Setting Story
The man pulled up in the newly acquired, burgundy truck. The dust blew around like a miniature cyclone. The man parked his vehicle, and jumped out. He looked up at pale house, and the weeds that were beating against its walls. The walls cried out as they were beaten by the winds. The man limped over to the house, and opened up the small door.
“Shut the door, and pull up a chair.”
Jerry Dellano closed the door to the run down shack that he, and his associate Howard Mackitee were using as a base of operations.
“You make the phone call” Jerry asked as he walked over to the beaten couch that his partner was sitting on.
“Yep, dads reluctantly willing to pay. I also called Mr. Fallintiono, he’s sending his people over to handle the exchange” Mackitee replied in a quiet voice.
Crack! Jerry whipped out his pistol, and his head and arms did a full 360 around the small falling apart room. Jerry lowered his gun upon seeing the cause of the noise. The muted, hooded man in the cheap blue suit was flapping on the floor. The chair he was tied to banged on the floor as he tried to escape his bonds.
“Huh, I’ll get him” Howard said as he got up, and walked into the door frame. Mackitee grabbed the slightly out of shape, light blue paycheck, and pulled him up.” Mackitee pulled out his gun, and pressed the barrel against the man’s head. “Do you really think we’ll just let you run away? If you really want to live through this you're going to knock this crap off, and stay still.” The man begrudgingly shook his head.
“When are those guys going to get here? Jerry was getting worried; the extraction had been messier than planned. The target wasn’t alone, not to mention the bottle. Jerry rubbed his bandaged thigh at the thought. Almost on cue, the sound of a vehicle came from outside the boarded up windows.
“Go welcome the cavalry” Mackitee shouted from the tiny bedroom.
“Yeah, make the cripple walk” Jerry said as he hobbled over to small door. Bam! Splinters ripped into Jerry’s body, knocking the man back. Mackitee ran out of the bedroom with his pistol raised. “I take it that's not Fallentino.”
“What gave it away” Jerry replied as he crawled across the room as blood ran down his body. The boards covering the window started getting blown apart. “Grab the lawyer quick.” Jerry fired at the exposed window while Mackitee ran to grab the lawyer.
Mackitee ran into the bedroom only to find the squeamish man had once again fallen on his back. As Mackitee was untying the weak man from his chair, several bullets ripped through the boarded window behind him. Mackitee hit the ground landing directly on top of the terrified hostage.
“Bring him over” drywall exploded onto Jerry. “Howard bring him the hell over.” A bullet slammed into Jerry’s back.
Wayne Nicolette who at this point had been having a very inadequate day lowered Mackitee’s gun. Running to the window, Wayne waved his hands in the air. “Hey it’s me hold your fire, hold your” Wayne was cut off from his pleading when a stray bullet clipped his left pinkie finger.
Sometime later, Wayne was in the back of a black van with a bandaged hand, his father's men surrounding him. “You could have killed me. You just shot up the damn building.” “Your father thought wasting money would be unnecessary since we could handle it.” the driver replied his face hidden in a barrage of smoke.
“How, how did you guys find me?”
“When you got your teeth out your dad had you chipped.”
Wayne shook his head, and then hit the vans wall. He was going to need a drink.
“Shut the door, and pull up a chair.”
Jerry Dellano closed the door to the run down shack that he, and his associate Howard Mackitee were using as a base of operations.
“You make the phone call” Jerry asked as he walked over to the beaten couch that his partner was sitting on.
“Yep, dads reluctantly willing to pay. I also called Mr. Fallintiono, he’s sending his people over to handle the exchange” Mackitee replied in a quiet voice.
Crack! Jerry whipped out his pistol, and his head and arms did a full 360 around the small falling apart room. Jerry lowered his gun upon seeing the cause of the noise. The muted, hooded man in the cheap blue suit was flapping on the floor. The chair he was tied to banged on the floor as he tried to escape his bonds.
“Huh, I’ll get him” Howard said as he got up, and walked into the door frame. Mackitee grabbed the slightly out of shape, light blue paycheck, and pulled him up.” Mackitee pulled out his gun, and pressed the barrel against the man’s head. “Do you really think we’ll just let you run away? If you really want to live through this you're going to knock this crap off, and stay still.” The man begrudgingly shook his head.
“When are those guys going to get here? Jerry was getting worried; the extraction had been messier than planned. The target wasn’t alone, not to mention the bottle. Jerry rubbed his bandaged thigh at the thought. Almost on cue, the sound of a vehicle came from outside the boarded up windows.
“Go welcome the cavalry” Mackitee shouted from the tiny bedroom.
“Yeah, make the cripple walk” Jerry said as he hobbled over to small door. Bam! Splinters ripped into Jerry’s body, knocking the man back. Mackitee ran out of the bedroom with his pistol raised. “I take it that's not Fallentino.”
“What gave it away” Jerry replied as he crawled across the room as blood ran down his body. The boards covering the window started getting blown apart. “Grab the lawyer quick.” Jerry fired at the exposed window while Mackitee ran to grab the lawyer.
Mackitee ran into the bedroom only to find the squeamish man had once again fallen on his back. As Mackitee was untying the weak man from his chair, several bullets ripped through the boarded window behind him. Mackitee hit the ground landing directly on top of the terrified hostage.
“Bring him over” drywall exploded onto Jerry. “Howard bring him the hell over.” A bullet slammed into Jerry’s back.
Wayne Nicolette who at this point had been having a very inadequate day lowered Mackitee’s gun. Running to the window, Wayne waved his hands in the air. “Hey it’s me hold your fire, hold your” Wayne was cut off from his pleading when a stray bullet clipped his left pinkie finger.
Sometime later, Wayne was in the back of a black van with a bandaged hand, his father's men surrounding him. “You could have killed me. You just shot up the damn building.” “Your father thought wasting money would be unnecessary since we could handle it.” the driver replied his face hidden in a barrage of smoke.
“How, how did you guys find me?”
“When you got your teeth out your dad had you chipped.”
Wayne shook his head, and then hit the vans wall. He was going to need a drink.
Four Visitors
The walls were covered in a combination of paint and cockroaches. Music faintly played in the background, however the lack of people made it irrelevant. Wayne Nicolette was an expert in the art of cheesy commercials, living off his father's money, and occasionally using his law degree. The lawyer sat behind his cheap desk in a cheap suit, sipping on equally financially stable vodka. Wayne knew he shouldn’t be drinking, it was business hours, but who in their right mind would come to this place? Almost on cue, the shrivel voice of Wayne’s secretary came over the com.
“Mr. Nicolette we have a client to see you.”
“Uh, send them in”, replied Wayne Placing the bottle at the bottom of the desk.
The rusty hinge on the door gave a sharp creak as the tallest man that Nicolette had ever seen walked in. Collins was the man’s name, and rip offing his renters was his game; allegedly. Collins explained that his renter’s had thought he had violated the contract that they had agreed to. Collins colon could burn anyone’s sense of smell. He was a fast talking man, averting blame at rapid-pace. His face burned red, and for a second, Nicolette thought that the pudgy man was going to flatline on his desk.
“- so as you can see I’m totally not liable for faulty carbon monoxide detectors. I mean god damn they’re not even positive about any lasting brain damage yet.”
Nicolette snapped back to reality, and was pushed back by the breath of the now hyperventilating Collins. “Well Mr. Collins I’ll be glad to take on your case, so leave your file’s here, and I’ll give you a call tomorrow”.
“Great, your a good man Nicolette”, said the glutinous man. Collins stuck out his massive hand, while reaching across the desk. The room was silent except for the straining sound of Collins straining blue suit. Nicolette begrudgingly took the piece of clammy flesh in his hand.
As Collins left the office, Nicolette adjusted his leather chair. “An actual case, not too bad for yourself Wayne”, Nicolette thought to himself. Reaching for his celebratory vodka, Nicolette put the bottle to his lips, only to be interrupted by his office door slamming open, and the bottle hitting the floor.
Crash! Nicolette looked up to see a man who looked positively petrified.
“Mr. Nicolette, you have another client to see-”
“Yes I cans see that, thank you Cynthia.” Nicolette said, aggressively cutting off his secretary.
“Ter-terribly sorry about that” said the stick figure of a man. Nicolette noted that the man was an anomaly of a person. He was cloaked in a faded, grey getup, yet his hair was as red as can be.
Tap, tap, tap, the man's fingers hit Nicolette's desk.
“It’s fine” Nicolette replied squirming in his chair. “I’ll have my secretary clean it up. So Mr., Mr.”...
“Oh, uh, Davner, Miles Davners.”
“Alright then, so Mr. Davners what, what brings you to my neck of the woods.”
“Your Wayne Nicolatte, right. The lawyer who cares about the customer.”
As Miles stuck his index finger at Wayne’s face, and saliva hitting way to close to Wayne’s hand then what was comfortable. “You’ve seen my commercial that’s good, I worked hard on that one” said Wayne as he leaned back as far as his chair could possible go.
“Yeah it’s on all the time on channel two, I practically have your guy’s address memorized. Never thought I would ever need it.”
“Mr. Danvers could you please just tell what is are you being accused of.”
“Alright, alright, so I was driving my car to work, I work at a butcher shop by the way.
“Tony’s Meat and Packaging?” Interrupted Nicolette.
“Yeah, that one, anyway so my boss John he tells me we got a big order coming up. There was this charity event for orphans or something, I didn’t really pay attention. Anyway I thought it was fine, but the next day the cop’s came to my door, I mean it wasn’t my fault, the cop just made me really angry. Anyway some bad stuff happened, so I got in my car, and came here”.
Wayne looked up at the vibrating Danvers who at this point was covered in a downpour of sweat. “Alright then Mr. Danvers, I got to say that stories sounds a little-”
Crash! The office door hit the ground with a thud, and before he could process what was happening he was facing the barrel of two guns. Wayne panicked, and in his attempt to raise his hands, he fell out of his chair face, face first into a puddle of vodka, and glass.
Several stitches, and some bandages later, Wayne was asked to answer some questions.
“Hello Mr. Nicolette my name is Lieutenant Morrison this is officer Lamont.”
Wayne looked at the two men who had caused him so much pain. The sirens in the background gradually got farther away. Morrison was an older man with a bearded face. He seemed to be a lazy man, which was saying something something coming from Wayne. His badge had a perplexing mustard stain on, which through Wayne off for the rest of the questioning. Lamont was the opposite of his partner, and mostly lead the questioning. He had a shaved head , and couldn’t have been be older than 33.
Three hours of questioning passed by. Lamont asked Wayne a question, Wayne answered, and Morrison yawned. Lamont asked Wayne what he knew, Wayne didn’t know anything, and Morrison had to stop his face from hitting the desk. Lamont angrily stomped out of Wayne’s law firm, Wayne nervously straightened his clip on tie, and Morrison breathed heavily as he trudged out of the empty doorway.
Wayne was alone in his office. Cynthia had booked it at the sign of cops. He would be meeting with Danvers tomorrow, so that wouldn’t be fun. Wayne pulled a bottle of vodka out of his desk ready for the end of the day.
“Mr. Nicolette we have a client to see you.”
“Uh, send them in”, replied Wayne Placing the bottle at the bottom of the desk.
The rusty hinge on the door gave a sharp creak as the tallest man that Nicolette had ever seen walked in. Collins was the man’s name, and rip offing his renters was his game; allegedly. Collins explained that his renter’s had thought he had violated the contract that they had agreed to. Collins colon could burn anyone’s sense of smell. He was a fast talking man, averting blame at rapid-pace. His face burned red, and for a second, Nicolette thought that the pudgy man was going to flatline on his desk.
“- so as you can see I’m totally not liable for faulty carbon monoxide detectors. I mean god damn they’re not even positive about any lasting brain damage yet.”
Nicolette snapped back to reality, and was pushed back by the breath of the now hyperventilating Collins. “Well Mr. Collins I’ll be glad to take on your case, so leave your file’s here, and I’ll give you a call tomorrow”.
“Great, your a good man Nicolette”, said the glutinous man. Collins stuck out his massive hand, while reaching across the desk. The room was silent except for the straining sound of Collins straining blue suit. Nicolette begrudgingly took the piece of clammy flesh in his hand.
As Collins left the office, Nicolette adjusted his leather chair. “An actual case, not too bad for yourself Wayne”, Nicolette thought to himself. Reaching for his celebratory vodka, Nicolette put the bottle to his lips, only to be interrupted by his office door slamming open, and the bottle hitting the floor.
Crash! Nicolette looked up to see a man who looked positively petrified.
“Mr. Nicolette, you have another client to see-”
“Yes I cans see that, thank you Cynthia.” Nicolette said, aggressively cutting off his secretary.
“Ter-terribly sorry about that” said the stick figure of a man. Nicolette noted that the man was an anomaly of a person. He was cloaked in a faded, grey getup, yet his hair was as red as can be.
Tap, tap, tap, the man's fingers hit Nicolette's desk.
“It’s fine” Nicolette replied squirming in his chair. “I’ll have my secretary clean it up. So Mr., Mr.”...
“Oh, uh, Davner, Miles Davners.”
“Alright then, so Mr. Davners what, what brings you to my neck of the woods.”
“Your Wayne Nicolatte, right. The lawyer who cares about the customer.”
As Miles stuck his index finger at Wayne’s face, and saliva hitting way to close to Wayne’s hand then what was comfortable. “You’ve seen my commercial that’s good, I worked hard on that one” said Wayne as he leaned back as far as his chair could possible go.
“Yeah it’s on all the time on channel two, I practically have your guy’s address memorized. Never thought I would ever need it.”
“Mr. Danvers could you please just tell what is are you being accused of.”
“Alright, alright, so I was driving my car to work, I work at a butcher shop by the way.
“Tony’s Meat and Packaging?” Interrupted Nicolette.
“Yeah, that one, anyway so my boss John he tells me we got a big order coming up. There was this charity event for orphans or something, I didn’t really pay attention. Anyway I thought it was fine, but the next day the cop’s came to my door, I mean it wasn’t my fault, the cop just made me really angry. Anyway some bad stuff happened, so I got in my car, and came here”.
Wayne looked up at the vibrating Danvers who at this point was covered in a downpour of sweat. “Alright then Mr. Danvers, I got to say that stories sounds a little-”
Crash! The office door hit the ground with a thud, and before he could process what was happening he was facing the barrel of two guns. Wayne panicked, and in his attempt to raise his hands, he fell out of his chair face, face first into a puddle of vodka, and glass.
Several stitches, and some bandages later, Wayne was asked to answer some questions.
“Hello Mr. Nicolette my name is Lieutenant Morrison this is officer Lamont.”
Wayne looked at the two men who had caused him so much pain. The sirens in the background gradually got farther away. Morrison was an older man with a bearded face. He seemed to be a lazy man, which was saying something something coming from Wayne. His badge had a perplexing mustard stain on, which through Wayne off for the rest of the questioning. Lamont was the opposite of his partner, and mostly lead the questioning. He had a shaved head , and couldn’t have been be older than 33.
Three hours of questioning passed by. Lamont asked Wayne a question, Wayne answered, and Morrison yawned. Lamont asked Wayne what he knew, Wayne didn’t know anything, and Morrison had to stop his face from hitting the desk. Lamont angrily stomped out of Wayne’s law firm, Wayne nervously straightened his clip on tie, and Morrison breathed heavily as he trudged out of the empty doorway.
Wayne was alone in his office. Cynthia had booked it at the sign of cops. He would be meeting with Danvers tomorrow, so that wouldn’t be fun. Wayne pulled a bottle of vodka out of his desk ready for the end of the day.
Group Story- My portion
Oxbow Park, Seattle - The day was generally terrible. The sun was bearing down which was unusual for Seattle, this particularly weather seemed to empower the people of thel town to run rampant. Hand held objects were disappearing at record highs, The treasury was having an incredibly hard time dealing with an influx of coins. Most importantly, however on this day, Luke Marrow was incredibly perturbed.
Luke’s sweat was gushing down on him like a tidal wave; going out for a walk might have been a mistake.
“Move it!” Luke slammed into the ground, and looked up aghast, at the thing that had knocked him over. It was jerk on a bike. Maybe on a different day Luke would have let the guy go, but you know what today Luke was done with this crap. Luke pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. He twirled it in his and pulled it back. A flock of pigeons shot out of hankerchief chasing after the angry biker.
Luke sprinted towards the felled biker, but just as he was about to reach him a small white object flew at him. Luke tried to duck, but before he could a rabbit slammed into his face. Luke slammed into the ground with a stunned look upon his face. The rabbit bit down on Luke’s face ripping into it. Luke grabbed the rabbid rabbit, and with all his might he chucked it away from his shattered face. Luke looked up. He had to get away.
“Hey jackass deal with this” “Oh no” The biker had walked over to Oxbow Park’s most famous attraction Hat ‘n’ Boots, The world's largest Hat and Boots. Thud! Thud! A giant rabbit hurried towards Luke. Luke knew the end was near, but he knew he would go down fighting. Luke pulled a penny out of his ear, and tossed it at the rabbit, and charged the beast.
Oxbow Park, Seattle (One Week Later) - The rabbits, and birds ran everywhere. The Fires had been burning for a week straight. Seattle was in shambles, and the cities destruction was continually overlooked by a bearing down sun. Similar incidents had popped up around the country: New York, Dallas, L. A. They had all suffered the effects of The incident in the park. Magic had begun to tear the world apart.
Luke’s sweat was gushing down on him like a tidal wave; going out for a walk might have been a mistake.
“Move it!” Luke slammed into the ground, and looked up aghast, at the thing that had knocked him over. It was jerk on a bike. Maybe on a different day Luke would have let the guy go, but you know what today Luke was done with this crap. Luke pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. He twirled it in his and pulled it back. A flock of pigeons shot out of hankerchief chasing after the angry biker.
Luke sprinted towards the felled biker, but just as he was about to reach him a small white object flew at him. Luke tried to duck, but before he could a rabbit slammed into his face. Luke slammed into the ground with a stunned look upon his face. The rabbit bit down on Luke’s face ripping into it. Luke grabbed the rabbid rabbit, and with all his might he chucked it away from his shattered face. Luke looked up. He had to get away.
“Hey jackass deal with this” “Oh no” The biker had walked over to Oxbow Park’s most famous attraction Hat ‘n’ Boots, The world's largest Hat and Boots. Thud! Thud! A giant rabbit hurried towards Luke. Luke knew the end was near, but he knew he would go down fighting. Luke pulled a penny out of his ear, and tossed it at the rabbit, and charged the beast.
Oxbow Park, Seattle (One Week Later) - The rabbits, and birds ran everywhere. The Fires had been burning for a week straight. Seattle was in shambles, and the cities destruction was continually overlooked by a bearing down sun. Similar incidents had popped up around the country: New York, Dallas, L. A. They had all suffered the effects of The incident in the park. Magic had begun to tear the world apart.
Perspective Story Part 2
I can still smell the burning. The horrid ash slammed into me like a frieght train. Creak! I was thrown out of my thoughts as the door opened. The man was the most average looking person that I’ve ever seen. If I had ever checked him out at the register, I would have forgotten him instantly. Well at least that wouldn’t be a problem anymore.
“Ms. Abernathy how do do? My name is Detective Morrison. I know you’ve gone through quite a lot, and I know you’ve probably had a rough day, but I just have to ask you a few questions”.
“Heh, A rough day! You think I’ve had a rough!” Yelling at a cop might not have been the smart thing to do, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer. The thought of all those people trapped in the speedy mart; the flames engulfing them. “I don’t know how the fire started, I don’t know why the speedy mart burned so quickly, and I don’t know why I couldn’t get the door unlocked.”
The detective gave me a look that screamed: Really, that's what you're going with? “What you don’t believe me, sorry if that sounds to convenient, bit that's what happened”.
His forehead creased and I could tell he just barely contained an exasperated sigh. “Easy, easy I believe that’s what you think happened. Nobody’s blaming you for what happened. Who knows how out of hand things could have gotten if you hadn’t called the fire department. We just would like to know the events leading up to the fire.”
“Huuuugh” I let out a long sigh, and my eye’s got a little teary eyed. I looked dead into Morrison’s tired, hazel eye’s. I bet he thought he had it real bad. Interview the weird survivor girl,I could already tell they blamed me. The way they all looked at me when they brought me in,and they weren’t wrong.
Knock! Knock! Detective Morrison sat up from his desk. “Excuse me Ms. Abernathy I’ll be right back.”
Morrison was gone but his question was heavy on my mind. It had been an average day. One of my coworkers was late, but I didn’t really mind. That guy was a self righteous jerk. Some people were grabbing cups of coffee, and some were just grabbing a bag of chips. I was talking to my brother Cory that day. My boss was always yelling at me to get off of my phone, but I didn’t see why it was such a problem. I wasn’t on it when I dealt with the customers, and half of them were ass holes anyway. It had been a normal conversation, we had been brief at that but then just as I was about to hang up…. Crash!
I yelled out in shock! Tears streamed down my face, and I sprinted outside of the speedy mart. As tears flew down my face. Part of it was grief, but part had been the smoke. Creak! My memories were taken from me by the return of detective Morrison.
“Ms Abernathy you’re brother earlier he was in a head on collision, he, he didn’t make it.
“Ms. Abernathy how do do? My name is Detective Morrison. I know you’ve gone through quite a lot, and I know you’ve probably had a rough day, but I just have to ask you a few questions”.
“Heh, A rough day! You think I’ve had a rough!” Yelling at a cop might not have been the smart thing to do, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer. The thought of all those people trapped in the speedy mart; the flames engulfing them. “I don’t know how the fire started, I don’t know why the speedy mart burned so quickly, and I don’t know why I couldn’t get the door unlocked.”
The detective gave me a look that screamed: Really, that's what you're going with? “What you don’t believe me, sorry if that sounds to convenient, bit that's what happened”.
His forehead creased and I could tell he just barely contained an exasperated sigh. “Easy, easy I believe that’s what you think happened. Nobody’s blaming you for what happened. Who knows how out of hand things could have gotten if you hadn’t called the fire department. We just would like to know the events leading up to the fire.”
“Huuuugh” I let out a long sigh, and my eye’s got a little teary eyed. I looked dead into Morrison’s tired, hazel eye’s. I bet he thought he had it real bad. Interview the weird survivor girl,I could already tell they blamed me. The way they all looked at me when they brought me in,and they weren’t wrong.
Knock! Knock! Detective Morrison sat up from his desk. “Excuse me Ms. Abernathy I’ll be right back.”
Morrison was gone but his question was heavy on my mind. It had been an average day. One of my coworkers was late, but I didn’t really mind. That guy was a self righteous jerk. Some people were grabbing cups of coffee, and some were just grabbing a bag of chips. I was talking to my brother Cory that day. My boss was always yelling at me to get off of my phone, but I didn’t see why it was such a problem. I wasn’t on it when I dealt with the customers, and half of them were ass holes anyway. It had been a normal conversation, we had been brief at that but then just as I was about to hang up…. Crash!
I yelled out in shock! Tears streamed down my face, and I sprinted outside of the speedy mart. As tears flew down my face. Part of it was grief, but part had been the smoke. Creak! My memories were taken from me by the return of detective Morrison.
“Ms Abernathy you’re brother earlier he was in a head on collision, he, he didn’t make it.
Character Sketch- Death's a Thing
“You ever wonder if the cold, inevitable hand of death is coming for you today”? “What, no, of course not” I managed to stutter out, while looking at the colleague beside me. I had only worked at Stewart’s pawn shop a few days, but I had already learned to stay away Joseph Kandor. In the short span of time that I had known him, he had slowly sinking lower, and lower into the depths of my disdain. He always brought up unnecessary, and horrifying stories about his relationships, interest, and work.
“Oh”, he said, as if that were an unusual response. He was flipping through a 23 year old TV guide, working on a crossword I think, he went through anything involving trivia in minutes. It was just another piece of waste that somehow managed to get to my place of work.
Now a bit curious I decided to probe him for a bit more context. “Is..is there a reason you would bring that up right now” I asked with nervousness abundantly clear in my voice.
“Well I was just thinking that with my dad dying yesterday..” “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know” “Oh it’s fine” he said, quickly cutting me off “that’s just what got me thinking me about death”. The way he said it was emotionless. His eyes looked on, his mouth stayed on straight, and the small, but jagged scar above his left eye moved just enough to make it eerily noticeable. I he hadn’t put down the magazine, you might have mistaken him for human.
Not sure how to respond, I awkwardly put my hand on his shoulder. Even though Joseph wasn't that tall, it still felt like reaching for that top shelf that you can never quite seem to reach. “I, I’m sorry man, I didn’t know” I finally spat out, not sure what else to say.
“Oh it’s fine, he kind of was a terrible father, I mean he missed my 7th birthday party to go see “Free Willy 3: The Rescue” in the theater.
“Did, did they rescue Free Willy 3”?
“I don't know he never took me.”
“Well that’s not great, but..”
“Oh, and let's not forget the time that he shaved my head, and pretended that I had cancer so we could cut lines at amusement parks”.
“Well, yep that is eye opening as to who you are as a person. I mean that is horrifying”-
Crack! Popping his knuckles, his glassy stare seemed to stop me in my in increasingly concerned tracks.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m way to tan to pass that of. He should have gone with my brother Francis, he’s way more pale than me. If he had done that the plan might have worked.
“Wait that’s what you’re upset about”, I yelled, even though it might locate the extravagant customers that Joseph convinced me to stay away from by coming done here. “Nobody should do that plan, you family is a bunch of horrible people.”
A befuddled look fell onto Joseph’s face at this proclamation. Scratching his brown hair, he turned to me and asked, “I mean if you want wait half an hour in line”.
“You're the worst” I exclaimed before turning to the thin, long line of stairs, that seemed to anticipate accidents. I stomped up to the main shop, but unfortunately Joseph was quite keen on following me.
“Now wait just one second” he shouted, his arm shooting towards my shoulder like a rocket. He didn’t have much strength, but the element of surprise made up for that. While he stood firm on the rickety stairs, my feet came out from under me.
Crash! The falling sound of the human body done 20 stairs suddenly came to a stop. My vision was blurry at best, and If joseph’s shirt didn’t have a primary color on it, the name escaped me in my last moments. As my vision started to go I heard a thin line of annoyance and tolerance, “Well...whoops”.
“Oh”, he said, as if that were an unusual response. He was flipping through a 23 year old TV guide, working on a crossword I think, he went through anything involving trivia in minutes. It was just another piece of waste that somehow managed to get to my place of work.
Now a bit curious I decided to probe him for a bit more context. “Is..is there a reason you would bring that up right now” I asked with nervousness abundantly clear in my voice.
“Well I was just thinking that with my dad dying yesterday..” “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know” “Oh it’s fine” he said, quickly cutting me off “that’s just what got me thinking me about death”. The way he said it was emotionless. His eyes looked on, his mouth stayed on straight, and the small, but jagged scar above his left eye moved just enough to make it eerily noticeable. I he hadn’t put down the magazine, you might have mistaken him for human.
Not sure how to respond, I awkwardly put my hand on his shoulder. Even though Joseph wasn't that tall, it still felt like reaching for that top shelf that you can never quite seem to reach. “I, I’m sorry man, I didn’t know” I finally spat out, not sure what else to say.
“Oh it’s fine, he kind of was a terrible father, I mean he missed my 7th birthday party to go see “Free Willy 3: The Rescue” in the theater.
“Did, did they rescue Free Willy 3”?
“I don't know he never took me.”
“Well that’s not great, but..”
“Oh, and let's not forget the time that he shaved my head, and pretended that I had cancer so we could cut lines at amusement parks”.
“Well, yep that is eye opening as to who you are as a person. I mean that is horrifying”-
Crack! Popping his knuckles, his glassy stare seemed to stop me in my in increasingly concerned tracks.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m way to tan to pass that of. He should have gone with my brother Francis, he’s way more pale than me. If he had done that the plan might have worked.
“Wait that’s what you’re upset about”, I yelled, even though it might locate the extravagant customers that Joseph convinced me to stay away from by coming done here. “Nobody should do that plan, you family is a bunch of horrible people.”
A befuddled look fell onto Joseph’s face at this proclamation. Scratching his brown hair, he turned to me and asked, “I mean if you want wait half an hour in line”.
“You're the worst” I exclaimed before turning to the thin, long line of stairs, that seemed to anticipate accidents. I stomped up to the main shop, but unfortunately Joseph was quite keen on following me.
“Now wait just one second” he shouted, his arm shooting towards my shoulder like a rocket. He didn’t have much strength, but the element of surprise made up for that. While he stood firm on the rickety stairs, my feet came out from under me.
Crash! The falling sound of the human body done 20 stairs suddenly came to a stop. My vision was blurry at best, and If joseph’s shirt didn’t have a primary color on it, the name escaped me in my last moments. As my vision started to go I heard a thin line of annoyance and tolerance, “Well...whoops”.