Strangers in Town

Regina's life is boring. She had plans to go to university after school, get a career, move somewhere else, but then things went differently. So she's still stuck in her hometown, working at her parents' gas station. Gossip is all that Regina's living on these days and the most interesting gossip you can get in Lebanon (that is, gossip that doesn't concern people you've known your whole life about things you've seen coming from a mile away) is about the weird men living just out of town.

They're brothers, people tell each other, and they work in some kind of shady business, for sure. It's common knowledge that it's better not to be too curious about whatever they get up to.

The dark-haired man in the light beige trench coat and the younger man with him are a whole another thing though. Regina perks up when she sees them walking into the gas station shop. Just the two of them. Her day might become interesting after all.

She cranes her neck to keep them in her line of sight while they are browsing the store. The older man walks through the store with determination, apparently knowing exactly what he's searching for, while the younger one walks towards the candy aisle and spends the whole time just staring at it. Occasionally, both of them are screwing up their faces in what looks like confusion. There's a similarity in the way the expression manifests on their faces that makes Regina wonder if they're related. It would make sense if all of these strange men from outside of town were all just one big family. Possibly. She hopes it's not the case. Better not have some kind of mafia living next door.

"You can choose one candy," the man in the trench coat says, strolling back to the younger one. His tone is fond and he's smiling. Slightly. More like there's a quirk to his lips. He doesn't look like he makes a habit of smiling. But it looks genuine enough, so Regina accepts that he does in fact care for the younger man.

The young man's face lights up at that before he furrows his brows in concentration. Then he grabs a bar and holds it up in triumph.

They continue moving through the store and Regina has to admit she's fascinated. They pass the basket where the keychain plushies are on display. The disorderly way in which they are strewn about catches Regina's attention. She'll have to take care of it after they leave. The older man spares a glance at the display, trying not to stop, but Regina assumes that he loses the internal war with himself because he ends up making both of them stop to examine the keychains. Tilting his head, he picks up a small Bulbasaur and holds it up in front of his face. Then he turns to the other man.

"You want it?" he asks and gets the same childlike glee in response.

"What is it?" the other man asks, looking boyish with all of his joy, "it doesn't look like a real animal."

"I don't know." He opens the little booklet attached. "It says that it's a ' Po-ke-mon' here."

He's reading off the syllables as if he's never heard of the word before. The younger man nods with as much recognition as the older one, and now Regina is sure that the two of them can only be Father and Son.

They take the Bulbasaur and move towards her, laying their few items on the counter. The father pays for all of it plus gas for the car. He smiles at her and engages in polite, if slightly weird, small talk before the two of them leave her shop.

Regina observes them as they leave and get into a car. She can't tell what they're saying but after exchanging a few words, the younger man gets behind the wheel, looking pleased about it. She strongly prefers the two of them to the brothers they live with. They seem nice enough.

But maybe that's their ruse. Lulling them all into false security and distracting them from their shady business with genuine politeness and charm.

Regina takes out her phone to text her friends. She has gossip to spread and opinions to ask for.