A purse apparently had to hold many things. Things such as tampons, a pepper spray to keep away the sneaky thugs, a packet of cigarettes, a wallet, a hairbrush, chapstick, and whatever else that a woman would find necessary to keep in her handbag. These things were no doubt important to keep, but word on the street that any criminal smart enough would try a different strategy than just approaching a woman if they were going to mug her. When the civilians ever thought they could get away, next minute their valuables would be snatched, and the thief would never get caught. You’d think that if a woman had a pepper spray in her purse that it would make her immune from all iniquities? Vela was wrong in so many ways. There were other ways to lure women in. Vela had multiple experiences with thieves, and consequently she had many stories to tell. But before she would meet up with her friend for a talk about her interesting tales, she decided to head to the nearest boutique shop for a brand-new purse. In fact, it was imperative that she go because her current one was far too small for the number of things she began to accumulate over her past experiences of being a mugger. She took all kinds of things. Whether it was mini vodka bottles, heavy gold chains and even a planner she stole because she couldn’t afford to buy a real one at the store. Although now that she was moderately wealthy, she had enough cash and coins to get herself a far better bag that could hold a lot more things. She walked along the concrete pavement and made way for a woman pushing her baby stroller next to her. The woman thanked her with a smile and continued to walk down the path. The gesture made Vela think about her own future, and whether she’d ever settle down. The thought immediately made her cringe and shake her head while saying ‘no’ in her head. It would be out of capabilities to raise a child, as she felt like a child herself. Apart from raising a child as a child, she was also far too impulsive to be a parent. She feared that she might do something bad. Like have an abortion. The thought disgusted her because of how outrageous the situation was, and she shook it out of her head.

Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the boutique shop she’d been itching to visit since coming into New York. She had actually been here before, but today was the first time that she was actually bringing cash to purchase something. Usually the things she would get from here were stolen, secretly stuffed into her purse. As she pushed the doors of the boutique open, she was greeted by a gorgeous lady. She was obviously one of the employees.

It was funny. Last time she came in here with nothing but a hoodie and dirty sweatpants to wear, she was welcomed by no one – but now, she seemed to get special treatment. Was it the heels? The hair? The dress? Vela flicked her black hair over her shoulder as she looked around the store, before returning her focus to the retail lady.

“I’m having a fantastic day. Is there anything you could recommend for a pretty girl like me?” Vela battered her eyelashes, although she couldn’t help but laugh inwardly for flattering herself. If no one was going to compliment her, she might as well do it herself. The lady bobbed her head up and down, nodding as she pointed her index finger towards a corner of the store. “We have just the thing for someone like you, madam. The high-end, fashionista, bags right here-..” The lady walked ahead of Vela as her heels clacked against the white tiling floors. Vela followed suit and widened her eyes as she was presented to a magical variety of bags that probably costed more than a car these days. And a car was real expensive to get. Unless you had connections. There were many colours and styles on offer, but the purse that stood out the most in Vela’s eyes was a pastel pink, authentic leather satchel purse. It was classy, and pretty much everything that Vela wanted in a handbag. It was love at first sight! This was almost better than an orgasm. She turned to the friendly employee from before and pursed her lips in curiosity.

“That one over there,” Vela pointed to the pink purse while maintaining eye contact with the lady, “how much is that?” She tilted her head as she began to admire the unowned bag sitting elegantly on the shelf. It was like it was waiting there for her. It was right there. She could grab it. But not this time. She had the money now. The lady nodded and let out a happy sigh as she saw to where Vela was pointing. “Nice choice. Not many come in here to buy that… It’s quite… expensive. Let me just show you the details at the front counter.” Vela wanted so badly to just get out of the store before any of the other employees would recognise her face. She came in here a couple times to steal hoping no one would catch onto her appearance. Instead, she dismissed her request with a wave and cleared her throat. “Look, don’t bore me with the details. I have the cash right here in hand. Do you want a check instead?” Vela replied in a mocking manner. Luckily for her, the lady was oblivious to her teasing language and apologised for her ‘slow’ behaviour. “O-oh.. of course, madam. Right this way. I’ll just wrap the bag up in special paper.”

“No need. Just give it to me. Unwrapped. That would be fine.” Vela didn’t want the lady to think she was doing a poor job, so she flashed a smile at the end of her sentence that exuded confidence. It was a small gesture, but it got the job done. After a few moments of just sorting out the transaction, Vela walked out of the boutique with a brad-new bag around her shoulder. She felt amazing, but she didn’t like how it made her stand out from the crowd. Oh well. She proudly showed off her newly purchased bag and walked closer to the side of the road to hail a cab. It was a busy day. Cars wooshed past her, honks were being horned because of the heavy traffic, and finally after a while of waving her arms frantically hoping to get a taxi driver’s attention, she gave up and decided to just walk to the café instead. The weather was particularly satisfying, and even though she was trying to push through the crowd of people on the sidewalk – Vela found herself admiring the cool breeze that brushed her cheeks. She secretly had been dying to see New York, and now that she was here, she was enthralled by its infinite beauty. Vela couldn’t stop staring at the Earth’s nature.

Before she knew it, Vela was standing at the entrance of the café with full attentiveness. She spotted her friend, sitting by a green plant. The atmosphere was grandeur, with lantern lights hanging from the ceiling and bamboo wallpaper that gave the place an even more naturalistic feel. Vela entered the vicinity and approached her, a smile making its way on her face. “Ang!” She gushed as she walked towards Angel, a friend of Vela’s ever since they locked eyes. They grew a deep connection with each other through the guys they liked, the books they read, and the coffee they craved so much. It seems as if this café spot was also their hangout place. Vela was grateful that Angel wasn’t really into the nightlife like others. Vela was more introverted like that. Her friend whipped her head to the sound of Vela’s soft voice and smiled widely. “Vel! You look young as ever,” her eyes travelled to the bag that was slung over her shoulder, “and that bag… I can’t take my eyes off it.” Vela waved her hand shyly in front of her and smiled, thinking back to the moment at the boutique shop. “I stole it.” It was at that moment that Angel’s eyes slowly became the size of basketballs. That was until Vela burst into a fit of laughter and banged her hands down on the coffee table. Angel was tight-lipped as she witnessed the joy that Vela got from scaring her out of her wits. “Seriously? This is how you treat me after so long of not seeing each other?” Angel’s face was blank as she slumped back into her chair, crouching as she leaned forward to take another sip from her latte. She was kidding, of course. Vela and Angel had this mutual connection, where no matter how much they annoy each other – nothing could break their bond. Plus, this situation would happen a lot. Vela annoying Angel. Angel growing stubborn over her gullibleness. Vela enjoying it. There was some sort of deep, twisted, sadistic behaviour going on with Vela, and often she would admit to herself that maybe she enjoyed seeing others in wallow in their sadness – but really she was just thinking too much about it. She took a seat in front of Angel and swung a leg over the other to get comfortable, before setting her bag aside next to her. Vela looked at Angel with a raised eyebrow. “What? What’s that stare for, missy?” Vela said.

“You’re on to something. I swear. You’re giving me that look like you’re going to tell me something I won’t be happy about.” Angel crossed her arms as her eyes turned into slits. Vela was used to this. Getting interrogated by Angel. She didn’t want her to worry too much though because the job would be easier than all the other rackets they’ve done. “Jewellery. Shiny, big, expensive jewellery. Caged underground in a vault.” Angel grew uneasy at her sudden statement. It was like getting déjà vu. Angel was used to Vela always finding jobs for them to do, but this one seemed different than the rest. “Are you crazy? How do you even think we’re going to get them if they’re buried? Underground, might I add.” Angel rolled her eyes as she tried to deny the luxury of jewellery. It was too good to be true, but she needed to make sure that Vela actually knew what she was doing. “The people hiding it are going to give it to us.”

“Wait a minute. I think we need to plan this out carefully…”

“What did you think I do during my time in jail?”

Angel was stoic. Inside her head, she was screaming in disbelief. “You planned a heist? The same reason you went to jail in the first place?” Vela nodded proudly. Maybe going to jail wasn’t her proudest achievement, but at least she had the guts to do the thing that got her thrown in the slammer. It was the only thing she was good at. She was probably planning heists in the womb. Vela was a… beautiful yet raging disaster. It’s why Angel and Vela was such good friends though. There was a balance between them. Angel, being the peaceful and cautious one while Vela was the one to make the risky moves. Vela appreciated Angel’s concern, but she assured her that she had re-enacted the plan in her head a thousand times.

“…We’re gonna need a crew then.”

“I’ve got that sorted, baby. Don’t rush me.” Vela smiled teasingly. Angel rolled her eyes as she tasted her slight resentment about the situation. She wasn’t too sure about this, whether Vela was doing this out of a genuine interest or if she was planning something else. Was it personal? Angel would never know. She kept the thought buried in the back of her mind and accepted the job anyway. They were both a team, and Vela couldn’t be sane without her Angel. She lifted her purse from the ground and took out a white, minimalistic card with black lettering that read ‘Flirty Fashionista, 8084 Mechanic St. Brooklyn, NY 11215.’

“What am I going to do with this?” Angel quizzically announced. Vela started to rise from her seat as she was ready to leave but she was grabbed gently by the elbow. “Oh, come on. Just abide, will ya?” Angel was left dumbfounded as started to see Vela head out of the restaurant without another word. She sat back in her chair, looking down at the card as if the words weren’t clear and she needed clarification. “Huh.” She said to herself and was left to her own thoughts until she was advised by an employer to leave in order to close up. Angel left and returned home as soon as possible, paranoid that she was being followed. She wanted to be alive for tomorrow, and for the rest of the days after.

It was around midnight now. Angel was unable to sleep, however a knock against her window made her shoot right up from her bed. Unsurprisingly, it was Vela banging frantically. “What, what is it?” Angel looked at her with a twisted expression. She held tightly onto her robe as the wind from outside blew harshly. “You’ll invite me in, won’t you?” Vela tilted her head as both her hands clung to a branch of a tall tree outside Angel’s house. She had a two story, and a very small balcony. Angel immediately opened her small window for Vela, and in she came with many things to say. First matter, was about needing to ‘get to the boutique as soon as possible’ and the second matter was about, ‘there has been a problem with the deal we had. We’re gonna have to steal them dresses.’ Angel didn’t have much time to react and forced herself to change out of her robe, so they could speed off to the place. Vela didn’t say another word as she hurried down Angel’s house and waited inside her car. Finally, Angel came rushing out, odd pair of socks and all. Vela couldn’t help but chuckle as she started the engine. “You know you’re wearing an odd pair of socks, right?”

“Of course, I know! I couldn’t find the same sock. Now can you stop mocking me and drive?”

“I’m on it, baby.” Vela joked.

***

“What are we looking for again?” Angel tiptoed along the black tiles that were floors to the Flirty Fashionista boutique. She was in complete darkness as her eyes danced between the corridors. “Dresses, Angel. Dresses. The ones we’re stealing for us to wear to the fashion show next week.” It occurred to Vela that this was the first time that she informed Angel about why they were going to steal dresses. She coughed silently to break the awkward silence that filled the air between them, and Angel responded with a expressionless face. “Right.”

They both continued on searching for a specific room, and at last they were standing at the doorway of the specific room that would grant them their dresses. Vela requested for Angel to break in first, but it was followed by a defiant statement. “Why me? Why not you!??!” Angel whispered dramatically. Vela’s back was facing Angel, and she turned around to answer her with a bizarre look on her face. “Do you want us to get caught? I’m the lookout! Now get your pretty ass in that room and look for our dresses.” Vela whispered back in a hushed tone. She resumed to her lookout duties while she waited for the sound of Angel’s shoes to step inside. The situation was unplanned. Vela expected the lady she spoke with to keep a deal, and even used emotional blackmail on her, but apparently that hadn’t been. She was going to charge Vela more than the standard price for gown rental, and she was – stupefied. She didn’t like to be conned, manipulated, or tricked. She was just a simple-minded gal, and only took nicely to other simple-minded people. When they became complicated, that was when she’d call the shots and treat them with the same disrespect. Vela broke out of her train of thoughts when she suddenly heard a security guard coming her way. It was only midnight, after all. “Shit!” Vela cussed, as she entered the room Angel was in looking like a scared puppy. “Guard!” Angel was on all fours, on the floor, and she almost banged her head against the desk she was under. “I got it! -..” Angel paused as she saw Vela slowly opening the only window in the room. “What exactly are you doing?”

“We jump. There’s literally no other way. He’s gonna fucking burst inside this room any second now.”

Angel really didn’t have any other choice. Plus, she was already in too deep with the cops from her last heist run. Her motto had always been ‘go big, or go home.’ This wasn’t any different. Angel didn’t take the discussion further and did what Vela had done. Neither of them landed safely of course, save for some bruises around the ankle, but it was only a two story building anyway. They had done much worse than that before in the past.