#(cranberrymarker)

Toby had been having such a hard time trying to think of something to get CranberryShortcake. Almost to the point that he regretted ever asking them if he could get them a gift! And this was all while he had such a time even thinking of something to get Tiana Truitt! It was supposed to be the season of giving, though, and he always felt like gifts were such a nice gesture. This could have perhaps stemmed from his lack of ever getting them, and when he did, they were prizes to behold. A physical reminder that someone had thought about him when looking at something that wasn’t him. 

Then, one day, he had gotten an advertisement in his email. Not his main email or his work email, the email he used for spam and to sign up for certain websites that he knew would only raid his inbox with promotions and reminders and headaches. This email was from a jazz website he had signed up for, telling him about upcoming concerts for the area. Or for the UK, anyway. There were quite a few, mostly at small venues and names that he didn’t necessarily recognize. 

But there was one he did. 

Laufey. 

He tried to remember why, going back to his recent history on Spotify to see if the artist was in there. Sure enough, they were! And that was how he remembered that it was his email friend who had told him about Laufey. Saying that she was a recent discovery, but a quickly beloved one. 

Toby thought this was serendipitous! 

He had clicked through the links until he found the artists’ website and tour dates, only to find that the ones nearest had been sold out. And he probably should have given up there but…well. He couldn’t. It seemed like the perfect gift for someone who loved music, who loved concerts, who needed a bit of a relaxing and nice get away from it all! 

It would have been easy to just go with a pair of headphones but now that Toby had this idea between his teeth, he couldn’t give it up. 

He spent quite a bit of time online trying to find a way to get a ticket through the proper channels. Of course there were none. Not even the choice for resellers to get their chunk of flesh. 

So, then he went into the real thick of it by spending the hours scrolling around on social media in search of someone trying to sell their tickets. It was a bit of a task but he didn’t mind it, getting to read people’s little stories of their agonies of waiting in online queues for hours, how ticket selling websites were the worst and resellers could rot for the ticket prices, others having their victories and being so thrilled to be able to go see the concert coming near them. 

It made Toby think of his sister. 

Eventually, he found what he had been looking for. 

There was a tweet of someone saying they wished they could go to the concert in London and someone in their replies said: 

Hey, please message my aunt on instagram! @heatherthe_forever33 she’s trying to sell her extra tickets. 

The original poster had replied: oh i just mean i’ll be on holiday while she’s here 😭 but thanks!!

It had been posted only ten minutes prior. Toby quickly headed over to instagram and found the account, giving them a message. 

Hello, I saw you’re looking to sell you Laufey concert tickets. How much are you looking for? 

It only took a few minutes for him to get a reply.

Hi! You saw correctly. How many tickets are you looking to get? I have 4 available for the EartH 17/2/24 performance. 

Toby hesitated, wondering how many he should get. Obviously one for CranberryShortcake, but should he get another as well? Would it be odd to only get them the one without thinking they would want to take a friend with them? Yes, it would probably be safe to make sure they had the option to take someone along if they wanted. 

2? 

Okay! Here are the options. 

They sent him screenshots of their seats, the dots all in a row in a section of the venue. He didn’t know what CranberryShortcake would prefer, but he chose the aisle seat along with the one next to it. It may have to involve a lot of people stepping over them to get to their seats, but it would be nice to have a bit of elbow room, wouldn’t it? 

He told the person. They replied back with a cost. He haggled. They accepted. 

Then he went through a bit of a journey in setting up account on a ticket website for the person to transfer him the tickets. It was for the best that he hadn’t had one in the past though, since he figured that if he made this account for CranberryShortcake, it would continue to keep their identities from one another. 

Thank you very much! he messaged the person on Instagram. Heather, he supposed. 

You’re so welcome! Thank you! I couldn’t make it but I’m glad you’ll enjoy! :) x

They’re a gift for someone, actually! But I hope they will enjoy. 

Oh! Wow! That’s a great gift!!! Now I am extra glad I could give them to someone like you!! :D xx

Toby smiled, tapping his hand on his desk for a moment as he read over that message a few times. Then he quickly got a move on, printing a picture of the venue's advertisement of the concert and then scrambling around his desk for a pen. He wrote down the website, the g-mail he’d created for the website and password to that, then the password for the tickets website on the paper. Under that he wrote, I know it’s a bit of a hike to London, sorry! -indignantmarker

He placed the folded piece of paper into an envelope, licked it, and closed it up. On the front he wrote, To CranberryShortcake and stood, walking to the front desks of Town Hall. He started to approach, thinking he could leave it with the receptionist, but then stopped because, well, then the receptionist would know who he was. And then she would also know who CranberryShortcake was, which meant he could ask and find out. Knowing himself, he wouldn’t be able to resist. 

So, new plan. Where would be a good place to hide the envelope that no one would bother it but would be easy to access for his friend? 

Under one of the seats? No, people were constantly fidgeting in those. A plant? No, what if someone decided to water them and smudge the ink? A vent? No, if they got caught messing with it they would surely be…maybe not punished, but embarrassed by someone making a fuss over nothing. 

Toby sighed, wandering the halls, taking a look at the nice paintings that were hung up on the walls. 

…ah ha! 

He approached one of them, looked to his left and then his right to make sure no one was around to see him, and gave it a wiggle. The frame moves a bit, enough to move away from the wall. So it wasn’t completely nailed down to it. Toby stepped back, assessing his options. He would need one that he could describe to CranberryShortcake that wouldn’t make them have to spend a lot of time going through, more chances of getting caught. He decided to go with one of the portraits, finding the features of it quite distinguishable. 

He returned to the Squire office, quickly adding the closing paragraphs to his most recent email to them, and sent it off.