Nothing Bargained, Nothing Gained

Personally, I've always been one to drive a hard bargain. Poor Paul--growing up with me made for a childhood of sometimes getting what he wanted, always at a price higher than most open markets would actually sustain. To this day he flatly refuses to play Monopoly if I am playing. And he still groans in distress when the family story recirculates about the time I agreed to let him sniff my chocolate scented marker five times IF he helped me clean my desk.

With my own extensive background and experience, it never fails to amuse me to when John, Abigail, and Peter start negotiating. John, carefully making studying the psychology of his victim. (He never wastes time bribing someone who will do what he wants for free. And he knows his limits before he begins any give'n'take.) Peter, with a quick emotional reaction to help or hinder his cause.

And Abigail. When she wishes, she can mediate the fairest of all fair bargains. When she's being silly, she's winning enough to make you incline to do what she wishes whatever the absurdity of her suggested bargain.

Like when she offers to say nice things about you for five minutes straight, provided you correct her math.