He felt awful for basically monitoring Alecis' movements within his shop but if she wanted to join him as she did, he had to help sort of guide her movements. At a later point, he'd happily show her how to properly trim hair, curling and straightening with heat, other hair chemicals like the ones to do perms -- there were all sorts of avenues they could go down, and that was just for his people customers. The pokemon that he helped style were a different act altogether. Thankfully for Alecis, he only took human customers this day. Pokemon were appointment only, as he didn't want other customers to possibly unnerve the pokemon in the styling seat.

"Now now, Alecis, don't be afraid to converse with your clients. Some of them have interesting stories to tell."

He beamed at this fact and soon turned to face the middle aged woman that made herself comfortable in his chair. No sooner did she get in the chair, Jesse threw something over her to cover her clothes from any hair that may fall on them as he gave her a trim. It wasn't long until the two started to get right into conversation. Jesse simply started off the conversation with a spiel of if the woman chose to get a new cut for herself or if she wanted to surprise a spouse. From there, the woman described that she was preparing for her 20th anniversary, and to that, Jesse gave a surprised look. Twenty years? Well that certainly was something to celebrate!

"Congratulations! My partner here and I here have known each other for a few years now, maybe if I'm lucky, it'll turn into an actual partnership and we may celebrate our 20th at some point," he threw in the tease at Alecis herself.

It seemed surprising that Jesse could multitask so well in his line of work. As he spoke, he'd begun to work on the hairstyle that the woman had requested: a textured bob. At least there, it would offer some lower maintenance than her current mid-back length hair. Hair was carefully trimmed and followed by thinning shears so he could offer some layers to it. The two continued to talk on about their lives as though they'd known each other for quite some time: that was Jesse's skill in his work, he had excellent interpersonal skills with others and made them feel welcomed in his shop.

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ALECIS SAMPERIO

Jesse turned to look at Alecis, almost as though he chose to feign shock at her playful banter. He merely asked this time around if she wanted to help him with work, she was the one who agreed to come. While he acted as though her words stung, he brushed them off with ease. Sometimes it did seem the two went nowhere without the other. As much as he didn't want to admit it out loud, he kind of liked the companionship the two of them had formed. Though if he outright said that to her, especially now, it would be used as fuel to continue the onslaught of teasing him.

He and his current client began to chat about other details, most of it focused on the meteoroid news that had shook the region to the core. As much as he wanted to have an opinion on the matter, he could only shrug his shoulders. He left the serious threats up to the League. Besides, what could a simple hairstylist do except do what he could to make sure his business stayed in one piece? His words fell rather curt and objective, but at least he was honest about the situation. Why worry when there was nothing he could do? Once his last client was finished, he carefully blew off the excess hair with a blow dryer and then took them to the counter to charge them. Once he was wrapped up with that bit, he turned to Alecis and leaned against the counter.

"If you want some peace and quiet, I can disappear for a little bit," he teased. "That fellow in the chair should be the last customer."

Despite his teasing words, he remained in the shop and carefully began to take inventory on what he needed to replenish from the shop. He wasn't expecting all of these people to flood in, but he supposed word of mouth got around. When people spoke highly of his work, it drove in new customers. And how lucky he was that most if not all of them remained pleased.

"But my goodness, do you really want some peace and quiet? I figured we were still in the honeymoon phase of our relationship," he teased again.

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ALECIS SAMPERIO

"Oh most certainly," he admitted.

Sometimes a fresh cut could do a lot for people, whether it be an increase in confidence or simply an attempt to try something new. He felt touched some folks opted to put full trust in him to give them the perfect look. Perhaps there was a sentimentality for his job where he appreciated customers who appreciated him. After all, they kept his dream going. Jesse grabbed a broom and began to sweep the hardwood floors around his workstation. It didn't take him too long given he tried to sweep in between each customer, but he remained thorough nonetheless, even offering Alecis' workstation a once over.

"Maybe next time, I can be your lovely assistant in a magic show," he teased. "You know you want the chance to saw me in half."

Thinking on it, magic was what caused the two to cross paths. He was the poor sucker who fell for a sleight of hand trick, but he was smart enough to not fall into the trick of playing again and losing more of his money. But it didn't stop him from giving her setup a visit here and there. As he leaned back against the counter, he eyed the violet haired magician with a twinkle in his eye.

"I'd like to come to one of your shows sometime, I want to see the magician in her element since you got to see me, the stylist, in my own element."

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ALECIS SAMPERIO

"Oh? Wanting to bask in more of my time?"

And just like that, he was back in his element.

Jesse made quick work of wiping down the counters as he pondered just where they could go. Sure, they both had made plenty of money that day, but since he'd pulled Alecis into the fray of it all, he felt obligated to cover her half as a treat and a thank you. Once he placed all the various combs into their homes and pulled any stray hairs from the blade guards of his razor, Jesse gave the workspaces a nod of approval. If he felt compelled to clean more, he could come in the next day and tidy up his shop. In hindsight, if he were to make space for more clients, it wouldn't hurt to dedicate himself to a deep cleaning of the place. Seemed he booked himself for the next day.

"I've got you covered. Thanks for your help, I would've been drowning without you," he reassured the lavender haired magician.

As if to highlight just how chummy the two were, Jesse placed an arm around her shoulders and lead her out of the shop. Once they came to the door, he turned off the lights and opened it for Alecis to walk out first. He followed close behind and locked up behind them. While he'd taken care of the haircut portion of his work, Alecis made fine work of the dyes and the like. It admittedly cut his work in half, and he appreciated it more than words could describe. With such appreciation, he figured he'd pick something new for the two of them to try. As they continued off, he rambled on to his unwilling listener.

"How about we try the new place inspired by Galar? It's a curry-themed place and I'm curious to try what makes their curry any different from here, Kanto, or Johto."

[thread end]

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ALECIS SAMPERIO