her being a typical greed type. Though they meant it as an insult, Tsubaki didn’t mind. If being a ‘typical greed type’ meant that nobody ever took anything that belonged to her, she was fine with that.