(15): A story for that ass.
Title: C and J.
Genre: It's an urban story. It's about no good beatniks.
Rating: R (For Language)
I'm putting this up for your entertainment. You'll dig it. I know it.
The street was as busy as it was every day of the week. All kinds of cars rushed by and soon they appeared to be in an endless loop, the same pattern of colors and size over and over again. It wasn’t a loop and the day passed like it always did, a minute at a time. Cast sat on the green wooden bench along side the parking lot of the restuarant, his legs stretched so far out forward that he was slumped all the way down to where he was sitting on his lower back. He had an unlit ciggerette jutting out of the corner of his mouth. Cast seemed to be only able to grow a limited amount of facial hair, and it all resides on just on the bottom edge of his chin. Cast patted his side pockets with one hand while the other rested on his horizontal stomach, and he patted his side pockets and then the sides of his back pockets. He stopped and let the other hand fall on the bench. His face had a mix of blank-ness and frustration.
Cast was considered a thin guy, and it was easily explained without words once anybody has seen the amount of smoke that seemed to flow in and out of the guy’s mouth. He lived to smoke and that went without saying a word about it. His teeth seemed to be tinted faint yellow, but no one was really sure, even though his mouth was usually open and talking. He had been sitting, waiting by Biggie Burger for nearly ten minutes.
The glass door, the one that read 4 Biggies for a Buck, swung open and out stepped just the guy Cast was waiting for. His name was Jaymo, still decked out in his Biggie Burger uniform, but excluding the hat. He had that clenched in his hand from his own frustration. Jaymo was a little shorter than the lankier Cast, and Jaymo was an averagely hefty kind of guy. He had been fat as a kid, and he had lost a some of it by the time high school had ended, which didn’t seem too long ago. Cast pushed off the ground with his feet and sat up in his seat, getting ready to get up.
“You got a light, dog?”
Jaymo ignored the comment for now, but expecting Cast to be sitting there waiting for him just the same. “Man, this is bullshit. Who is he to act like he the reincarnation of God, talking shit to me right in front of everybody like that? No one.”
Cast looked forward and shook his head. “That ‘No one’ just fired ya’, homes. You should’ve just not come in today.”
Jaymo walked over and sat down on the bench next to Cast. “Nah, he’d prolly air-ship it to my house, and I don’t need my moms reading that. It’s not my fault either.”
They both said nothing for a moment, than Cast looked at over at Jaymo. “How’s it ‘not’ your fault, when you’re the one stealing Biggie Fries from the customers.”
Jaymo couldn’t find the words to answer that, then in a fluster in he said, “Man, it wasn’t directly from them. It wasn’t personal, man, I just make the fries and I think I deserve a little some’en some’en.”
Cast nodded, “You got a light though, right?”
Jaymo looked at him now, “Nah man, let’s go across the way to the Innie-And-Outie, get you some good ass, but cheap ass lighters. On me.”
Jaymo got up and started off and stepped off the concrete walk to the parking lot. Cast got up and walked after him, saying “Good they on you, dog, you got the motherfuckin’ job.”
“Yeah, yeah,” was said back by Jaymo half way across the parking lot.
“You did, anyway,” Cast added, laughing a bit from behind Jaymo, who turned back towards the Biggie Burger and stormed back a few steps, with a blare of aggravation on his face, before pitching the paper cloth hat at the building. It sailed, more like glided, across the lot and landed in the bushes by the door. Than, he and Cast kept on across the lot.
****
Cast entered first into the door of the Innie-And-Outtie and jogged to the front counter where the lighters were always kept. Cast looked over the cardboard boxes that held all the lighters, and saw that all the slots were empty and not a lighter was to be seen. The girl behind the register looked at him and asked “Can I help you?”
“Yeah, you can tell me when the fuckin’ smoker’s convention rolled on through here. Where are the lighters?”
“Oh, we, eh, seem to be out. I’m sorry.”
“Alright, I get it. Anywhere I can find a lighter?”
“Well, not in here, sir, we seem to be out.”
“Ah, I see, out of lighters.” He stretched his neck out and looked through all the boxes of empty lighters.
“Hey,” he whispered to the clerk while his eyes still searched through the boxes, even though her attention was already on him. He swung his eyes away from the boxes and looked at her, and his face broke into a grin that could of almost been a charismatic smile, if it hadn’t seemed like he had half a lemon in his mouth. “You got a light on you?”
“No sir, we are out.”
Jaymo walked past him, and slid into one of the isles. Jaymo called out from nearly the back of the store, saying “They’re out, Cast. Leave her alone.”
Cast nodded his head and backed off the counter, looking her up and down and commenting “All nice and shit,” then wandered off to find Jaymo. Cast found him in the magazine and book section.
“Whatcha looking for, dog?”
“Check it, a book about break dancing.” He nodded towards a wide yellow book on the book rack.
“Huh? You lookin’ for a book about break dancin’? You don’t even like breakin’ a sweat.”
“Man, I wasn’t looking for it, I just saw it.”
“Nothing worse than seeing a fat man dance, either.”
Jaymo looked at him, “Damn,” then back to the shelf.
“Last thing you broke was a coffee ta-“
“Dude, don’t make me knock out them yellow ass teeth of yours.”
“Alright, chill out.” They both looked back to the book.
“So,” Cast said, “We just looking at it now, huh.”
“Yeah.”
They looked at it. For a while, they both just looked at it’s yellow cover and the little stick figure on the front doing a spin on his hands. Without saying a word though, Jaymo just peeled off and left. Cast looked at him as he left, than back to the book. “Shit’s like karate,” he whispered to himself and plucked it off the shelf, flipping through it. Jaymo appeared a moment later. “You shouldn’t diss fat kids, bro. You know that all the fat kids in the world could rise up, and unite if they wanted to, fucking take over the world.” And Jaymo left again.
Cast put down the book and followed him. “The fuck else we need here, anyway?”
****
Jaymo sat on the couch, his uniform gone and he was now clad in a white and red jersey plus some cargo pants, and his hair, which had usually been straightened and combed back for work, was now back in twistie-knots, which ran in two columns of three, and had took him nearly two months to master. He was leaning back into the cushions with the TV on in front of him. He watched it but his eyes expressed only vague interest in it.
Cast came around to the couch from the kitchen holding a bowl and he looked at the TV screen from where he was standing.
“What’s on?”
“Nothing much. Whatchu’ got?”
“Just some shit I dug outta your fridge.”
“It’s not like I figured you slipped out my window and bought shit across the street. What is it?”
Cast sat down, telling him it was just noodles. “Oh, and is your mom coming back soon, dog? I owe her a ten.”
“Fuck man, you borrowed money from my moms?”
“Yeah, I’m paying her back like I said.”
“She ain’t around, nah. Yo you -“ there was a rapid, harsh knock on the door.
“Who be that, ja think?” Jaymo said, stood and walked around to the hallway that led to the door. Cast stayed on the couch, and began shoveling the noodles into his mouth as he watched the television.
Jaymo opened the front door. There was a tanned tall guy at the door, wearing a skull cap and decked out in leather jacket and some baggy jeans. His fingers shined with gold and silver rings, shining right into Jaymo’s eyes.
“What you want, chief?” Jaymo asked, put up a hand to block out the glare, as if he was putting up a hand to shade his face from the sun.
He rubbed his chin and grinned, than that smile faded but he still rubbed his chin. He tilted his head back, looking Jaymo up.
“Yo, I’m looking for the foo who thought he could steal my shit.”
“Huh? Why you looking for trouble, dog?” Jaymo asked, darkening his eyes.
“No, I’m looking for that fool who stole my gold lighter before I start going off.”
“I think I know who you looking for. Hold up.” Jaymo disappeared back into his apartment and went up to Cast, who was just finishing his noodles. “You steal this gangsters lighter?”
“Huh? What he look like?” Cast faced Jaymo now but his eyes were still on the TV.
“He’s got a skull cap and jacket. Could be packing, Cast, better get his shit back to him.”
“Never seen him before. You really think he’s packing? Tell him you’re here alone.”
Jaymo still lingered there, almost wondering to himself, but then quickly saying “You think he’s going to believe me going off back into my house and me talking to someone WHEN I’m by myself? He thinks I’m talking to someone, you understand. Nevermind, I’ll go talk to him.” Jaymo left and went back to the door. The gangster still stood there, no longer rubbing his chin but looking furious and impatient.
With a faked face of grief, Jaymo told him “Don’t know how to help you, buddy.”
“Dog, you better get me that lighter back before I start bashing foo’s in the mouth.” He leaned in, his face tightening up and giving Jaymo the crazy eyes.
“Ah, fuck that noise,” Jaymo shouted and was about to swing out a quick punch, when he saw something metal jutting up out of the gangster’s belt, then tripping forward in his sudden urge to bust him in the head and almost fell on his face, and then he jump-rolled back into his apartment. He kicked the door closed from where he had tripped back to, locked it, and tripped back into the living room. Cast was still there, the bowl now on the floor in front of him.
Cast looked at him as he got to the living room, “What up?”
“He,” Jaymo took a few rapid breathes, regaining his breath, staring straight ahead, “was packing. I think.” He looked back at Cast now, “Not sure. Maybe.”
“Oh.”
“Maybe he wasn’t.” Jaymo sat on the couch and leaned back.
Cast leaned back too now, and they both watched the TV. After a moment, though, Cast asked “Why did you run away?”
Jaymo leaned forward. “Don’t know. I thought we were in a fight or some shit. I don’t hear him now.”
Cast, still leaning back and expressing indifference, said “maybe it was a cell phone.”
“Huh? Oh, the thing that was tucked. Probably was. Shit, and I all bounced outta there, too.”
“Yeah,” and Cast now had a white unlit ciggerette in his mouth.
“Probally not even a good cell, probably a ghetto-ass motherfucker.”
“Probally is,” Cast said and lit his ciggerette with a golden lighter.
“You think I could go out there and see him ag-“ Jaymo stopped and looked at Cast and stared at him.
“Yeah,” Cast kept on, even with Jaymo’s unfinished question, proving his inattention to anything Jaymo was saying. Jaymo still watched him, watched him light it up and tuck the lighter back into his chest pocket, than him take a drag.
“Two things, homie,” Jaymo said after finally believing his eyes, “that’s his damn lighter, ain’t it? And number two,” he snatched the ciggerette out of Cast’s mouth, “I told you not to smoke in my house.”
“Oh, sorry.” He plucked it out of Jaymo’s hand and snuffed it out on the special calloused spot on his palm, that Cast gave himself by slowly rubbing rough objects on just so he could put lit smokes out on his hand.
“Dude, why the shit do you have his lighter?” Jaymo stood up, his voice getting louder.
“What, this one?” he plucked it out of his pocket.
“Yeah, damn, man. That’s his.”
“THIS one?”
“Yeah, homie. Gimme it.”
“Give you this one?”
Jaymo snatched it out of his hand, deciding not to say anything more, and went to the door. Jaymo unlocked the door, and stepped out. No one was there. He looked up and down the walkway that went his apartment and all the other apartments in the area, and no one was there.
“YO, dog, you out there?” he yelled out. No answer but an echo.
He closed the door and went back into the living room, and sat down.
Cast looked at him and said “What happened?”
“Nothing. Guy skimped off.”
“Can I get at that lighter -”
“No. Just eat your, I mean my, noodles.”
“Eh, dog, I’m not your sex slave.”
Jaymo looked at him, “‘The fuck? Man, the fuck is wrong with you? I don’t see no warning on the side of the pack of cigs that say they make you retarded.”
“Man, I’m finished with the noodles, dog.” Cast said seriously.
“Alright, then, go put the bowl away.”
Cast stood up, grabbing the bowl, “They were good, man, real good. I wished everytime I stole food from you they was that good.”
“Goddamnit.” said Jaymo, and he just leaned back more, watching the TV.
****
A few hours later, Jaymo was getting hungry himself, and they both were walking down the street to KFC.
“Man,” said Jaymo halfway their, just as they passed the old barber shop that was by Jaymo’s apartment complex. “I think I’m gonna roll by Biggie Burger. You gotta understand, there is this hottie that comes in every day, and I’ma see if she’s there today.”
“She eat the food you make?”
“Huh? I dunno.”
“Dog, if I was in your shoes, which are hella big, you big footed freak-ass, I’d be working all in Biggie Burger, and seeing a hottie, I’d slip all kinds of drugs in her McBiggie. Then, like, get a secret agent costume and shit, change real fast into it, and run up and go like, ‘COME WITH ME, if you want to live, that is,’ and she’d follow me anywhere, dog. I’d bring her back to your place -“
Jaymo put his hand out, “Wha-wow, what’s with this ‘bring her back to my place’? What’s with you bringing women back to my place?”
“Dog, I would bring her back to mine, but my moms asks a lot of questions.” Cast was saying, then he let out a quick “Oh,” and he almost jumped up in the air. He reached into a side pocket on his cargo pants, and he brought a thick plastic bag, and Jaymo could see clusters of clumps of green.
“Dude, the hell? You shouldn’t bring that shit out in the open!” Jaymo almost yelled, and looked around and down and up the street.
“Man, I got some cigs wrapped. You want to hit it, like that hottie at Biggie Burger?”
“Ah, man. Ain’t a good idea.”
Cast looked down for a moment, and got ready to put the bag away. Then Jaymo said “But you know I can’t turn the greens down.”
“Ha!” Cast said, and reached into the bag, and pulled out two previously-buried white rolled up ciggerettes, with green sticking out the ends.
---
Soon, as they prowled along the sidewalk, they were walking through clouds of what only could’ve been the air bourne remains of the ancient herb. Soon, they found themselves walking in the wrong direction, away from Biggie Burger, but luckily Jaymo gathered his head and turned them around. At first, Cast didn’t believe him, but he finally went with Jaymo on the right road.
As they walked along, and smoked on their withering cigarettes, Cast watched every pedestrian they went by closely, and he finally resorted to shouting “Newports,” at them, as if they suspected anything.
Jaymo finally said, “Dude, chill the hell out. They could be cops undercover or something.”
“Fuck dude, you think?”
“Man, I don’t know. Just chill.”
Cast watched the pedestrians harder now. Once, an haggard middle aged walked by, pushing a an empty cart along and eyeing them. Cast looked right back at him hard, mouth hanging open, seeing if he could see an officer badge shining from anywhere on him. When he didn’t, Cast said to him, “You’re cool, man.”
The homeless man grunted at this and continued on, mumbling to himself.
Jaymo kept walking straight while Cast wanted to veer off the sidewalk and into stores on a strip mall they passed by.
“Stay close. I don’t need you fucking robbing people rocked off your ass.”
“Man, I don’t rob people. I love people.”
“I know you do, Cast I know.”
They came to a road, and Cast hit the crosswalk button with is thumb. Jaymo had stopped a few moments before in front of the street, looking out at the stretch of painted path across the road.
“S’wrong, homeslice?”
“Dude ...”
Cast was chuckling to himself, “Homeslice ...”
“Dude, one of us takes a step off this sidewalk, we’re dead.”
Cast stop laughing. “It’s going to be okay, dog.”
“Man, I’ve been seeing ‘em. Been seeing the buses around lately.”
Cast looked at him intently, a seriousness coming over his eyes.
“Seeing the buses. You see bus stations around here? I don’t, motherfucker, and they’re lurking around, hunting. They’re hunting us, Cast.”
Cast was nodding slowly, agreeing.
“So what we gon’ do then, Mastah?” Cast whispered as seriously as he could.
“Well, Farnswerth, we gon’ go around.”
So they both walked along the sidewalk cautiously, looking out for renegade buses that looked eager to jump the curb, and they finally reach the steps to the an overhead bridge that lead up and over to the other side.
“That’s what I’m talking about.” Jaymo said with a breath of relieve.
They both walked across, and went down the stairs on that side. They walked another block, watching the people that passed by in hazy blur. For a long time, they walked in silence, still admiring the visuals that the world seemed to take on. Biggie Burger was another block and a half away.
“This the shit, though, right?” Cast said behind Jaymo.
Jaymo looked up into the sky, letting his mouth fall open.
“Jesus?” he finally said to himself.
Cast didn’t get it at first, then he whispered “No. It is his ... father. His Dad.”
“Jesus Senior?”
“Yes,” and his voice deepened, “and I am your fah-thur.”
“I thought you was Jesus’s pops?” Jaymo asked slowly, becoming slowly confused, and then spinning around, seeing Cast laughing. He lunged at him, and pushed him back, saying “Hey, stop faking me out. I trusted you, son, I trusted you. Damn.” He stormed off, leaving Cast bending over and laughing, more at the fact Jaymo had become pissed. Finally, when Jaymo was more than half a block away, he began sprinting after him, which he found quite hard coordinating.
-
Jaymo was the first to enter into the Bigge Burger, as Cast was out of breath and rubbing his chin when he had tripped when running after Jaymo and chinbutted the concrete. Luckily, it didn’t hit too hard, and his scraggily patch didn’t suffer.
Jaymo stopped halfway in, and looked around. It looked the same, but it looked better, cleaner. It could’ve been the ancient herb effecting his vision of the place, but it looked damn near a palace. He shook his head, and went up to the counter.
“Yo, anybody thurr?” He called back, sprawling out his upper-body on the counter, trying to strike up some attention of the cashier.
“Yes, can I help you?” said a young man that ran around a metallic counter in the back and up to the counter.
“Yeah,” Jaymo said smugly, and looked at it his name tag. He was going to rip on him by saying his name, as in ‘Yeah, (Guy’s name), I’m going to have a number forty. Not too hard for you, is it rook?’ But before it could even come out, he had to be able to read it. Which he suddenly found outstandingly hard. He leered over, squeezing up his eyes to focus. The young man just stared at him, then to his name tag, then to him, not getting it.
Cast finally wandered up behind him. He looked at Jaymo, then at the cashier’s name tag, trying to make a connection.
“Wha-“ Cast began to say, but Jaymo shook his head quickly, and Cast cut off his own words.
Jaymo stood up straight again. “Yeah, you CAN help me,” he said stoutly, “You can, rookie.”
“Alright, sir,” he said unsteadily, “What would you like?”
:”Look here then, Ahhh-lbert, I want a goddamned ... a goddamned number four.”
The cashier looked at him oddly. “My name isn’t Albert,” he said, and put his finger slowly up to his name tag, watching Jaymo’s face, “It’s Ed.”
“I’ll kill you!” Jaymo suddenly screamed in an almost femininely voice, attempting to leap up and over the counter, and only getting halfway up before Cast took a wild dive onto his back, pulling him back, and they both tumbled to the ground. Jaymo lay sprawled out, as did Cast, and they both lay unmoving on the ground, panting a bit each.
“I could’ve had him, C.”
“I know you coulda’, big pappa.”
“I could’ve ruined his family.”
Cast tried to stand up, and finally he managed. “That chicks going to be here, you want her to see you laying down, all tired out?”
“Hey, you think you could explain to her that I was in the process of,” he took in a short, slow breath, “of killing someone?”
Cast looked stared down at him as he leaned against the counter.
The cashier spoke up again, this time to Cast. “Is he alright?”
Cast looked at him, taking in deep breaths to replenish himself, took a moment to react, looked at the cashier, and waved a ‘it’s nothing’ hand at the alarmed Cashier.
--
When Jaymo could focus better, he found himself sitting up in a Biggie Burger booth.
“She come yet?” he whispered.
Cast was laying out on the booth bench the opposite of his. He sat up slowly, saying “I don’t know. Never seen her before.”
“Oh. Yeah.” He laughed a little at that.
“I saw some hot girlies walk in a while ago. I tried to mack on them, but then they noticed you and you were all drooling on yourself, and they were like, ‘is he special’ so I had to front, dog. I was all, ‘yeah, I run with these little special guys. I help them out and shit, I love helping retarded kids.’ and they were going for it, but then they were like, ‘fuck that’ and left.”
“Oh.” Jaymo whispered.
“Yeah. I think it’s ‘cause I called you guys ‘special’. I bet them bitches were special too. I bet they woulda macked on you if you were awake enough to talk, still drooling on yourself and shit.”
“Oh.” Jaymo whispered. “Dude’ems, what was that shit we toked on?”
“Oh, some jamaican greens. I gots it off J-Bird.”
“Who?”
“J-Bird. Guy’s always half-naked or full naked. When I rolled up in there, dude was naked. We sat down and we dealed. I used a chair though, the guy used his man-pouch as a bean bag chair.”
“Oh.”
“You going to be alright, big daddy?”
“Oh.”
“Gotcha’. Damn. I’d call a cab if you didn’t wig me out with that bus story. ‘Fraid to go outside now.”
Jaymo said slowly, “Them buses, man,”
“I know.”
Genre: It's an urban story. It's about no good beatniks.
Rating: R (For Language)
I'm putting this up for your entertainment. You'll dig it. I know it.
The street was as busy as it was every day of the week. All kinds of cars rushed by and soon they appeared to be in an endless loop, the same pattern of colors and size over and over again. It wasn’t a loop and the day passed like it always did, a minute at a time. Cast sat on the green wooden bench along side the parking lot of the restuarant, his legs stretched so far out forward that he was slumped all the way down to where he was sitting on his lower back. He had an unlit ciggerette jutting out of the corner of his mouth. Cast seemed to be only able to grow a limited amount of facial hair, and it all resides on just on the bottom edge of his chin. Cast patted his side pockets with one hand while the other rested on his horizontal stomach, and he patted his side pockets and then the sides of his back pockets. He stopped and let the other hand fall on the bench. His face had a mix of blank-ness and frustration.
Cast was considered a thin guy, and it was easily explained without words once anybody has seen the amount of smoke that seemed to flow in and out of the guy’s mouth. He lived to smoke and that went without saying a word about it. His teeth seemed to be tinted faint yellow, but no one was really sure, even though his mouth was usually open and talking. He had been sitting, waiting by Biggie Burger for nearly ten minutes.
The glass door, the one that read 4 Biggies for a Buck, swung open and out stepped just the guy Cast was waiting for. His name was Jaymo, still decked out in his Biggie Burger uniform, but excluding the hat. He had that clenched in his hand from his own frustration. Jaymo was a little shorter than the lankier Cast, and Jaymo was an averagely hefty kind of guy. He had been fat as a kid, and he had lost a some of it by the time high school had ended, which didn’t seem too long ago. Cast pushed off the ground with his feet and sat up in his seat, getting ready to get up.
“You got a light, dog?”
Jaymo ignored the comment for now, but expecting Cast to be sitting there waiting for him just the same. “Man, this is bullshit. Who is he to act like he the reincarnation of God, talking shit to me right in front of everybody like that? No one.”
Cast looked forward and shook his head. “That ‘No one’ just fired ya’, homes. You should’ve just not come in today.”
Jaymo walked over and sat down on the bench next to Cast. “Nah, he’d prolly air-ship it to my house, and I don’t need my moms reading that. It’s not my fault either.”
They both said nothing for a moment, than Cast looked at over at Jaymo. “How’s it ‘not’ your fault, when you’re the one stealing Biggie Fries from the customers.”
Jaymo couldn’t find the words to answer that, then in a fluster in he said, “Man, it wasn’t directly from them. It wasn’t personal, man, I just make the fries and I think I deserve a little some’en some’en.”
Cast nodded, “You got a light though, right?”
Jaymo looked at him now, “Nah man, let’s go across the way to the Innie-And-Outie, get you some good ass, but cheap ass lighters. On me.”
Jaymo got up and started off and stepped off the concrete walk to the parking lot. Cast got up and walked after him, saying “Good they on you, dog, you got the motherfuckin’ job.”
“Yeah, yeah,” was said back by Jaymo half way across the parking lot.
“You did, anyway,” Cast added, laughing a bit from behind Jaymo, who turned back towards the Biggie Burger and stormed back a few steps, with a blare of aggravation on his face, before pitching the paper cloth hat at the building. It sailed, more like glided, across the lot and landed in the bushes by the door. Than, he and Cast kept on across the lot.
****
Cast entered first into the door of the Innie-And-Outtie and jogged to the front counter where the lighters were always kept. Cast looked over the cardboard boxes that held all the lighters, and saw that all the slots were empty and not a lighter was to be seen. The girl behind the register looked at him and asked “Can I help you?”
“Yeah, you can tell me when the fuckin’ smoker’s convention rolled on through here. Where are the lighters?”
“Oh, we, eh, seem to be out. I’m sorry.”
“Alright, I get it. Anywhere I can find a lighter?”
“Well, not in here, sir, we seem to be out.”
“Ah, I see, out of lighters.” He stretched his neck out and looked through all the boxes of empty lighters.
“Hey,” he whispered to the clerk while his eyes still searched through the boxes, even though her attention was already on him. He swung his eyes away from the boxes and looked at her, and his face broke into a grin that could of almost been a charismatic smile, if it hadn’t seemed like he had half a lemon in his mouth. “You got a light on you?”
“No sir, we are out.”
Jaymo walked past him, and slid into one of the isles. Jaymo called out from nearly the back of the store, saying “They’re out, Cast. Leave her alone.”
Cast nodded his head and backed off the counter, looking her up and down and commenting “All nice and shit,” then wandered off to find Jaymo. Cast found him in the magazine and book section.
“Whatcha looking for, dog?”
“Check it, a book about break dancing.” He nodded towards a wide yellow book on the book rack.
“Huh? You lookin’ for a book about break dancin’? You don’t even like breakin’ a sweat.”
“Man, I wasn’t looking for it, I just saw it.”
“Nothing worse than seeing a fat man dance, either.”
Jaymo looked at him, “Damn,” then back to the shelf.
“Last thing you broke was a coffee ta-“
“Dude, don’t make me knock out them yellow ass teeth of yours.”
“Alright, chill out.” They both looked back to the book.
“So,” Cast said, “We just looking at it now, huh.”
“Yeah.”
They looked at it. For a while, they both just looked at it’s yellow cover and the little stick figure on the front doing a spin on his hands. Without saying a word though, Jaymo just peeled off and left. Cast looked at him as he left, than back to the book. “Shit’s like karate,” he whispered to himself and plucked it off the shelf, flipping through it. Jaymo appeared a moment later. “You shouldn’t diss fat kids, bro. You know that all the fat kids in the world could rise up, and unite if they wanted to, fucking take over the world.” And Jaymo left again.
Cast put down the book and followed him. “The fuck else we need here, anyway?”
****
Jaymo sat on the couch, his uniform gone and he was now clad in a white and red jersey plus some cargo pants, and his hair, which had usually been straightened and combed back for work, was now back in twistie-knots, which ran in two columns of three, and had took him nearly two months to master. He was leaning back into the cushions with the TV on in front of him. He watched it but his eyes expressed only vague interest in it.
Cast came around to the couch from the kitchen holding a bowl and he looked at the TV screen from where he was standing.
“What’s on?”
“Nothing much. Whatchu’ got?”
“Just some shit I dug outta your fridge.”
“It’s not like I figured you slipped out my window and bought shit across the street. What is it?”
Cast sat down, telling him it was just noodles. “Oh, and is your mom coming back soon, dog? I owe her a ten.”
“Fuck man, you borrowed money from my moms?”
“Yeah, I’m paying her back like I said.”
“She ain’t around, nah. Yo you -“ there was a rapid, harsh knock on the door.
“Who be that, ja think?” Jaymo said, stood and walked around to the hallway that led to the door. Cast stayed on the couch, and began shoveling the noodles into his mouth as he watched the television.
Jaymo opened the front door. There was a tanned tall guy at the door, wearing a skull cap and decked out in leather jacket and some baggy jeans. His fingers shined with gold and silver rings, shining right into Jaymo’s eyes.
“What you want, chief?” Jaymo asked, put up a hand to block out the glare, as if he was putting up a hand to shade his face from the sun.
He rubbed his chin and grinned, than that smile faded but he still rubbed his chin. He tilted his head back, looking Jaymo up.
“Yo, I’m looking for the foo who thought he could steal my shit.”
“Huh? Why you looking for trouble, dog?” Jaymo asked, darkening his eyes.
“No, I’m looking for that fool who stole my gold lighter before I start going off.”
“I think I know who you looking for. Hold up.” Jaymo disappeared back into his apartment and went up to Cast, who was just finishing his noodles. “You steal this gangsters lighter?”
“Huh? What he look like?” Cast faced Jaymo now but his eyes were still on the TV.
“He’s got a skull cap and jacket. Could be packing, Cast, better get his shit back to him.”
“Never seen him before. You really think he’s packing? Tell him you’re here alone.”
Jaymo still lingered there, almost wondering to himself, but then quickly saying “You think he’s going to believe me going off back into my house and me talking to someone WHEN I’m by myself? He thinks I’m talking to someone, you understand. Nevermind, I’ll go talk to him.” Jaymo left and went back to the door. The gangster still stood there, no longer rubbing his chin but looking furious and impatient.
With a faked face of grief, Jaymo told him “Don’t know how to help you, buddy.”
“Dog, you better get me that lighter back before I start bashing foo’s in the mouth.” He leaned in, his face tightening up and giving Jaymo the crazy eyes.
“Ah, fuck that noise,” Jaymo shouted and was about to swing out a quick punch, when he saw something metal jutting up out of the gangster’s belt, then tripping forward in his sudden urge to bust him in the head and almost fell on his face, and then he jump-rolled back into his apartment. He kicked the door closed from where he had tripped back to, locked it, and tripped back into the living room. Cast was still there, the bowl now on the floor in front of him.
Cast looked at him as he got to the living room, “What up?”
“He,” Jaymo took a few rapid breathes, regaining his breath, staring straight ahead, “was packing. I think.” He looked back at Cast now, “Not sure. Maybe.”
“Oh.”
“Maybe he wasn’t.” Jaymo sat on the couch and leaned back.
Cast leaned back too now, and they both watched the TV. After a moment, though, Cast asked “Why did you run away?”
Jaymo leaned forward. “Don’t know. I thought we were in a fight or some shit. I don’t hear him now.”
Cast, still leaning back and expressing indifference, said “maybe it was a cell phone.”
“Huh? Oh, the thing that was tucked. Probably was. Shit, and I all bounced outta there, too.”
“Yeah,” and Cast now had a white unlit ciggerette in his mouth.
“Probally not even a good cell, probably a ghetto-ass motherfucker.”
“Probally is,” Cast said and lit his ciggerette with a golden lighter.
“You think I could go out there and see him ag-“ Jaymo stopped and looked at Cast and stared at him.
“Yeah,” Cast kept on, even with Jaymo’s unfinished question, proving his inattention to anything Jaymo was saying. Jaymo still watched him, watched him light it up and tuck the lighter back into his chest pocket, than him take a drag.
“Two things, homie,” Jaymo said after finally believing his eyes, “that’s his damn lighter, ain’t it? And number two,” he snatched the ciggerette out of Cast’s mouth, “I told you not to smoke in my house.”
“Oh, sorry.” He plucked it out of Jaymo’s hand and snuffed it out on the special calloused spot on his palm, that Cast gave himself by slowly rubbing rough objects on just so he could put lit smokes out on his hand.
“Dude, why the shit do you have his lighter?” Jaymo stood up, his voice getting louder.
“What, this one?” he plucked it out of his pocket.
“Yeah, damn, man. That’s his.”
“THIS one?”
“Yeah, homie. Gimme it.”
“Give you this one?”
Jaymo snatched it out of his hand, deciding not to say anything more, and went to the door. Jaymo unlocked the door, and stepped out. No one was there. He looked up and down the walkway that went his apartment and all the other apartments in the area, and no one was there.
“YO, dog, you out there?” he yelled out. No answer but an echo.
He closed the door and went back into the living room, and sat down.
Cast looked at him and said “What happened?”
“Nothing. Guy skimped off.”
“Can I get at that lighter -”
“No. Just eat your, I mean my, noodles.”
“Eh, dog, I’m not your sex slave.”
Jaymo looked at him, “‘The fuck? Man, the fuck is wrong with you? I don’t see no warning on the side of the pack of cigs that say they make you retarded.”
“Man, I’m finished with the noodles, dog.” Cast said seriously.
“Alright, then, go put the bowl away.”
Cast stood up, grabbing the bowl, “They were good, man, real good. I wished everytime I stole food from you they was that good.”
“Goddamnit.” said Jaymo, and he just leaned back more, watching the TV.
****
A few hours later, Jaymo was getting hungry himself, and they both were walking down the street to KFC.
“Man,” said Jaymo halfway their, just as they passed the old barber shop that was by Jaymo’s apartment complex. “I think I’m gonna roll by Biggie Burger. You gotta understand, there is this hottie that comes in every day, and I’ma see if she’s there today.”
“She eat the food you make?”
“Huh? I dunno.”
“Dog, if I was in your shoes, which are hella big, you big footed freak-ass, I’d be working all in Biggie Burger, and seeing a hottie, I’d slip all kinds of drugs in her McBiggie. Then, like, get a secret agent costume and shit, change real fast into it, and run up and go like, ‘COME WITH ME, if you want to live, that is,’ and she’d follow me anywhere, dog. I’d bring her back to your place -“
Jaymo put his hand out, “Wha-wow, what’s with this ‘bring her back to my place’? What’s with you bringing women back to my place?”
“Dog, I would bring her back to mine, but my moms asks a lot of questions.” Cast was saying, then he let out a quick “Oh,” and he almost jumped up in the air. He reached into a side pocket on his cargo pants, and he brought a thick plastic bag, and Jaymo could see clusters of clumps of green.
“Dude, the hell? You shouldn’t bring that shit out in the open!” Jaymo almost yelled, and looked around and down and up the street.
“Man, I got some cigs wrapped. You want to hit it, like that hottie at Biggie Burger?”
“Ah, man. Ain’t a good idea.”
Cast looked down for a moment, and got ready to put the bag away. Then Jaymo said “But you know I can’t turn the greens down.”
“Ha!” Cast said, and reached into the bag, and pulled out two previously-buried white rolled up ciggerettes, with green sticking out the ends.
---
Soon, as they prowled along the sidewalk, they were walking through clouds of what only could’ve been the air bourne remains of the ancient herb. Soon, they found themselves walking in the wrong direction, away from Biggie Burger, but luckily Jaymo gathered his head and turned them around. At first, Cast didn’t believe him, but he finally went with Jaymo on the right road.
As they walked along, and smoked on their withering cigarettes, Cast watched every pedestrian they went by closely, and he finally resorted to shouting “Newports,” at them, as if they suspected anything.
Jaymo finally said, “Dude, chill the hell out. They could be cops undercover or something.”
“Fuck dude, you think?”
“Man, I don’t know. Just chill.”
Cast watched the pedestrians harder now. Once, an haggard middle aged walked by, pushing a an empty cart along and eyeing them. Cast looked right back at him hard, mouth hanging open, seeing if he could see an officer badge shining from anywhere on him. When he didn’t, Cast said to him, “You’re cool, man.”
The homeless man grunted at this and continued on, mumbling to himself.
Jaymo kept walking straight while Cast wanted to veer off the sidewalk and into stores on a strip mall they passed by.
“Stay close. I don’t need you fucking robbing people rocked off your ass.”
“Man, I don’t rob people. I love people.”
“I know you do, Cast I know.”
They came to a road, and Cast hit the crosswalk button with is thumb. Jaymo had stopped a few moments before in front of the street, looking out at the stretch of painted path across the road.
“S’wrong, homeslice?”
“Dude ...”
Cast was chuckling to himself, “Homeslice ...”
“Dude, one of us takes a step off this sidewalk, we’re dead.”
Cast stop laughing. “It’s going to be okay, dog.”
“Man, I’ve been seeing ‘em. Been seeing the buses around lately.”
Cast looked at him intently, a seriousness coming over his eyes.
“Seeing the buses. You see bus stations around here? I don’t, motherfucker, and they’re lurking around, hunting. They’re hunting us, Cast.”
Cast was nodding slowly, agreeing.
“So what we gon’ do then, Mastah?” Cast whispered as seriously as he could.
“Well, Farnswerth, we gon’ go around.”
So they both walked along the sidewalk cautiously, looking out for renegade buses that looked eager to jump the curb, and they finally reach the steps to the an overhead bridge that lead up and over to the other side.
“That’s what I’m talking about.” Jaymo said with a breath of relieve.
They both walked across, and went down the stairs on that side. They walked another block, watching the people that passed by in hazy blur. For a long time, they walked in silence, still admiring the visuals that the world seemed to take on. Biggie Burger was another block and a half away.
“This the shit, though, right?” Cast said behind Jaymo.
Jaymo looked up into the sky, letting his mouth fall open.
“Jesus?” he finally said to himself.
Cast didn’t get it at first, then he whispered “No. It is his ... father. His Dad.”
“Jesus Senior?”
“Yes,” and his voice deepened, “and I am your fah-thur.”
“I thought you was Jesus’s pops?” Jaymo asked slowly, becoming slowly confused, and then spinning around, seeing Cast laughing. He lunged at him, and pushed him back, saying “Hey, stop faking me out. I trusted you, son, I trusted you. Damn.” He stormed off, leaving Cast bending over and laughing, more at the fact Jaymo had become pissed. Finally, when Jaymo was more than half a block away, he began sprinting after him, which he found quite hard coordinating.
-
Jaymo was the first to enter into the Bigge Burger, as Cast was out of breath and rubbing his chin when he had tripped when running after Jaymo and chinbutted the concrete. Luckily, it didn’t hit too hard, and his scraggily patch didn’t suffer.
Jaymo stopped halfway in, and looked around. It looked the same, but it looked better, cleaner. It could’ve been the ancient herb effecting his vision of the place, but it looked damn near a palace. He shook his head, and went up to the counter.
“Yo, anybody thurr?” He called back, sprawling out his upper-body on the counter, trying to strike up some attention of the cashier.
“Yes, can I help you?” said a young man that ran around a metallic counter in the back and up to the counter.
“Yeah,” Jaymo said smugly, and looked at it his name tag. He was going to rip on him by saying his name, as in ‘Yeah, (Guy’s name), I’m going to have a number forty. Not too hard for you, is it rook?’ But before it could even come out, he had to be able to read it. Which he suddenly found outstandingly hard. He leered over, squeezing up his eyes to focus. The young man just stared at him, then to his name tag, then to him, not getting it.
Cast finally wandered up behind him. He looked at Jaymo, then at the cashier’s name tag, trying to make a connection.
“Wha-“ Cast began to say, but Jaymo shook his head quickly, and Cast cut off his own words.
Jaymo stood up straight again. “Yeah, you CAN help me,” he said stoutly, “You can, rookie.”
“Alright, sir,” he said unsteadily, “What would you like?”
:”Look here then, Ahhh-lbert, I want a goddamned ... a goddamned number four.”
The cashier looked at him oddly. “My name isn’t Albert,” he said, and put his finger slowly up to his name tag, watching Jaymo’s face, “It’s Ed.”
“I’ll kill you!” Jaymo suddenly screamed in an almost femininely voice, attempting to leap up and over the counter, and only getting halfway up before Cast took a wild dive onto his back, pulling him back, and they both tumbled to the ground. Jaymo lay sprawled out, as did Cast, and they both lay unmoving on the ground, panting a bit each.
“I could’ve had him, C.”
“I know you coulda’, big pappa.”
“I could’ve ruined his family.”
Cast tried to stand up, and finally he managed. “That chicks going to be here, you want her to see you laying down, all tired out?”
“Hey, you think you could explain to her that I was in the process of,” he took in a short, slow breath, “of killing someone?”
Cast looked stared down at him as he leaned against the counter.
The cashier spoke up again, this time to Cast. “Is he alright?”
Cast looked at him, taking in deep breaths to replenish himself, took a moment to react, looked at the cashier, and waved a ‘it’s nothing’ hand at the alarmed Cashier.
--
When Jaymo could focus better, he found himself sitting up in a Biggie Burger booth.
“She come yet?” he whispered.
Cast was laying out on the booth bench the opposite of his. He sat up slowly, saying “I don’t know. Never seen her before.”
“Oh. Yeah.” He laughed a little at that.
“I saw some hot girlies walk in a while ago. I tried to mack on them, but then they noticed you and you were all drooling on yourself, and they were like, ‘is he special’ so I had to front, dog. I was all, ‘yeah, I run with these little special guys. I help them out and shit, I love helping retarded kids.’ and they were going for it, but then they were like, ‘fuck that’ and left.”
“Oh.” Jaymo whispered.
“Yeah. I think it’s ‘cause I called you guys ‘special’. I bet them bitches were special too. I bet they woulda macked on you if you were awake enough to talk, still drooling on yourself and shit.”
“Oh.” Jaymo whispered. “Dude’ems, what was that shit we toked on?”
“Oh, some jamaican greens. I gots it off J-Bird.”
“Who?”
“J-Bird. Guy’s always half-naked or full naked. When I rolled up in there, dude was naked. We sat down and we dealed. I used a chair though, the guy used his man-pouch as a bean bag chair.”
“Oh.”
“You going to be alright, big daddy?”
“Oh.”
“Gotcha’. Damn. I’d call a cab if you didn’t wig me out with that bus story. ‘Fraid to go outside now.”
Jaymo said slowly, “Them buses, man,”
“I know.”