We wander from shop to shop all morning. Me, desperately searching for a job and failing miserably. Laddie soon begins to complain. He's manageable at first, but around the afternoon he gets really irritating and I regret bringing him along. I had no idea this would take so much time, though.
"I'm bored," he says as we head down a street, lined with little shops. He's walking so slowly I have to practically drag him along. "And starving. Can I get something to eat? There's a hotdog place over there."
"I'm sorry, Laddie," I say. "I don't have any money at the moment. That's why I have to go round all these shops. To try and get money."
I bend down to his height and look him in the eyes. He pouts and folds his arms across his chest defiantly, planting his feet firmly on the ground.
"Look, I'll only be a few more minutes," I say softly. "Or would you rather I drop you off at Star's shop?"
I say this, but I'm not even sure whether I can find it again. The entire boardwalk's like a maze to me.
Fortunately, Laddie has the attention span of a goldfish. "Hey, look! A comic book store!" he exclaims, jumping up and down excitedly and pointing behind me, face lit up. "Oh, please, Emma. Please, can I go look? Star and the big boys always say no."
I turn around, and sure enough, there it is, it's neon sign lit up and flashing. I wonder why the boys don't let Laddie go in. It just looks like a harmless comic book store from the front, at least. But before I can say anything, Laddie takes off.
He gets all the way inside the store by the time I catch him by the sleeve of his little leather jacket.
"Don't run off like that, Laddie!" I hiss.
"Sorry Emma," he says, not looking a bit sorry.
I can't help smiling at him, even though I'm still annoyed. "Okay, go on, Laddie. Go look at the comics."
At the very least it will keep him distracted for a bit. I follow him as he races from shelf to shelf, brushing every bright, glossy cover with his small fingers. I don't even think he can read very well yet, but it seems that just the pictures are fascinating enough for him.
Suddenly, I feel eyes on me, like we're being watched. I glance up and notice two boys glaring at us from between the shelves.
I hurry Laddie along, walking quickly through the aisles, but they follow us.
"What do you want?" I finally say, turning on them, irritated. We aren't doing anything wrong.
The two boys close in on me, looking us both up and down with a mildly disgusted expression.
"Seriously, what?" I repeat, pushing Laddie behind me protectively even though he squirms and protests.
They exchange a look. They're both wearing at least one camouflage item as if they're playing at being soldiers or hunters of some type. One has a red bandana tied around his head, one a beret.
"That your brother?" says the one with the bandana, nodding at Laddie.
I shake my head. "Do you want us to leave or are you just here for small talk?" I say sarcastically.
"You new in town? You've never come in our shop before," says the other one, ignoring my question.
"Maybe, but why is that any of your business?" I say.
The boys exchange a look again.
"You might want to come with us."
The one with the bandana grabs my wrist. I have my sleeves rolled up as it's a warm day outside, exposing my lower arm. Suddenly, he lets out a squeal and retreats back away from me to hide behind his friend as if I have an infectious disease. His friend immediately pulls out a sharpened stake and aims it straight at me. I put my hands in the air, confused, my heart thumping.
"She–she's one of them!" the one with the bandana says, frantically pointing at me.
"What? One of who?" I say, stunned. "Will you tell me what's going on, please? I'd like to know why I have a stake pointed at my throat."
"That tattoo on your wrist. It's a vampire symbol, is it not?" the boy with the beret says, nodding at my hand in the air.
I look at the tattoo Star gave me only yesterday. "Yeah. So what? Vampires don't exist. Run along and play your silly little kid games elsewhere. This is so stupid." I grab Laddie by the hand and go to make for the exit, but the boy presses the stake closer, stopping any escape. "And get that thing out of my face!" I yell. "You shouldn't have weapons like that. It must be illegal."
The boy stays stony-faced. "You can't fool us, girl. We know why you're really here. You want to hunt us down and kill us because we're a threat to your kind. Well, you're not escaping now."
I laugh in disbelief. "This is so ridiculous. I'm not a vampire, okay? I don't know what you nut-jobs are on, but you need to sort yourselves out mighty quick or I'll inform the police that you're going around waving weapons in your customer's faces." I pause, thinking. "Also, if I really was a vampire, why the hell would I be out during the day?" I gesture to the large windows at the front of the shop, filled with afternoon sunlight.
The boy with the beret lowers the stake. "Oh, so you're ... not a vampire?" he says slowly, looking intensely at me.
"No! Oh. My. God. They don't exist!" I throw my hands in the air, exasperated. I feel like slapping the pair of them.
They look to each other and nod. It seems as if they have their own secret language. Beret tucks his stake back into his thick leather belt.
"Look, boys. I need a job," I say desperately, taking the opportunity before they walk away. If I don't get a job by the end of the day, I don't know what I'll do. I need the money, even if it means hanging around these obviously mentally unstable boys. "I've been searching all day for one, but no one's hiring. Me and ... my brother are both starving. We haven't got a cent. If you're done accusing me of being a mythical creature, could you at least give me some work for the time being?"
The boys must see the pain in my eyes because they whisper to each other for a minute or two, then finally turn to me again.
"OK," bandana says. "We'll give you a job. But only because you're begging. And we could do with another pair of hands around here. But watch your back, pretty girl. One wrong move and, well, you might just find a stake in it."
"For the last time, I'm not—"
Beret puts a finger to my lips, silencing me. "You'd be surprised about what you'd find in Santa Carla. You don't know nothing, girly."
YOU ARE READING
cry little sister → t. l. b.
FanfictionAfternoon is used to running away, but what will happen when she arrives in Santa Carla and meets a strange group of boys that might just make her want to stay?
