"Hey, Mr. Minn! d you could make it," the shop owner greeted James with a warm smile, then turned his attention to the young girl beside him, Mirabe. Seeing her in her school uniform, he wisely avoided making any girlfriend-rtedments.


    James responded with a casual nod and led Mirabe to a nearby cage. "What do you think about these two?"


    Mirabe leaned in for a closer look at the two chubby puppies inside. They seemed quite lively, moving around energetically as she got closer.


    "Huskies are known for being yful but they''re really gentle too," the shop owner chimed in at just the right moment.


    Curious, Mirabe reached out, gently touching one of the puppies'' heads through the bars. On closer inspection, she noticed that this one had heterochromatic eyes


    each a different color.


    "This one''s a purebred with heterochromatic eyes, inherited all the best traits from its parents," exined the owner. He then pointed to the other,zier puppy lounging in the cage. "And this one here, with its pure brown eyes, might seem calm now but is actually more mischievous than the other."


    Mirabe nced between the two dogs, feeling indifferent. She turned to James, "Which one do you think we should go for?"


    "The one with the heterochromatic eyes. It''s more unique," James suggested after a moment''s thought.


    Mirabe nodded, withdrew her hand, and straightened up. She told the owner, "Alright, we''ll take the one with the heterochromatic eyes."


    The owner quickly agreed, "Sure thing, let me get a box for you."


    In no time, he was back, unlocking the cage to take out the chosen puppy.


    Mirabe, recalling James''sment about the dog being ''unique,'' nced at the other husky and pondered for a second before asking, "Are the prices for these two the same?"


    "The one with the heterochromatic eyes is three thousand more," the owner replied while preparing to ce the puppy in the box. Mirabe frowned slightly, stopping him.


    "I suddenly think the heterochromatic eyes look a bit weird... I''ll go with the cheaper one," she decided.


    James gave her a silent look, probably thinking her change of heart was due to the price, not the appearance.


    The owner tried to persuade her, "The heterochromatic-eyed one is quite rare, actually-"


    Mirabe cut him off, "Average people should stick with average dogs. We''ll take the one with the brown eyes."


    "Alright then," the owner conceded, cing the brown-eyed husky into the box.


    After buying aplete dog care kit and a guide to dog ownership, Mirabe and James left the pet shop.


    Once in the car, Mirabe couldn''t help but sigh as she looked at the box containing the puppy. "This is less of a pet and more of a gold-eating monster."


    And just like that, a thousand bucks were spent.


    James''s lips twitched, but he decided to keep his opinions to himself.


    *


    Half an hourter, they pulled up outside the Davis family mansion. Mirabe thanked James and quickly got out of the car with the two boxes.


    Inside, Zach was already home. His eyes lit up at the sight of his sister with two boxes, onerge, one small. He eagerly approached, "Sis, are these the birthday gifts you got for Zach?"


    He had been dropping hints about his uing birthday for the past week, and it seemed his sister had finally taken the bait.


    Two boxes of gifts surely meant Mirabe had put a lot of thought into them.