Lost in the Shadows

Working at the video store gave Heidi a new reason for being in Santa Carla. The last thing she wanted to do was be homeless for much longer. She would save up as much money as she could and finally find someplace to stay. She was unsure of whether Max knew that she was living out on the streets or not but she appreciated that he never asked her about her situation. It was embarrassing for her to admit.

At night she would go to the bathrooms to clean her clothes she was wearing that day and clean them in the sink. She would brush her teeth there, brush her hair, wash her face, and even wash down her full body. It was something she had to do for her to feel at least partially human. There was not a moment that week where she felt dirty until she laid down at night in the grass to sleep. That was all and she felt grateful for the opportunity to have everything she needed in such a small area.

She wondered if Max would be coming in during the day on her first full day of work but he never arrived. There were so many people in this area and the store was to herself during the day.

Max was someone who she could consider her friend since he had saved her from the surfers and from her own demise.

The nighttime did arrive and it was getting busier as the Saturday night was coming to its rise. Heidi barely had a moment to take a break to just breath until most people were out to dinner once the sun set. There were two young boys of 13 or 14 who had stepped into the foot of the shop with little confidence. One had dark hair and the other one had a boxy face and brown hair. They looked like they were ready to kick some serious tush.

The nerdiness of the boys made her smile as they seemed to be the only two in Santa Carla who had a quirkiness to them. Heidi overheard them speak to each other about some superhero movies. “Can I help you boys with something?”

They turned around in sync and widened their eyes at this beautiful creature. Girls clearly rarely spoke to them unless to pick on them. They whispered some nonsense about her as they just stared for a moment.

When she saw they were not going to answer to her, she rolled her eyes and turned around to clean up the mess that was the counter.

A deep voice came behind her. “We’re looking for an extra special movie.”

She turned to see those two boys at the register. “I may just be able to help you guys with that if you want to tell me the movie.”

She saw it was the lighter brunette who had spoken to her. “It’s a movie about,” he looked at his brother to make sure that he sounded cool, “It’s a classic. Very rare movie. Called ‘The Mark of Zorro’. Perchance you might have it?”

Heidi was sure that they wouldn’t have a movie like that. Though she never watched movies, she was still well versed in what films had come out. She stepped out from behind the counter and looked in the area where Zorro movies could be. “I’m not so sure we have that movie. This store seems to carry only the most popular modern movies.”

The boy with the black hair licked his dry lips and looked at his brother. “I’m Alan and that’s my brother, Edgar. We’re the Frog brothers.”

It was a little queer to her that these boys would introduce themselves to her but it was also a bit refreshing. People hadn’t given her to much of a chance to use her kind soul at work. They were all too preoccupied with getting out of the store and keeping on with their vacations.

“I’m Heidi.”

As soon as she introduced herself, four guys walked in with dark clothes on, mullets, and attitudes that screamed that they did not have a single care in the world. She had found that it was best to watch out for the gangs in the area. They were not good people.
The one with long blonde wavy hair came up to the counter and grabbed a chocolate bar, opening it up in front of her and eating it.

“You going to pay for that, sir?”

The blonde boy just chuckled and walked back to his clan and played around. The biggest guy in the group looked over at her and chucked one of the VHS’ on the ground.

“You’re going to pick that up and pay for the chocolate bar, aren’t you?” She shrunk into herself. He walked up to her without saying a word and his boys followed. There was a guy with long black hair and charcoal eyes. The other one had eyes that could be seen on an icon of an angel with golden curly hair. She gulped as she looked at all of them. “Are we going to have a problem?”

The one who took the chocolate bar just laughed and tossed the wrapper on the floor behind him. The one who seemed to own the group just gave a small smile. “We don’t pay for anything unless we like it.”

Heidi was confused by these boys. They barely said a word but they stopped in like those were their grounds. She looked for Max to show up and help her. He would surely know what to do. She was petrified by the idea that they might have guns or they would take the money. Her heart started pounding in her chest.

“Be kind and please go away.” She said in her sweet pleading voice. She hoped these boys would have some empathy left in their hearts. If there was anything left of Heidi, it was that she was full of empathy for the human soul and knew there was good in each person that crossed her path in the world.

The angel boy cackled for a moment before looking at the ground and folding his arms. Heidi was drawn to his jacket of many colors and designs. Patches were covering the whole thing like a masterpiece.

“Be kind and please go away.” The leader repeated mockingly and looked at the office door in the corner. “I think I’d like to see a manager or the boss.”

At that moment, that is exactly what happened. Max came nearly flying through the door and glared at the boys like an angry father. “Get out of my store. You aren’t welcome in here.”

The leader of the pack looked over at his boys with a smile dangling from his face. “Looks like we need to get out of here, boys.” They all walked out of the store in a line, taking their sweet time, as if Max held magical words. Only moments later there was the sound of motorcycles lighting up and screaming into the distance.

“Max, I’m so happy to see you. I didn’t know how to handle that situation and I’m sorry! One of them stole a candy bar and so when doing inventory, stock is going to be short a few quarters. Take it out of my pay if you need to.” She was freaking out now over the idea that he might think she did not do enough to save the store and would be fired.

Max walked through the store to make sure everything was ok and picked up the wrapper and the movie. “Go home, Heidi. You’ve worked a long day.” He began laughing as if what she said was the most hilarious thing in the world to him.

“I’m sorry, Max. Is something funny?” She was concerned by all of this. “When I get the money, I’ll pay for kung Fu or something to arm myself next time.” The last thing she wanted to do was lose this job on one of her first days. It was far worse than her losing the money she had made to classes she had no money to take.
It was no use as Max only laughed harder until he took a deep breath. “You did well. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He walked through the store again.

Heidi walked out of the store deep in thought as she wondered what had just happened in that store. Edgar and Allan must have been hiding in the store all along because once she was out, they automatically popped up by her sides. They liked the idea of this beautiful vixen being able to even talk to that group of guys.
Edgar looked up at her. “That was very brave of you. I’m for one impressed.”

Talking to these boys was the last thing she wanted to do but she felt like they would stick to her for a while now. “I’m not brave.” She went to the rail that was right up against the beach to look out upon the water and sat on it.

The boys did the same as her but tried to do cool moves that only landed their arses on the sand in front of them before sitting normally back up on the metal pipes. The mishap did make Heidi chuckle but she was quickly overcome by sadness. “Don’t grow up with hatred in your hearts. Hatred in your own heart will only lead you to destruction.”

“You don’t get what you did, do you? You had no fear. It was totally righteous.” Edgar fixed his cloth around his head.

“Truth, justice, and the American way. It’s the only way to stay pure in intentions.” She added to try to be nerdy to make the preteen boys happy that they weren’t alone in their dorky world.

“Truth, justice, and the American way.” The boys said in unison as they looked at each other and nodded as if to say that was the coolest one liner they had ever heard.

The faces of those four boys were engrained in her mind. Those were also guys she would need to stay clear of in Santa Carla.

“Those guys were vampires. Their whole lives have been compromised to destroy their beings anyways.”

These ideas were fascinating the Frog brothers. This girl was a dream come true to them. Girls never spoke to them, forget talking to them about sensitive subjects that were deemed inappropriate to most people.

Allan stood up with his back to the ocean and he held onto the pole tight. “We own a comic book shop down the block. We think you should come with us.”

That was the end of the tail of what she was willing to do. She was more than happy to make friends with these boys but at the same time, she was considered an adult and the last thing she wanted to do was look through comic books and pretend that they were fascinating to her. “Oh, wow! That’s a generous offer, boys. I’m tired. I have a long day ahead of me and I don’t have time do go with you. Maybe I’ll see you around though. Ok?” She stood up with a smile and rubbed Edgar’s head and looked at Allan for a moment. If she never saw them again, she wanted to remember their faces. They may be the nerdiest kids she had ever befriended but they were also clearly pure of heart and she admired that about them. They were so young and so innocent. The reason for coming to California was to keep in as much information about everything as she could, like a camera. But the cameras of the time could only handle so much. They didn’t pick up the best colors that the world had to offer. It was always grainy and the sound was not clear.

Heidi walked away and skimmed the boardwalk for signs of her precious guitar waiting for her somewhere in clear sight of her but she knew those guys were probably long gone and that they had most likely destroyed the beautiful instrument that was in her possession for nine years of her musical life. She knew she had to forget about it. There were plenty of other guitars in the world to buy and share her talent with the world. Her situation would get better. She would not stand for it to get worse. She still had a job that would help her significantly more than just playing music for people on the boardwalk. This was something steady for her to rely on. She met the Frog brothers that kept her spirits up that night when she needed a friend.

The life she led was not over. This was just the beginning of her adventure and her situation could only get better from here. The next stop was to find a place to stay and to buy a new guitar and know that she would have food to eat every day.