It was so simple. I actually wouldn't have considered that idea. At least not anytime soon. Have someone else buy what you stole. If I had any way to contact someone on the outside and have them come in and buy everything, our sentence could have been cut to almost nothing.
Unfortunately, it didn't happen.
And unfortunately, I now understood why my crew and I could become part of that 'rare' category that got stuck in the store for longer then a year.
We had stolen a ton of stuff. I mean, just by myself I'd stolen like fifty different air stones of various sizes. How long did it take to sell all those? If I was lucky, and one was bought everyday, I'd still be there for two months. Who knew how often people needed to buy those though? What if it was once a month? I'd be stuck here for what, four years? Just on the air stones alone! And I'd stolen much much more then that. 
It left a lot of questions for my crew as well. Billy, Sue. They'd stolen leashes, collars, harnesses. How many of those were sold in a day? A week? a Month? They could be stuck here as long as me. Longer. Jessa and Larry probably weren't as long. But really, with how little I knew about pets, they could be here longer. Who knew what sort of people came into the store on a daily basis to buy reptile bulbs, or bird toys?
John though, he'd stolen the least out of all of us. That had to mean that he would be released first.
It also explained why we might not all meet up in the end. Some would finish their sentence before others. It all depended on what people decided to buy. But, that lead to another question. Here went nothing.

~Some of us stole things from multiple areas of the store.~ I commented later in the day when my fishy self had dozed a bit, finally bored of swimming and not irritated with little kids tapping on the glass.
~And?~ She asked idly fiddling with her hair while standing at the cash register.
~So if I'm a fish, and something I stole in the rodent section--~
~It wouldn't count.~ she interrupted.
My sail fin rose in irritation. ~You didn't let me finish the question.~
~I could see where it was going.~ She leaned on the counter staring at me.
~Fine, why wouldn't it count then?~ Hopefully she wouldn't realize I'd just asked two questions in a row. 
~Your sentence is sequential, Fishy Thief.~ she replied. ~All the items you stole in the Fish section must be sold before you can change your shape.~ She studied the counter top. ~Only once you take on your new form will items in that section begin to count towards you. Nothing bought before then will.~

~That's not fair!~ Again it made sense, but it totally wasn't fair. What if everything I'd stolen in the Rodents had already been bought? None of it would count. That's what. ~You're just giving us a longer sentence that way!~

She shrugged. ~Crime doesn't pay. Consider yourself lucky you didn't take from all the sections.~ She smirked. ~And be glad you didn't back track either. Your sentence could have been longer if you had.~

Sequential. So if I'd gone from fish, to rodents, to cats, to fish...I would have become a fish, a rodent, a cat, and then a fish again. Going by what I stole, when. Perhaps this system wasn't so simple. ~How do people not end up stuck here for the rest of their lives?~ I muttered with some irritation. 

~They don't try and take the entire store with them.~

~Well, great for them.~

~Great for me too, I get company to talk to.~ She straightened, idly twirling some of her hair around her fingers. ~Speaking of which. That was three questions to me.~

I flinched. Three? ~Two.~ I said. ~That third one was philosophical.~

~Well, at least you didn't say one. But you still asked three questions fishy thief.~
~I didn't expect you to answer that last one!~
~Then don't ask questions in my hearing unless you qualify that you don't want me to answer first. I get three. No backsies.~

~No warnings either apparently.~ I retorted, mentally steeling myself for her questions.
~I thought you smart enough to not need them.~
~Whatever, let's get this over with. Ask.~

~Worried are you? Well, I'll start easy then. How long have you been a thief?~ She asked, intently staring at me.
~Uh...~ I had to think. ~Nearly seven years I suppose.~
Her eyes widened slightly. ~Seven.~ she repeated with some surprise. ~And you're not in jail yet. Wow.~ she shook her head. I didn't know if that was a compliment or not.  ~Have you been with this group the entire time?~ she asked.

~No, I haven't.~ I twitched enough to adjust where I was floating in the tank, allowing myself to rise a bit.  
~Interesting. Seven years, but not all with the same group....how long then have you worked with this one then?~
And that was the third question. I relaxed a little. Okay, not so bad this time around. Who knew if it would stay along these easier lines though. ~All of us together....over a year.~ John had joined the group recently. I'd worked with the others a while longer though.

She placed her head on her hands. ~Over a year, yet seven years a thief. So you don't stick with one group, yet you're extremely loyal to this one. Asking for them to be released, not just looking out for yourself. Why is that?~

I wiggled myself into motion. I'd only asked three questions. I wasn't about to answer her fourth. Her tsked sigh told me that she'd hoped I would.

#Henry