Day 56: Callahan's Grocer (Morning)

[boketa]

Goku was stuck against against the windows of the Doyleton grocery store. It was likely the young boy's face was fused to the thick glass now that he'd been standing there for about ten minutes, transfixed by the amount of food that was sitting in one location. What were the odds?! It was a chance too good to pass up. Honestly, when would this food

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[doneinthree]

Kirk arrived at Callahan's only in time to catch Spock's comment, but it was easy enough to guess what was going on between the young boy and the woman running the produce stand. How old was he? Ten, maybe as old as twelve? He might've been the youngest patient he'd seen so far, younger even than he'd assumed Landel or Aguilar wanted in their experiments, but Kirk had also seen far too much in these last two weeks to be surprised by the inclusion of young children. Although he doubted the boy was helpless (given what little he'd guessed of the Institute's criteria), it was probably a good thing Spock had stepped in. Somehow Kirk didn't think being a little kid would endear him to the townspeople, or save him from punishment with the "staff" who were already eyeing the scene.

"Friend of yours?" he asked Spock, the corner of his mouth curving in amusement. Maybe levity was a touch inappropriate given all that had passed last night, but Spock appeared to be physically and mentally in one piece, and Kirk was damn well going to be happy about that much. Delaying a few minutes to debrief his first officer wasn't going to change anything, anyway.

[boketa]

"Card?" Goku began to frantically check his person under all that shiny yellow plastic and denim. Eventually he came into contact with a hard rectangle that he had been chewing on in the bus. One of the witches had seen him and told him to stop before he ruined it. The monkey boy hadn't listened of course, so there were a few teeth marks around one corner of it.

He raised it up in the air and the clerk said,"Yeah, that'll work. Here--" She said as she bagged the produce and handed it to the boy. "You'll have to pay for it inside, I don't have a credit card machine--Don't eat it until you've paid for it!" The woman was at the end of her rope dealing with these wild patients. She turned her hard gaze on the two adults of the ragtag group. "Make sure he pays for that."

[dual_worlds]

"'Acquaintance' is more accurate," Spock simply replied in response to Kirk's question. "He has an incredibly perceptive sense of smell, which was once of help to me."

Granted, that help had come at a price. Goku had been so startled by the radio message that Spock had to later ask Ema for a rough transcription instead of hearing it for himself.

The woman didn't seem pleased by the boy's ignorance, and it appeared she was placing responsibility on him and Kirk. They could handle the transaction themselves, at least. Spock knew it was likely best to do that than leave Goku be, considering he was likely to cause a commotion if left on his own for too long.

"Understood," he said, then motioned toward the direction they needed to go. "This way, Goku. You must use your card at the register before you are allowed to eat." Spock glanced toward Kirk, a silent request for his aid. There was a chance the boy would wander off or refuse to comply, and Spock wanted to avoid making physical contact if possible. Someone as uninhibited as Goku would be uncomfortable for a touch telepath as himself.

[doneinthree]

"Acquaintance," Kirk echoed, not even bothering to hide his smile now. Trust Spock to treat even a child with all the cool detachment of a taxidermist. Granted, being a child in Landel's still put you in the exact position as anyone else (which was to say, hell on Earth and a hundred other planets), but it was a little hard to view the boy with such gravity when he was scampering around like an overexcited yellow duckling - and with Spock overseeing the situation like the put-upon mother duck.

Oh, how Kirk would've liked to see the two of them work together. "Any friend of Spock's is a friend of mine," he announced brightly, stepping forward to trigger the automatic sliding doors into the store. "Goku, right? I'm Jim." He couldn't say that he had any more experience with children than Spock (any at all would still put him above Kirk), but how hard could it be to pay for a single apple?

He let the other two pass before him before going through the doors himself, which put him alongside Spock again. Kirk glanced over to him, suddenly serious again. "Are you alright?"

yessss, how hard could it be?

[boketa]

"Yeah, I'm Goku! Nice ta meetcha!" He answered with childish zeal.

Everything was going rather smoothly until this new person named Jim exhibited signs of witchcraft. Goku jumped back from the sliding glass doors as if they were a giant maw, ready to pulverize him. He took a fighting stance, but the monkey boy seemed the only one cautious of the strange monster. Both Kirk and Spock entered without consequence. So, mustering up the courage (because that apple needed to be his right now!), Goku leaped over the threshold unharmed. Yes! Goku: 498, Monsters: 0!

Taking quick steps, he caught up with the two adults. He didn't mind picking up the rear since it gave him plenty of time to gawk to his heart's content. There was so much food! It was almost overwhelming. Goku had to come up with a plan to tackle this paradise.