4

Tobias turns to you with a proud grin on his face.

"Good. I was kind of counting on that. And if you still don't feel like talking to me later, I'm going out of town tomorrow to visit my new college, so—at least it'll be easy."

You soon make it to What a Yarn!, just in time to see a steady stream of happy-looking people making their way in the opposite direction towards the park. Tobias ducks his head a little as you step through the doorway, as if he's worried he might be spotted by somebody who knows his parents.

A bell rings over the door as you enter the craft store—a compact little place where not an inch of space is wasted. Shelves of fuzzy, glittery, sparkly things pop out at you less than a foot inside the entrance, and as Tobias leads you towards the back of the store, you pass what feels like a dozen more richly stocked displays of yarn and knitting supplies, every kind of artist's tool, and almost ridiculous amounts of glitter. Right at the back, next to the currently unmanned counter, is where you find the paints, in gleaming metal tubes all laid out in neat rows. Tobias gives an anxious look to the empty sales desk before turning back to the paints.

"Okay," he says in a tone that you can tell means business. "These things are the real deal, so I can probably only afford, like, three colors. So do you wanna pick them out, or should I?"