Trouble at the Bank

She knew there were some banks that required her personal identity to open an account with them. The documents would include things like her household registration, driving license, health card, etcetera. However, using any of those would lead to her and subsequently her brother.

If she could open one, it would have to be the lesser known banks that accepted an account without any personal details. Those type of banks were more common but were online and less secure. So if she used them, the amount she saved in it would also have to be a smaller amount. The process seemed too sketchy for her to feel confident with the bank account but she needed a way to buy online or at other stores via card.

'What if I buy a prepaid card...'

From her vague memories of banks she knew that they offered prepaid cards, you could put in different amounts like $10, $15, $25 or even larger than that per your desire. However, she did not know if they had a maximum amount she could charge. If she were to walk in and chose to put $40,000 would they say no? Or would the bank tellers look at her like she was stupid for assuming that was possible? It was still her best choice for the time being but she still had to chose which bank to get that card at.

At this mall, she knew there were at least three offices and two of which she already held accounts in. Which meant by process of elimination that she had to get the card from there but it was debatable if that was the smarter choice. It also could be more efficient to get a prepaid card from a bank that she uses and pretend that it was a gift. Her going to another bank could easily be seen as more suspicious even if was creating distance for her. Either way, she had risks in each and she felt a little more comfortable with the first option.

Feeling settled, she did not give herself time to overthink and just headed towards the branch office. There was no point worrying and the faster she bought this card the quicker she could buy other things. Vaguely remembering the map she saw earlier she went in the general direction of where it should have been and prayed that she was the correct path.

A plethora of stores passed her eyes until an orange sign caught her attention - 'Capital Bank.' From the outside it looked very clean there was a huge overboard sign and a few opaque windows. Pulling open the door she entered the office and surveyed the layout. To the side there was one or two isolated atm's and three offices in the back behind it. The set up was very spacious and allowed for good customer flow without any congestion.

'Not bad....' It was her first time seeing one of their offices and appreciated the minimalistic look. Most banks liked to design their offices like this but the colour combo and general method of executing it was different. This one held a more classic reserved vibe which was more of her taste. Though she would not be opening a bank account and came for just a prepaid card, the layout gave her a good impression.

Turning to the left she saw a short line in front of the bank tellers, which is what she needed. Thankfully she had come at a time where there was less people. She did not see anybody she knew and there were only a few people in the branch excluding those who worked there. Following the rest of them, she silently lined up behind them with her bags pushed into one hand.

There were at least three people in front of her waiting and all the tellers were currently servicing someone else. That meant, it would be quite a bit of time before it would be her turn and she was on a time limit. Pulling out her phone she went to the mall directory again to scan the list. When she had first looked, she just randomly chose stores that interested her purely based on name. However, in doing so she had automatically glossed over the more practical stores.

The stores that were more frequented by the lower to middle class for basic necessities. They were like "one-stop-shops" where you are able to find everything you needed at a reasonable price. With the products offered being so vast, there was a high chance of what she wanted being there.

Pulling up her notes application on her phone, she created a 'shopping list.' Of course she would not actually write what she was going to buy but put code words instead. Just as she was starting to type she felt a push on her bags from behind. It was a light push but managed to grab her attention. They were situated at her side and there wasn't really any reason for someone to touch them unless they were too close. She had also been too distracted to hear someone come up behind her, which was normal and fine if they had not touched her.

'Maybe they tripped..?' Turning her head to look at the offending party she was met with a face she did not recognize. Which was not a surprise considering she was at a random bank and there were billions of people in this world. What made her doubt this was the painfully obvious look in her eyes. They held a gentle expression but her eyes were filled with hatred and spite.

'You've got to be kidding me....'

All she did was stand in a bank line and was met with another set of problems. She did not even know the girl but there was one standing in front of her as an enemy. The woman was slightly taller than her in height and seemingly younger in age. There was a pause as they stared at each other, neither of them spoke. Feeling tired of the stare off Mei Lin decided to speak first

"Excuse me do I know you?'