Fop (noun): an excessively fashion-conscious man

The man spun on his heels, shoulders straight and chin up in the air, striding away as if he were a king departing from his throne room… as if he hadn’t just bargained with the bakery owner for half an hour, trading a quarter for a slice of stale bread. As if his beard was trimmed by an accomplished barber instead of a rusted razor. As if his pride as a model hadn’t been shattered by bankruptcy.

The other homeless people loitering around the abandoned building kept their distance and shot him weird looks—it made sense, considering how he still wrapped a length of tattered cloth about his shoulders, flicking at it every now and then like it was an expensive suit. They’d long given up talking to him, for he treated every interaction like some kind of business meeting in a substandard social circle.

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He gazed back disgustedly at his surroundings of plastic bags and soggy cardboard and half-eaten cans of dried beans. With a flippant swish of his tent’s coverings, he vanished into his pitifully elegant dwelling.

Was it denial or ambition that gleamed in those eyes?