The Donut Shop ✔️

'U' Stands for 'Unforeseen Circumstances'

Once Ethan and Tweed arrived in front of the bodega, which was cleared out from lunch-hour rush, they peered at the construction site of the soon-to-be Red's Doughnuts across the street from the side mirrors of Tweed's old, beat-up car.

"So what's your plan?" Ethan interrupted the silence, and Tweed turned to him. 

"I haven't the slightest idea, but it should be interesting to figure out on the way, right?" Tweed shrugged with a devious grin and got out of the car, straightening his clothes. Ethan followed him as he looked both ways, then crossed the street, fast approaching a man in a navy blue suit with gelled, ash blonde hair who seemed to be in charge of the whole operation.

"Hello, good sir. How are you today?" Tweed greeted, smoothing out his hair and clothes and extending himself to his full height. The man grunted while ordering around the construction workers, seldom looking at his clipboard. Tweed made a face at his back as he turned to Ethan, giving him a mischievous eye. 

What? Ethan mouthed, and Tweed just rolled his eyes, took up his wrist, and muttered a 'c'mon' as he tugged Ethan behind him. They slipped into the space between the shiny, plastic tarp covering the side of the construction site and the red brick of the next building.

"Tweed, are we about to-"

"Yes. We are. Now shut up and let me think," he said, and they stood in silence for a moment before Tweed's eyebrows furrowed together as he tugged the tarp. To both of their surprise, the black plastic lifted to reveal an almost-finished building. They both shared a look, and when the coast was clear, they darted through the tarp wall.

Tweed guided them inside the building. Ethan glanced up at the barely-finished building, tan bricks laid with wet mortar. Dust particles filled his nose, and he stifled a cough as he followed reluctantly, glancing around every two seconds to make sure no one was looking at them. All the workers seemed busy at the moment in the front. 

The rest of the interior of the building was very primal and unfinished. There were no doors anywhere inside, and the walls were a slate grey. Tarp covered some of the entrances to different sections of the building. The floors were rough, unpolished, and Ethan's shoes scuffed on the concrete. 

"Why are we even here? It's not like they're going to have their evil plan just laying... around..." Ethan stopped, his voice reverberating off of the walls in the vacuous space, once Tweed snatched something from the only piece of furniture in the whole building, a desk. 

"Tweed, put that back!" Ethan yelled to Tweed, who was examining the large plan, printed in scrunched-up handwriting on butcher paper. Squinting at it funny, Tweed brought it away from his face, scrutinizing it from afar, but he still looked befuddled.

"Ethan... Come take a look at this," he ordered Ethan, who had an all-encompassing sense of anxiety starting to build in him. Reluctantly, Ethan slid over to Tweed, who showed the map of the future building to Ethan. As Ethan gazed at the map, he grabbed it from Tweed, rubbing his eyes, and checking it again. Oh... my...

"Ethan, you know what these are, right?" Tweed asked his friend, who was staring at him wide-eyed. 

"Holy shit, dude... This is a demolition contract for Sol Bakery. He planned to be the sole sugary-pastry provider in Ridgecrest!" Ethan shouted, his voice getting squeaky. Tweed put a finger to his lips and glanced around to ensure that the construction crew of Red's Doughnuts hadn't popped in for a visit.

"He planned for Mrs. Heifenmeir to go out of business," Ethan whispered, this time with composure, and Tweed's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the paper, dumbfounded, before the clomp of dress shoes filled the air