Immaculate Mess: His Rags Are My Riches
Chapter Three
Turning down a side street, my stomach growled and I leaned against a brick wall and slid onto the disgusting New Jersey sidewalk in the darkness of an alley. I tore my concentration from my stomach to the sounds of the world around me.
tweet tweet tweet
weee-ooo-weeee-oooo
honk!
“oh, don’t worry i’ll have plenty enough money by christmas for his presents”
Christmas, already?
Come to think of it, I had a chill to my bones through my jacket. I wondered what the date was and began slowly allowing my eyes to glide along the street for a loose newspaper when a pair of feet flew in front of my vision and disappeared within moments. I heard them slow to a stop and then get louder and the boy—Frank—from before appeared.
“Hey, sorry about him. He’s a prick.”
“I’m used to it.”
“I’m, uh, Frank.”
“Frank…I’m Mikey.”
Frank nodded.
“So, do you need some money or food or something?” he asked, looking awkward but genuinely helpful.
“Well, yeah, but I’m willing to work for it.”
“Don’t worry about it. Come on, we’ll go grab some lunch.”
I felt bad but wasn’t about to turn down a free meal as I followed Frank down the street and into a diner.
“It’s nothing special but I get tired of the fancy places my dad makes me go with him.”
We sat down at a booth and a waitress walked over and smiled, placing two cups of water in front of us with a basket of bread on the edge of the table.
“Do you need a minute?” she asked politely, her auburn hair falling into her face. As she brushed it away, Frank replied, “No thanks, I’ll have the veggie burger. How about you, Mikey?”
“Um…” I started, my mouth already stuffed with bread. I swallowed painfully and replied “A cheeseburger and fries. And a salad.”
Frank grinned at me.
“So, how old are you?” Frank asked. He looked genuinely interested.
“Er…What’s the date?”
“November 29th, 1998.”
“I’m 18, then.”
“A year older than me,” Frank replied. There was a shocked look on his face when I realized I couldn’t even keep track of the date.
I took the awkward silence that followed to look at Frank. He wasn’t really short, but he was definitely shorter than me. His dark hair was well-kept but he tried to let as much as he could fall into his eyes just to bother his dad, I assumed. His eyes, meanwhile, were like honey—so beautiful I couldn’t tear my own eyes away for a while. When I finally did, I realized he was still grinning at me with pearly white, perfectly straight teeth.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, realizing I grabbed and began eating another piece of bread in my trance.
“For what?”
“Staring…and eating the last piece of bread.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Don’t worry about it.
Our food came and, without even thinking, I tore into it, finishing everything in the time it took Frank to finish his veggieburger alone.
“Do you want my fries? I can’t even finish them.”
Nodding, I finished up his fries and for the first time in years, I felt full and content. I relished in the feeling , slouching in my seat with a long sigh.
“Feel better?”
I nodded again and closed my eyes. I just wanted a nice bed and a blanket after the most amazing dinner I’d had in ages.
As if Frank could read minds he stated, “My dad won’t be back from his stupid whatever-the-hell he’s doing for a while. You want to come over to my place? Maybe sleep for a bit somewhere you won’t get assaulted?”
Without even thinking, I nodded and in a dazed stupor I followed Frank outside where a limo was waiting. I hadn’t even heard Frank call for a limo while we were sitting there.
tweet tweet tweet
weee-ooo-weeee-oooo
honk!
“oh, don’t worry i’ll have plenty enough money by christmas for his presents”
Christmas, already?
Come to think of it, I had a chill to my bones through my jacket. I wondered what the date was and began slowly allowing my eyes to glide along the street for a loose newspaper when a pair of feet flew in front of my vision and disappeared within moments. I heard them slow to a stop and then get louder and the boy—Frank—from before appeared.
“Hey, sorry about him. He’s a prick.”
“I’m used to it.”
“I’m, uh, Frank.”
“Frank…I’m Mikey.”
Frank nodded.
“So, do you need some money or food or something?” he asked, looking awkward but genuinely helpful.
“Well, yeah, but I’m willing to work for it.”
“Don’t worry about it. Come on, we’ll go grab some lunch.”
I felt bad but wasn’t about to turn down a free meal as I followed Frank down the street and into a diner.
“It’s nothing special but I get tired of the fancy places my dad makes me go with him.”
We sat down at a booth and a waitress walked over and smiled, placing two cups of water in front of us with a basket of bread on the edge of the table.
“Do you need a minute?” she asked politely, her auburn hair falling into her face. As she brushed it away, Frank replied, “No thanks, I’ll have the veggie burger. How about you, Mikey?”
“Um…” I started, my mouth already stuffed with bread. I swallowed painfully and replied “A cheeseburger and fries. And a salad.”
Frank grinned at me.
“So, how old are you?” Frank asked. He looked genuinely interested.
“Er…What’s the date?”
“November 29th, 1998.”
“I’m 18, then.”
“A year older than me,” Frank replied. There was a shocked look on his face when I realized I couldn’t even keep track of the date.
I took the awkward silence that followed to look at Frank. He wasn’t really short, but he was definitely shorter than me. His dark hair was well-kept but he tried to let as much as he could fall into his eyes just to bother his dad, I assumed. His eyes, meanwhile, were like honey—so beautiful I couldn’t tear my own eyes away for a while. When I finally did, I realized he was still grinning at me with pearly white, perfectly straight teeth.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, realizing I grabbed and began eating another piece of bread in my trance.
“For what?”
“Staring…and eating the last piece of bread.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Don’t worry about it.
Our food came and, without even thinking, I tore into it, finishing everything in the time it took Frank to finish his veggieburger alone.
“Do you want my fries? I can’t even finish them.”
Nodding, I finished up his fries and for the first time in years, I felt full and content. I relished in the feeling , slouching in my seat with a long sigh.
“Feel better?”
I nodded again and closed my eyes. I just wanted a nice bed and a blanket after the most amazing dinner I’d had in ages.
As if Frank could read minds he stated, “My dad won’t be back from his stupid whatever-the-hell he’s doing for a while. You want to come over to my place? Maybe sleep for a bit somewhere you won’t get assaulted?”
Without even thinking, I nodded and in a dazed stupor I followed Frank outside where a limo was waiting. I hadn’t even heard Frank call for a limo while we were sitting there.
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