Page 2 of The Good Char
“Maybe we should stop for a snack before we hit the streets,” the blond one purred before bringing herself to the counter and leaning against it, trying to showcase her upper assets in my direction.Human men would find her attractive from what I had come to learn.
Me?I wanted to gauge her eyes out to see if I could fix her face into something worth giving attention to.
I ignored her and stared at the other two.The shortest of the bunch was the female with the timid voice.She had her dark hair pulled back in a neat ponytail, her hands clasped before her primly as she gazed up at the menu, oblivious to the wretched humans around her.
She had an air of innocence and my perchance for corruption gnawed at me the longer I looked at her.Her blatant lack of overpowering, frizzy mane done two sizes too big for her head only reiterated her submissive nature.How this one got stuck with the other two was beyond my comprehension.She didn’t even dress like them.In fact, she was the total opposite without any bright blue war paint splattered across her eyes like the others.
Fingers snapping stole my attention as I slowly turned my head to look at the annoying woman at the counter.
“Hey!I’ve been calling you twice now.I want an order of number three with a side of fries and the pink lemonade,” she barked out.
Without a word, I flicked my gaze at her once and completed her order in silence, continuing to eavesdrop on their conversation.This corner of the Hellscape Mall had nothing else going for it besides the insignificant chatters—part of my punishment, I was sure.
Chapter2
KIMMY
We’d been wanderingaround the mall for over an hour at Cindy’s insistence.Halloween was coming up and she wanted to find the perfect costume for one of the parties she had lined up.I didn’t mind being dragged along with her and Nicole but sometimes their explosive personalities could be exhausting.
But I loved hanging out with them anyway.
It was the perfect place to find what she needed.The hot pink neon sign on the outside was more than inviting and the fact that the building offered much needed air conditioning from the blistering sun also helped.Having grown up most of my life in the desert of Nevada here in Death Canyon City, the halloween decorations along the store fronts in Hellscape Mall only added to the spooky atmosphere.The city itself already had weird legends going on for them, so this was the icing on the metaphorical cake.The more we walked, the more excited I became over all the spiders and ghost and stringy webs.
We’d just finished hitting the upper level stores and decided to come downstairs to the food court for a short snack break.It was located right smack in the middle with all the best eateries.One of the food shops even looked like it was under construction.I was curious to see what was going to pop up there.
Cindy pointed us in the direction of The Good Char and my stomach cramped from both excitement and hunger.I haven’t had one of these since I was a teenager.The man working behind the booth was tall, dark and broody with his tattooed arms crossed as we approached.But I was caught by the expanse of the menu and the very delicious looking lemonade dispenser that was in front of me.It was a nice change from the hot teas my mother loved to drink and make for us at home.I should definitely get some lemonade.
Cindy was rambling beside me, as I continued to check out the menu with scrutiny.Wow, there sure were a lot of options for what could be done to a hotdog.This was so fascinating.
“Do you see him?”Cindy snapped, tapping my chest with the backside of her hand with annoyance, stealing my attention.“It’s like he is totally ignoring us.Rude.”
I inwardly winced, feeling her words were directed at me as well before looking over at the tall man behind the counter.My eyes widened when I realized he was staring straight at me.I quickly averted my eyes and went back to pursuing the menu while biting my bottom lip out of a nervous habit, mentally cataloging what I wanted.
Cindy did what she always did when she couldn’t get her way.She began to snap her fingers in front of the worker.I had to remind myself that our cultures were vastly different and I needed to not mentally judge her.
But if she had a mother like mine, she would have probably been pulled away by her ear by now.
“Hey!I’ve been calling you twice now.I want an order of number three with a side of fries and the pink lemonade,” she called out with her hand on her hip.
I was in awe of her audacity.Cindy was one of pretty girls with her hair beautifully teased before she left the house.
I obediently lined up behind her ready with my order, excitedly with my hands clasped in front of me.
“Three corndogs and three lemonades, you got that?”Cindy ordered again with emphasis.
Oh!How nice, she ordered for us!Without a doubt, the smell that came from this food stall was exquisite.I was drooling over imagining myself taking a huge bite out of the corndog when my attention was drawn to a small sign at the window.
I blinked a few times, slack jawed.It was the answer to one of my prayers and something I needed horribly.
I stared at it again, making sure I wasn’t seeing things.But I wasn’t.In big, bold black letters, HELP WANTED, stared right back at me.
“Holy cow!Look Cindy!”I pointed to the sign while dancing to the beat in my own head.This was it!I was asking for a sign the other night and here it was!
Cindy immediately snarked at my excitement and I felt myself deflate a little.
“Like, girl, there’s no way I would be caught dead working here.The guys will think you are a total spaz.I would rather work with my parents than a place likethis.”
I couldn’t be mad at her.It was because she would never understand the things I went through.She was rich and her parents were more than well off.She never had to worry about anything.
