Pink Pocketbook Novels & Stories

“We’ll just get paid and be, ah, on our way . . . ” “Fine, fine, calm the fuck down.” Yanking off his three-fingered paw, Pink Bunny jams a wrinkly hand into a hidden pouch in his costume’s chest. “Look, pizza people, you didn’t see any of this, okay? Total silence.” Neon-pink condoms, a chicken nugget, and a small bag of pills spill from the pocket as he roots around, his hand finally appearing with a moist wad of twenty-dollar bills. “Here. For your trouble.”

By the looks of the almost empty display, it’d turned out to be a good gamble. Anyway, a sarcastic remark was brewing but before I could speak, I heard the click-hiss of Bobby’s inhaler and saw him snag a copy. He stuck his inhaler into his front jeans pocket, opened the hideously yellow book and began flipping through it. I stood there, working my jaw, as if chewing a particularly troublesome piece of cud. Bobby eagerly flipped through the book’s pages, which I noticed were gilt a glittering golden-yellow along the edges. Finally I swallowed and managed, “Are you kidding me, Bobby? You’re not actually gonna . . . ”

I’m not one of those girls that has kept a little black book. I do have a pink holographic book with a flamingo on it. I got it during a wildlife excursion in year 11, buying it was the highlight of the trip for me. It may make me sound like a loser, but after five hours of observing animals and birds, I’m unapologetic. At least they had a shop. I went home with a tea cup, pencil case, and my little pink book. I was happy.

That is what I am starting to believe, and I think Pierce has done so for some time. “Got it?” He pushes off the doorframe, extending his arm out for me to take. “Yep, got it.” “A shoebox with stickers on?” “No, it’s my memory box…with…” I pull the lid off, reaching in for my Mum’s small black leather pocket book. It had every contact, every business deal, every bank account in her name…including every password. “This.” “And what is this?” He asks, sceptical of the small book in my hand.

"You're a problematic soul trapped in a small human body." I rolled my eyes at her remark. "Don't compare me to that asshole," I grumble. Suddenly I'd had enough of the small talk for one day so I pulled the cellphone from my pocket and began punching away at the keyboard searching for something to occupy my time. "Before you enter into your own little bubble Secret," Phoebe adds and I looked over at her, "someone left you a gift." I followed her gaze to where a single Carnation was lying on the table before getting up and moving towards it. Intrigued, I took up the flower and held it before taking a sniff.

It does. More than I can say. My heart is still somewhere in my throat when Liam tilts his head and gestures at the next gift bag. “Pink?” he asks, a little hopeful. I wipe at my eyes before he can see anything suspicious happening there and nod, reaching for it. The bag’s lighter. Softer. I pull out what looks like a simple hardcover book with a pale pink spine. When I open it, the first page nearly undoes me all over again. It’s me.

Why in the world did he have all of these for? My fingers danced along the spines of the book in curiosity. I pulled out each book slightly, hoping like my library one of them would reveal some secret compartment. I stopped as one book caught my attention. It didn’t feel solid like the other books. It was too light. “Penn, I think I’ve got something.” I pulled it out. It was a black book with no title. I opened it to discover it was a hollow book. A velvet box, slightly smaller than the book, was hidden inside of it. I opened the box and smiled.

I waved both of my hands, hoping she would know that I am grateful. "Oh right, I forgot..." She said before she reached in to the front pocket of her pink apron. The woman pulled out a pink mini notebook with a snap button and a small pen tucked in the gap of the strap. "Here." She said as she offered me the notebook. Accepting the book with both of my hands, I looked down at it with confusion. "I thought it might come in handy. Besides it's small enough to fit in to a wide pocket so you can carry it anywhere." The woman said.

"And he can't sell you things right now. I think she made him go to sleep." It was true. The poor person was completely out of it. It wasn't the normal kind of sleep, but more like a dazed state. Nothing I did mattered. I sighed heavily. I couldn't just make off with the snacks. I grabbed a pen that the cashier had, some paper and wrote him a note saying which items I had taken and left the cash by the till. I didn't need the change, it was Rakesh's money anyway. I did, however, nab myself a small bag for my items.

Lipstick, credit cards, keys and mints spilled everywhere. I dug through the mess until I found a zipped pocket at the bottom of the bag. I unzipped it. I pulled out a black prepaid cell phone. I had not turned this phone on for long. I kept it hidden and turned off , buried in the lining of my bag. I pressed the power button. The screen glowed white lighting up my shaking hands.