Dark Alley

He grabbed on my collars and pulled our distance closer again.

"Hey!" Mr. Anthony quickly breaks us apart, but by the time we're apart, he has already gotten what he need.

"This! How about just this?! Price for fucking up my face." He said as he holds my wallet on his hand proudly, he had snatched it out my pocket a second ago.

After he got my wallet, he probably realised there's nothing much else him and his squad can do since Mr. Anthony is here, they walked out the cafe with one last justification for his action.

"I don't see anything that's a permanent damage on him, he should be the one paying." He said while pointing at me and waving my wallet in his other hand before shutting the door violently.

"You alright?" Mr. Anthony asked with his eyes still fixated on them through the windows.

"I'm okay."

"How much did you lose."

"I don't know, couple hundred maybe...where are you going?" I asked as I noticed him scampering towards the exit.

"Getting it back." He said without turning back and just exited the shop, with quick steps towards the direction where they had went earlier.

"Wait!" I quickly jogged my way out to catch up to Mr. Anthony, telling him it's unnecessary to do so much for me.

After all, all I've done for him is stand behind a counter, I don't deserve all the help he's giving.

I caught a glimpse of him entering a dark alley nearby, and sprinted my way there amain.

"What? Yo what the hell?! Nrgh." Sound of struggling, I looked from a distance and it was Mr. Anthony, grabbing his wrists, searching for my wallet in his pockets with ease. His strength is incomparable to Mr. Anthony, nothing he does amounts to anything.

"Yo get off him man!"

"What the fuck?!"

The two other guys in the group came forward to help break him and Mr. Anthony apart, but were also unsuccessful, they're all athletes in school, yet nothing in comparison to Mr. Anthony, who just runs a cyber cafe.

During the process of taking out the wallet from his pocket, Mr. Anthony knocked two if them down to the ground, planted their ass firmly on the filthy floor of the dark alley.

"Argh!" They exclaimed.

"Get back to the cafe." Mr. Anthony said to me who had just arrived at the scene.

"You're so dead man!" He threatened, with his ass still dirtied on the floor.

Mr. Anthony didn't respond, he simply wrapped his arm around my shoulder and dragged me back to the cafe without looking back.

I got the money I earned back, and Mr. Anthony reassured me that nothing bad will happen to me as long as I stay close to this cyber cafe since he will always be there.

I feel helpless, and very guilty for not being able to return the kindness of Mr. Anthony. To the point where I asked, "Why do you keep helping me? I'm a good for nothing."

He wasn't responding for a moment, I was expecting the worst but,

"If you know that then you better work overtime tonight." He tapped on my shoulders then lets out a light-hearted laugh.

I lifted my head in awe and shock, then did a cringy salute gesture and said loudly and confidently, "Yes sir!"

"What was that? You watched Sean play that war simulator a bit too much haven't you?"

"Ah...uh..." He got me.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

It's the next day, I still wish to do something for Mr. Anthony to return his kindness.

Sean seemed to be in a terrible mood today, it happens often but this is the worst yet, he's not even playing any games, just lying on the table in front of the computer sulking.

"I'll get you something to drink, I'll be right back." Mr. Anthony said to Sean before heading out the cafe, which, I decided to follow.

"Woah, what would the shop do without a cashier?" He said when he noticed me following, then we talked as we walk.

"I just don't think I've said thanks yet, I'll treat you to a drink."

"Then we'll be heading in different directions buddy, I'm heading to the bubble tea store 'cause Sean loves that, but I do not like anything on the menu there, it's literally just explosions of sugar."

I don't I've ever had a beverage like that before, I came from a rather poor household after all. Explosion of sugar, that sounds nice, it's always a treat when I get to eat something sweet once in a while as it doesn't happen often.

"Well what do you like then?" I asked.

"I like a good surprise, just nothing too sweet."

"Um..." I don't know much about beverages and drinks at all, there's no way I could come up with 'a good surprise.

"You know what, forget that, that's an outrageous request, just work overtime for me if you really want to repay to favour."

"I...I gotta get home early too."

He laughed at my statement, not in a mocking way, but in a friendly manner, it's like I just made my first friend and we're trading jokes, it feels great.

"Alright, how about you pay for Sean's drink, we'll call it even."

"You got my entire wallet with hundreds of dollars inside back, gave me a job and taught me so many new thing, but after I pay for your nephew's drink, we're even?"

"Hmmm...yes!"

He laughed again, in a loud, genuine way, that laugh was contagious, it had me smiling too, this might've been the only time I've smiled in my 18 years of life.