Boy
Deux
The little bell above the door of the convenient store off the gas station sounded as Eric and Ryan walked in. The tiles on the ground were cracked and dirty, and some were missing, revealing the dirt underneath the building. The florescent lights on the ceiling flickered, with gnats flying all around them, and one of the asbestos tiles on the ceiling were hanging off.
"Ah, home." Eric said, sniffing the piss scented air. Ryan chuckled and made her way over to the magazines.
"You kids gonna buy something today?" Vino, the owner said, emerging from his office behind the counter, horking up snot and wiping his nose with his grease splattered apron.
"We got no money, Vino, you know that." Ryan said, with a GLOBE weekly in her hand with a front page explaining how Ronald Reagan was the devil and aliens have recently landed on Earth.
"Shit, I 'aint stupid, ya know. I know you kids been robbin me," he said, taking a seat behind the register, because he was probably out of breath from standing so long. If it's one thing you remember Vino for, it was his girth.
"Why would we ever do that?" Eric said from the back of the store by the chips while he was putting a couple in his long winter coat.
"Yeah, man. You should think higher of us." Ryan said, flipping pages.
Vino muttered and started counting his money. Eric had finished stuffing his pockets with dinner and walked over to where Ryan was.
Ryan was showing him an article on the donkey-faced woman, and they were suddenly distracted by the bell sounding again.
Everyone, including Vino, raised their eyebrows at the entering customers.
First to walk in was a little girl, no more than four or five, with pink bows in her hair, wearing a white puffy dress with a pink sash going around her waist. Closely behind her was a woman in a knee length white dress with a pink jacket.
"Aw, they're matching," Eric said quietly. Ryan giggled and elbowed him in the arm.
"Hi everybody!" the little girl said cheerfully with a toothless grin.
"Hush, Annabelle." The woman said, hugging her beaded purse (that matched her outfit) closer to her. She made her way over to Vino. He horked up flem and spit it on the ground beside him.
"Um…would you, by any chance have a phone?" she asked, trying to cover a look of disgust with a smile.
"MAMA! Look! They have Cheetos! I want some Cheetos!" The little girl yelled from somewhere in the store. No one saw her, because she was a mere three feet and some odd inches.
"Not now, dear." The woman said, looking that way, then turning back to Vino.
"Yeah," he said, before slamming a phone attached to a cord on the wall behind him onto the table. She reached down to touch it, but flinched and pulled it away. Then she dug in her purse before pulling out baby wipes and rubbing the top of the phone. Then she picked it up and wiped off the ear and mouth piece.
"MAMA! Cheetos!"
"Not now, Annabelle, I'm calling your father so he can come get us." They could hear her huff, then keep touching chips.
The woman waited. Then she spoke.
"Robert, we're stuck in the middle of Jesus no where…" she whispered the next part. "With a bunch of inner city slums."
"No, Robert. Come get us now. Annabelle is scared. Do you not care for the safety of our daughter?" she continued.
"Good," she said, hanging up. "Thank you…Vino, is it?"
"That's what the sign says, lady."
"MAMA! I WANT CHEETOS!" Annabelle screamed, coming up next to her mother and tugging at her dress.
"No, sweetheart, we'll eat when we get home." The girl continued to whine.
"But Mama….I wannnt Cheetos!"
"That's enough," the woman said, picking her up. The girl kicked and screamed for Cheetos and they could hear her a minute after the door was closed.
"Did you see how that lady gripped her purse? Like we were just gonna ambush her," Eric said, walking Ryan home.
"Probably would've," she said matter-of-factly.
"Ah, home." Eric said, sniffing the piss scented air. Ryan chuckled and made her way over to the magazines.
"You kids gonna buy something today?" Vino, the owner said, emerging from his office behind the counter, horking up snot and wiping his nose with his grease splattered apron.
"We got no money, Vino, you know that." Ryan said, with a GLOBE weekly in her hand with a front page explaining how Ronald Reagan was the devil and aliens have recently landed on Earth.
"Shit, I 'aint stupid, ya know. I know you kids been robbin me," he said, taking a seat behind the register, because he was probably out of breath from standing so long. If it's one thing you remember Vino for, it was his girth.
"Why would we ever do that?" Eric said from the back of the store by the chips while he was putting a couple in his long winter coat.
"Yeah, man. You should think higher of us." Ryan said, flipping pages.
Vino muttered and started counting his money. Eric had finished stuffing his pockets with dinner and walked over to where Ryan was.
Ryan was showing him an article on the donkey-faced woman, and they were suddenly distracted by the bell sounding again.
Everyone, including Vino, raised their eyebrows at the entering customers.
First to walk in was a little girl, no more than four or five, with pink bows in her hair, wearing a white puffy dress with a pink sash going around her waist. Closely behind her was a woman in a knee length white dress with a pink jacket.
"Aw, they're matching," Eric said quietly. Ryan giggled and elbowed him in the arm.
"Hi everybody!" the little girl said cheerfully with a toothless grin.
"Hush, Annabelle." The woman said, hugging her beaded purse (that matched her outfit) closer to her. She made her way over to Vino. He horked up flem and spit it on the ground beside him.
"Um…would you, by any chance have a phone?" she asked, trying to cover a look of disgust with a smile.
"MAMA! Look! They have Cheetos! I want some Cheetos!" The little girl yelled from somewhere in the store. No one saw her, because she was a mere three feet and some odd inches.
"Not now, dear." The woman said, looking that way, then turning back to Vino.
"Yeah," he said, before slamming a phone attached to a cord on the wall behind him onto the table. She reached down to touch it, but flinched and pulled it away. Then she dug in her purse before pulling out baby wipes and rubbing the top of the phone. Then she picked it up and wiped off the ear and mouth piece.
"MAMA! Cheetos!"
"Not now, Annabelle, I'm calling your father so he can come get us." They could hear her huff, then keep touching chips.
The woman waited. Then she spoke.
"Robert, we're stuck in the middle of Jesus no where…" she whispered the next part. "With a bunch of inner city slums."
"No, Robert. Come get us now. Annabelle is scared. Do you not care for the safety of our daughter?" she continued.
"Good," she said, hanging up. "Thank you…Vino, is it?"
"That's what the sign says, lady."
"MAMA! I WANT CHEETOS!" Annabelle screamed, coming up next to her mother and tugging at her dress.
"No, sweetheart, we'll eat when we get home." The girl continued to whine.
"But Mama….I wannnt Cheetos!"
"That's enough," the woman said, picking her up. The girl kicked and screamed for Cheetos and they could hear her a minute after the door was closed.
"Did you see how that lady gripped her purse? Like we were just gonna ambush her," Eric said, walking Ryan home.
"Probably would've," she said matter-of-factly.