~Figure it out yet?~ She asked a couple of days later. She swiped a paper towel across the glass.

~No.~ I admitted grudgingly.

~I would think it obvious.~

I would think so too, unfortunately my expertise didn't lie in girl logic. ~What we stole depends on how long our sentence here is. I can only guess that the value of our load somehow equates to how long we're here.~

She grinned and shook her head. ~Close. But no candy cane. It's not the value. It's the item.~

~Did you assign a prison sentence to every item in the store then?~ I asked sarcastically. ~A bouncy ball gets half a day, An electronic collar gets six years?~

Her laughter filled my mind. ~It's rare that anyone stays here longer then a year, so that six years bit is off. Though with everything that was taken, you just might end up in that 'rare' category of longer then a year. I guess it depends on how much pity my mom feels and how well you behave.~

Mom? Pity? ~Wait, your mom changed us?~

She shrugged. ~Of course.~ A smirk. ~What? You thought I did?~

~You're the one talking to me, not her.~ What else was I suppose to think?

~She's busy.~ She shrugged. ~So you get to talk to me.~ She grinned. ~I do enjoy talking to you in particular Fishy Thief. You're pretty good at digging...in the wrong direction.~

~Well, I'm sure if I had a map, I could dig in the right direction.~ I retorted. ~Does the rest of the crew not talk to you?~

~Oh, they do. But it's mostly demands of 'get us out of here!' 'change us back!' Boring stuff really. Though the trouble they get into is entertaining. Escape attempts the like.~ She wadded up the paper towel. ~If you were all together, you might actually manage it I think.~

I mentally rolled my eyes. She thought escape attempts were entertaining? What had my crew been up to? ~I doubt it. Being a fish, I couldn't get very far. Unless escaping from the store breaks whatever spell you've put on us. Then maybe I could flop my way out.~

Her laughter told me that it had been a faint hope. ~No, leaving the store won't change a thing. Only what you stole can. Though, with that plan that you guys had, you all could get back together before leaving the store. Again, it depends on the items you stole.~

Get back together? How when I was a fish? Unless. ~I'm not going to be stuck as a fish the whole time?~ I asked in surprise.

Her eyes lit up. ~Ah. I knew you were smart. I'm glad you caught on that. No you won't be a fish the entire time.~
The sail fin rose in excitement. ~And neither will my companions? They'll all change shape too?~

~Most of them.~

Most of them? So not all of them. Why would some of them not change? Did it have to do with the items we stole? That didn't make sense. If the entire horde influenced the length of our sentence, then the entire horde should have made us the same creature right?
Wait.
Our plan. My plan. This girl kept referencing it. Saying that it helped them too. In separating-Oh! All my various fins flared in realization. ~I got it.~

She tilted her head. ~Got what?~

It had been there the entire time. My plan. I mean, I'd done it to make it faster. But with everything she said. It made sense. Why we would change shape. Why some wouldn't. It had to do with what happened the night we robbed this place!

She tapped the glass with a finger. ~Hello, earth to fishy thief. What did you get? You can't leave me in the dark after an exclamation like that.~

I felt momentary smugness as my fishy self reacted to the tapping. Oh I could leave her in the dark. And I would. I mean, That nice yellow plant looked like a fun place to explore, after all, shining like that. Definitely not dark there. I swam towards it.  Perhaps it would get me away from the tapping coming from the glass too. Or that castle. If I went behind it...I could find food maybe!

Sometimes, it's rather handy to only have a three second memory.

#Henry