The End Of The F***ing World (TEOTFW Novel Adaptation)

Episode Two- Part Two.

We sat in that stupid car for what felt like ages until the man decided to stop in a cafe. Obviously we had to stop with him.

The cafe was a roadside cafe, for truckers and stuff. It was the sort of place you'd expect people like him to go. He went to the counter, leaving James and I silently in a window seat, looking through the raindrops on the glass. The man had given James his jumper, and it was very grey and slightly too big.

I was still reeling from what he said. "I thought you said your mum was in Japan?"

"So?" James didn't look at me.

"So it's a bit different from being dead, isn't it?" I chewed a toothpick. James didn't reply so I spoke again. "This guy's a prick."

"What?" James asked.

"He's like, the worst kind of person." 

"He's alright." James looked at me.

"Why are you defending him? He's a murderer." I frowned.

"What?" James narrowed his eyes.

"He was in the army." I reminded him. "He's murdered people. And now he's buying a dog to murder other dogs with."

The man reappeared, now with a tray. His voice was thick from years of smoking, and whenever you hadn't heard him speak for a while it kind of took you by surprise how much of an old man he sounded.

"There you go." He put the tray down onto the table and sat down next to James.

"Thanks." said James.

"Yeah." I nodded, raising an eyebrow. I think James thought I was being a bit rude.

Everyone settled, and I noticed the man's wallet left open on the table. There was a lot of money in it, probably to pay for the dog. In the picture compartment there was a photo of a woman with a toddler and a baby. The baby had a weirdly round head, kind of like a potato. "Is that your family?" I asked.

He used a teaspoon to point at the picture. "That's the Mrs, Liz. Abby. And that's baby Jack."

"Jack looks like a potato." I told him.

He flickered his eyes from his cup to me. "You what, love?"

"Joke, joking." I shook my head. Picking up the wallet to look closer, I analysed more carefully this time. "He looks like a ham."

The man narrowed his eyes at me. James gulped.

"He does, though, doesn't he?" I laughed, holding the wallet up for them to see.

"No." James shook his head, stiffly. Traitor.

"You guys are so fucking boring." I dropped the wallet on the table and scowled at both of them before getting up and going to sit outside.

Alyssa didn't seem to know how to interact with people. She just said what she thought all the time. Sometimes people who didn't know her must've thought she was rude.

"Sorry." I apologised to the man for her behaviour.

"Don't be daft, son." He said. "She's a bit full-on isn't she, the bird?"

"Yeah." I stammered. "She can be."

"Well, that's women, eh?" He nudged my shoulder.

I pretended to agree. "Yeah. Maybe."