George had been in the back aisle of the shop, restocking the fireworks wall. He hadn't noticed right away that the shop had become rather quiet, because these days it always seemed too quiet for comfort, but that was his own problem, because the whole world was only half as loud as it ought to be. But eventually, he did look up and realize that the place was properly empty. Even Fred was gone.
Frowning, he walked away from the cart and its explosive cargo and towards the open front door of the shop where a crowd had gathered. Of course no one would come into the shop when the best entertainment was outside it.
George broke into a grin and turned immediately to the popcorn machine next to the door. It now popped perfectly proper popcorn, not that cotton-candy flavored stuff he'd tried, which apparently he'd been the only one to enjoy. Bag of popcorn in hand, he drew his wand and conjured a bright green plastic chair and plopped down into it to watch.
As he was getting himself situated, he missed the comment about himself possibly being at fault, so he simply waved cheerfully and settled in for a good show.