One

Eddy had never been incredibly interested in a career as a baker, but he was rather surprised to be fired from the job by his own mother. It wasn't much of a surprise, he was terrible. The final straw was the third batch of muffins he'd burnt that day. Still, he couldn't deny that it stung.

Kicking his way back to the house, he started to consider his options. He could always apply for a job in the city, but aside from a diploma, his skill set was limited to what little he knew about baking and the things he knew about tending animals, which he'd learned on the family homestead. The city was far enough away to make a commute impractical, so he'd have to get an apartment there. The service industry or general labor jobs that he was qualified for were unlikely to pay the rent.

Firmly without a clue, he took a slow, procrastinating stroll down Main Street. Things seemed oddly busy, with traffic mostly centered around the bait shop and boat ramp, the only place in town with easy access into the river. Eddy decided to explore the commotion. He really didn't look forward to recounting his firing to his father, so any distraction was a good one.

Lucky's Bait and Tackle was a small, vinyl-sided shack with a tin roof. It might have looked clean and new at some point, but Eddy couldn't imagine it that way. The rust on the roof, the algae on the siding, and the cracked 4-space parking lot were all vital to the feel of the place. The boat launch and a few floating docks were on the back side of the establishment, making it an ideal place for folks to pick up last-minute items for their fishing and camping trips. Old-timers sat on a bench out front to discuss local news and swap stories from their glory days.

Eddy stepped through the open door to the shop and found it more full of customers than he'd ever seen it. He did a head count to confirm - 8 people, not including the shop's employees. Darren, the owner, stood at the checkout counter as he always did. His son Jason was scrambling at the bait counter to collect worms, minnows, leeches, dough bait, stink bait, and whatever else resided in the coolers and bait tanks at that corner of the store. The customers who weren't waiting for bait seemed to be talking amongst themselves, so Eddy made a beeline to the checkout counter.

"Hey Darren, what's with the crowd?"

Darren looked up from his newspaper upon hearing Eddy's voice. "This is what's up with the crowd," he said as he pointed to the front page of the paper. "the state has authorized a bounty on bull carp as of this morning. They're giving five dollars a head for them. Hoping to finally get them out of our river system."

"From the look of things here, there won't be one left in the river by the end of the night." Eddy said, tossing a thumb over his shoulder at the crowded bait counter. "Actually, I did just, uh, free up my schedule a bit. Maybe I should take a crack at it, too."

Darren sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration. "Your mom fired you, didn't she? Well, she might be less upset with you if you come home with cash in your pocket and some fish for dinner, I guess."

"It might take more than that to convince her to let me back in the bakery, but she does love a fish fry. Do you still have my old fishing rod from when you'd take Jason and me in your canoe?" Eddy had grown up with Jason, and while less close than in grade school, they still met up from time to time to catch up.

A customer Eddy didn't recognized stepped up to the counter with a mountain of tackle. Darren started to ring it up, doing his best to politely shoo Eddy away to make some space. "It's under the tarp around back. Might be a little rusty, but it should hold up for one afternoon at least. Say hi to Justin before you go, you'll need some bait."

"Thanks Darren! Good luck with this crowd." Eddy said over his shoulder as he wove around displays of lures and fishing rods toward the bait counter.

He took his place at the end of the line and gave an upward nod of recognition to Jason when they made eye contact. While he waited his turn, he started to feel ridiculous. He used to love going fishing, but that was several years ago. His parents had even bought him a lifetime fishing license as a birthday present when he was 10. When he got to high school, studies became more important, and he lost interest in spending his free time on the river bank. Would he even remember the basics well enough to catch a fish?