One day we were chilling at the shop on a random Wednesday afternoon after school all are duties were up we were about to play one of the new games the store just received. No one had come in for an hour and we had already finished our duties for the shift. We are supposed to close up the shop at 11. Our manager was cool he would watch us on the store cameras sometimes but if we got the stuff, he wanted to be done during our shift we could goof off.
"So, what did Amira say?" Damon asked a little sarcastically since he knew I hadn't gotten the nerve on a random Thursday in September while we were playing Mario cart in the shop. Amira was a classmate that I was obsessing over for two years of high school. I mean I thought I was sneaky but there is no way a girl does not realize a dude staring at her for over two years. Her father was a CEO of some technology company and I know you're thinking why a daughter of a powerful CEO at a public school I guess her father went there and as a chronic average achiever like me I had zero chance or opportunity, but it gave me something to daydream about.
She had an amazing smile so bright it could lighten a whole room. she had the most amazing laugh too. Her hair was auburn, and it was so beautiful that it looked like fire dancing in a fireplace when she was in the sun, and her eyes were so light blue that it was like the sky was trapped in her eye.
"I'm laying down the groundwork right now," I replied as smoothly as possible for this ridiculous situation. Though I knew that response angered my friend like a scratching record over and over and over again.
"I say you go up to talk to her get rejected forget about her and stop starring like a puppy to a hot dog the more you wait the harder it will be to get rejected Cain," Damon said raising his voice for emphasis.
"Yeah, I'm going to listen to you," I said sarcastically in retort as I pointed up and down at him. We had a lot of similar features except I was fat and tall, and he was short and skinny but we both had dull green eyes, raven dark hair, and light skin. We used to joke about how we were brothers that just got switched at birth, He also had a ridiculous fashion sense though, he wore crazy stuff. I thought his closet was endless It seemed he never wore the same thing twice. While I was always wearing the same four hoodies over and over.
Today he wore a suit a purple tie red shirt grey three-piece suit he even had a handkerchief. I asked him once why he wore such seemingly random outfits while he was wearing sandals shorts a Hawaiian shirt and a big floppy hat.
"Next week is Cinco de Mayo" is how he responded after that I decide to never ask again. The reply nearly gave me a stroke on the nonsensical nature since it was December the second and raining. I knew he was right though about Amira though. I had had some not-so-subtle hints that if I didn't make a move soon id be spending a very cold last year of high school without the sunshiny breeze that id comes to know as her smile. Her father was planning to oversee a new project for his company out of state I knew I would lose the fraction of a percentage I had if I didn't find the courage to shoot my shot.
I once confessed to Damon how I felt about her, and he slapped me with a rolled-up notebook on the nose. Another reason I never got up the nerve to move past my bit of roadblock was Isaac. I cannot even begin to express my deep-rooted hate for Isaac.
He was the genius who came up with dong boy. He would beat on Damon whenever no one was looking last Going as far as to follow Damon home to beat the crap out of him. Just because he was defending himself when Isaac kept calling him dong boy. The biggest problem was that Isaac had been winning boxing competitions since pampers. If there was a person that represented steroids it would be him.
He was stuck like glue to Amira not directly but because Amber her best friend was dating him. Amber was a petite red-headed girl that Damon had dated for about a week last year that had dumped him for Isaac. Which is weird as they are complete opposites and Isaacs treats her as if she's important as a broken pencil.
One thing I will say in Amira's defense it seemed that she hated him as much as we did, I saw how her eyes would go icy every time she looked at him. I knew their fathers worked together and I guess her dad had told her to be nice at the front of the first year, but I could see the icy hatred she had for his antics and how her hatred had grown every day over the last two years.
That hateful look she gave him is what solidified my interest in her. His active attempts and her reactions and the way she swerved him at every single turn he made to get her were like watching wile e. coyote chasing road runner. It was truly a pleasure to see the bombs go off in his face.
"what's going on dong boy and fat ass, trouble in paradise," Isaac said to us when he entered the store with his thug Aaron.
"Just deciding who gets to Hang out with your mom this weekend I told Cain that he has to bite the bullet. But he just won't take one for the team" Damon bit back quickly startled at their appearance as they had never entered our shop. This was our one free place from that jackass.
Isaac put his hand on Damon's shoulder harshly and looked around checking if there was anyone that could get him in trouble if he hurt Damon. He must have been reassured when he saw that there was only me in the store. He started squeezing Damon's shoulder harshly as if he were trying to crush it. steven gasped in pain turned slightly and punched him in the nards.
That made Isaac loosens his grip and steven ran from the aisle to get behind the counter. Aaron tried to get in his way, but I threw a candy bar at the back of his head he lost balance and tripped into the mop bucket. I fist-bumped Damon as soon as he came behind the counter for that truly awesome hit. And Aaron went to help his boss get up like a good little minion.
"you're on camera dumbass's get out of here" Damon yelled at the duo.
"you're dead you little weasel I swear I'll get you" Isaac responded he opened his bag and shoved a row of stuff off the shelf and started to leave.
"Hey, you have to pay for that," I said "put it back now"
"Make me you Fat bitch" Isaac said with a laugh then ran out the door. In a moment of pure idiotic rage, I hoped the counter and ran after them. The brisk winter night air hit me like a truck going 60. The rain started to hit my skin as I exited the store I could see dark clouds in the sky proving my nose correct.
I got to the curb from the store an old homeless man named Marvin that would beg sometimes outside of the store. He was huddled under the awning. we would give him the leftover hog dogs from the display. I saw him run the corner yelling down the back alley and instantly knew that's where the two had gone. He always had this jar next to him he would hold that jar when he slept it never left his hand but when I passed him his hands were empty and he was yelling at bloody murder.
"Don't worry Marvin, I'll get them," I yelled out in a rush not fully stopping"Go Inside and get out of the rain Damon will get you some snacks."I saw his frown at my statement.
'wow Marvin has no faith in me at all ' I thought. I saw him move towards the shop over my shoulder as I ran. I kept running down the alley yelling for them to stop, I saw Arron's shirttail as he turned the corner of an alley and I rounded the corner, and bam.
One second, I was running and the next I felt pain on the side of my face. I could feel broken glass underneath me. I was facing the building with its big glass windows, and I saw my face covered in red and dark green liquid.
"Marvin is going to be so pissed about his jar," I thought as I was laying on the ground. I could get back up. I tried and fell again and decide to just lay there for a sec.
I saw the jar lid was on its side in front of my face I thought how Marvin had always covered it with his hands like he was smuggling gold or holding a baby. The words written on the lip Which I had never seen before were right below me and I read the word carved into the top "Ambedo".
The rain started to fall so cold so much worse than the breeze. I heard someone panicked screaming a name. "Not some name, that's my name" I thought "I can't believe I forgot my name" the dark green liquid was edging into my eyesight. As if my eyesight was a tv screen the light dimming and going black from the edges. Though I could see the crimson liquid surrounding the lid of the jar.
"That's a lot of blood, huh" I thought and then I descended into the darkness.