Joel was cutting through alleyways, looking at his notebook of instructions. It was surprisingly impossible to reverse Ally’s directions. The problem with using landmarks as guidepoints was when there were multiple “landmarks'' to go off of. For example, which stop sign at the four way intersection did Joel turn right at? No, Joel would need to turn left instead of right, since he was inversing these directions. Joel wsa inversing directions, reading ahead at multiple instructions to ensure certain landmarks, turning the wrong way at said landmarks, so on. Small mistakes piled up extremely quickly and inevitably Joel was lost.
As Joel stood in an alleyway, he scratched his head. It’d be nice to ask for directions, but Joel wasn’t too sure if he could trust the local homeless to speak coherently. Hell, they might just scream and suddenly stab him.
He turned the corner of the alleyway and saw a brown man in a suit handing an envelope to a homeless woman on the floor. The man grinned and extended his hand to shake, but the woman grumbled and turned away to peer inside the envelope. The man sighed and stood back up, turned, and locked eyes with Joel. Before he could react, the man gave a big grin and quickly approached the teenager.
“Good day, young man! How are you doing?”
Joel shuffled his feet. “I…uh…”
The man looked at Joel’s appearance. “Hm… you don’t seem as if you’re from this area. Lost, perchance?”
“Yeah, actually. Do you know how to get to Blackerd’s school district?”
The man stuck his hand out. “Well, first let's start with introductions. I’m Sajud! I’m a pastor at Central Hope church.”
Joel wiped his hands before giving a limp handshake to Sajud. “Ah…uh, I’m Joel. Just a student.”
Sajud nodded. “Well, I have to go back to church to give a sermon, so I’ll cut you a deal. I’ll lead you back to your home if you agree to sit down in one of my sermons.”
Joel shuffled his feet. “Uh…”
Sajud chuckled and spread his arms. “I mean, surely you can spare thirty minutes of the Lord’s word in exchange for directions, no?”
“I…I guess.”
Sajud patted his back and gave a roaring laugh. “Splendid! Let us go. I’ll give you a ride.”
Joel hesitated and took a small step back. “I, uh…”
The brown man frowned, before snapping his fingers. “Ah! I see. If you’re worried that I’ll kidnap you, you need not worry. Wouldn’t think of harming you whatsoever.”
Joel weighed his options. By taking this man’s invitation, Joel ran the risk of being taken away to another place. However, if Joel didn’t take this man’s offer, then Joel would be wandering aimlessly for perhaps hours. After a few moments of shuffling his feet, Joel nodded.
“Alright, fair enough. I can go.”
“Splendid!”
The two turned a block to see a black Cadillac. As Sajud clicked the keys in his pocket, the car chirped as it unlocked. Sajud opened the passenger seat as he nodded to Joel.
“After you, brother.”
...
The church was grand. It wasn’t as massive as some cathedrals, nor did it have the grandeur of one, but it was spacious regardless. The church was gated and church employees were helping out with parking. There were rich men and women in suits all greeting each other in the parking lot heartily. Sajud parked in a designated pastor parking spot, and stepped out with a wide grin. Almost immediately, other men in suits showed up and greeted him as though they were greeting the president. In response, Sajud held himself with his chin up and laughed in response to his colleagues.
Joel stepped out of the car and looked around in mild confusion. Sajud wrapped up his greetings with some of the church’s elders before stepping to Joel.
“This way, young man.”
Sajud gestured Joel past the front doors and into the main sanctuary. The inside of the church was deceptively big, with dozens of pews lined up across the room. Despite the tall ceiling and the empty space of the room, Joel couldn’t help but feel choked by the atmosphere of wealth that was exuded from some of the attendants.
Sajud sat Joel down in one of the pews closer to the front, and winked at him with a pat on the shoulder. “Wait here, brother. The worship starts in ten.”
Joel sat stiffly for the next ten minutes, quietly peeking left and right to see if he could find anyone his age. There were a few, but they all seemed to be children who were forced to attend due to their parents dragging them along. As the minutes ticked on by, everyone slowly settled down, and the pews quickly filled up. Joel himself was sandwiched by a wide man who ignored Joel’s presence and an elderly man who grinned at Joel warmly.
As the service started, people stood and clapped along to the upbeat music. After a few songs, everyone sat and prayed a bit before Sajud stepped behind the podium with a big grin. Sajud cracked a few jokes here and there, causing a response of chuckles and laughter from the church attendants. Then, he transitioned to his sermon…which had a “financial” emphasis.
“This widow, who only had three copper coins, was praised by Jesus for giving all she had. So we too, as his children, must do all we can to give to God. After all, if a poor widow can give her all to our Lord, then who are we to selfishly withhold the gifts received from God…from God himself?”
Sajud continued his sermon while quoting many more stories and verses from the Bible, twisting everything to fit his narrative of “serving God”. Feeding the five-thousand, the story of Job, the story of Zacharius, so on so forth. Sajud weaved everything to fit his sermon and when he finished speaking, the church’s band stepped up to play their last song as the offering basket was passed around. As the basket reached the wide man on Joel’s left, the man placed an envelope inside before handing the basket to Joel. Since Joel had no money (as he had given it all to the man from Victoria’s house), he passed it along to the elderly man on his right. The wide man raised his eyebrow as the elderly man sighed in disappointment at Joel. Joel hung his head in awkward embarrassment until the offering song finished. After the benediction, Sajud stepped up to Joel with a hearty grin.
“Well, my brother? How did you like the service?”
Joel hesitated. “It wasn’t bad, I guess.”
Sajud smiled widely, but the shimmer in his eyes stayed dull. “Listen, young man. I don’t come with the intention of ‘forcing’ anything, but if you don’t mind sharing… why didn’t you give offering?”
Joel frowned. “I, uh, flat out don’t have money right now.”
Sajud sighed and shook his head. “Nonsense, boy. If Paul could live life starving with very little to his name and still go down in the Bible as one of God’s greatest children, what excuse do we have?”
Joel pulled his wallet out of his pocket, causing Sajud’s eyes to beam. However, that excitement quickly died when Joel opened the wallet to reveal the wallet’s emptiness.
“No, like…I really don’t have any money. I’m just a kid.”
Sajud frowned. “Hm, fair enough. Can’t give what one doesn’t own, I suppose. Can I expect you to come to next service though? Same time next Sunday!”
Joel took a small step back as he shook his head. “Sorry, I’m a bit busy sorting things out on my own.”
Sajud tightened his lips. “Ah…well, I understand. I do hope you can find God in your journey, young man.”
Joel nodded, but right before he turned to leave, something popped in his mind. “Uh, actually I do have a question.”
“Yes yes?”
“In the Ghetto, why were you giving that envelope t-”
Sajud coughed loudly and laughed nervously. “Ah, that. Well…I’m in the firm belief that there are less fortunate souls in the world who just need a hand in getting back to their feet. So, I give them some…monetary donations from time to time, and urge them to come to the church.”
Joel tilted his head, a bit surprised. “Oh! Is that why your sermon was so mone-erm, financially focused?”
The tanned pastor scratched his beard. “It is a factor, I can’t lie. God should take utmost importance in our lives, yes. However, it’d be foolish to ignore the good that money can do in helping individuals. So, I try to encourage attendees who are more fortunate to donate to the church.”
Joel frowned. “But…why give them cash? Why not, like, I dunno, a sandwich?”
Sajud smiled. “Man shall not live on bread alone, Matthew 4:4. You can’t feed a man and expect him to live. Maybe they’ll save enough money to rent out an apartment to take shelter. Maybe they need money for medicine. There are multiple reasons one might need money apart from food.”
Joel wrinkled his brow. “I get the sentiment, but in the Ghetto? Won’t people just spend that money on drugs?”
Sajud tightened his lips, his eyes showing weariness at its corners. “Well…it’s a strong possibility. So I ask the less fortunate to promise that they’ll spend it on good causes, and not on temptations. If they can’t promise, then I can’t help them.”
“But if they lie?”
Sajud smiled softly. “Brother, everyone deserves someone to fall back on. If a pastor can’t trust them, then who will?”
Joel slightly scowled. Sajud had a point, but it also just felt so naive. While Joel could fully understand the pastor’s intent and actions, the two would never see eye-to-eye.
“Well…why do it yourself? Why not ask one of the church’s elders or accountants to do it instead?”
Sajud rubbed his stomach and nervously chuckled. “Ah…well, they don’t really know about the help I give to the folk in the impoverished area. It’s just something I do because of my own desires, nothing more.”
“But…you’re using the church’s money. Isn’t that like embezzlement or something?”
Sajud seemed mildly surprised at the sudden aggressiveness of Joel, but the pastor simply pursed his lips. “I don’t think so. The church is meant to help everyone in need of help. By using the church’s money to help our less fortunate brothers and sisters, that money is being used well.”
Joel felt an odd anger in his heart. It wasn’t really logical. Sajud had his beliefs and genuinely seemed to do what he could to follow his faith. He helped others. He trusted others. So…why was it that Joel couldn’t stand the man?
Despite the cold stone in Joel’s stomach, he nodded in respect. “I see. Well, I need to head back home before I make people worry. Thank you for…well…everything.”
Sajud gave another wide grin as he boldly stuck out his hand, to which Joel hesitated before limply shaking.
“Don’t be a stranger, brother! Come by whenever you can!”
Joel locked his jaw, but nodded. As he turned away from the church, all Joel felt was a crawling emotion that was difficult to identify. Anger? Rage? Disgust? It was only after Joel had turned the block that he could fully identify the feeling.
Guilt.
...
Joel, Huck and Ally sat down at the dining room table and were quietly eating leftover wings. Today’s events were exhausting. First the standoff with the man at Vic’s house, then his interrogation, then getting lost in the Ghetto, then the entire interaction with Sajud. Joel would need to organize his thoughts later on a piece of paper or something. Speaking of Sajud…
Joel cleared his throat. “Hey, Huck?”
Huck nodded, mid chew. “Hrm?”
“You’re Christian, right?”
Huck nodded. “Hrm.”
“Do you go to the church?”
Huck chewed for a moment before swallowing. “The big flat one, right?”
“Well…didn’t know there was another church in Blackerd, but yeah.”
Huck discarded the bones he was holding before reaching for another wing. “Personal preference. For me, it just feels like everyone cares more about money than God. Church is supposed to be this place where people support each other on their own individual journey’s with God, yet it ends up feeling like a club where you can humbly brag.”
“How do you feel about the head pastor?”
“You mean…what was his name…. Sabak?”
“Sajud.”
“The dude is alright. He has good intentions, but his approach just doesn’t click with me. Why are you suddenly asking me about the church?”
“Ah…ran into the pastor, and he invited me to church. Felt bad turning him down, so I attended a service. The sermon was…very money focused.”
Huck nodded as he bit into another wing. “Yep. Main reason why I stopped coming out. Now I just pray and read the Bible on my own.”
Ally placed a wing that was essentially still perfectly good into the bone pile. Huck frowned.
“Kid, there’s still meat on that wing.”
Ally frowned. “But its icky.”
“You just ate the skin, kid.”
“But it was crunchy!”
“Well, yeah…but you can eat the white stuff.”
“But it doesn’t taste like anything!”
“You’re supposed to eat the meat with the skin.”
“But it isn’t crunchy!”
“Kid, listen-”
As Huck tried to teach Ally how to properly eat a drumstick, Joel quietly ate his wings. He would go back to school tomorrow and then try to progress properly with Zephia. If all went well, she could help Joel out of the mess he was in. Joel quietly put his bones in the bonepile, gave a mild bow to show thanks for the meal, then began to wash his plate. As he washed the dishes, the creeping emotion from earlier came back to nip his heels.
Joel chewed his lips. Whatever. It’d all work out well. Joel finished scrubbing the few plates in the sink, washed up in the bathroom, and turned in for the night.
...
‘So…why’d you go home early?’
Joel reloaded his gun, then unloaded his magazine onto an incoming wave of zombies. ‘Oh… from the party?”
Jordan began bandaging her character under cover. “Healing, cover me. And yeah! You left only an hour into the party! What happened?’
Joel switched to a melee shovel and began to break down barricades. ‘I mean, there were a few reasons. One of ‘em was I had to suddenly work, boss called in.’
That was a partial lie. Joel was pardoned from the spahouse that day, but Mr. Giddles would always welcome working hands. Really, Joel felt out of place in such an extroverted environment. Plus…Bob was using the party as an excuse to bully Joel descretely by taking away Joel’s food and drinks and eating them with harsh laughter. The last straw was when Bob had slung his arm over Joel’s shoulder and proceeded to grope Joel’s chest with a cheeky grin. Joel ducked away and ran out of the house immediately.
Jordan finished healing and then began to set up barbed wire. ‘Beans. Fair enough, I guess. Shame you had to go so early though. You and Bob seemed to be getting along so well!’
Joel clenched his phone tightly, accidentally throwing a grenade at Jordan’s avatar. He could hear Jordan yelp and laugh in the background as she scampered to avoid it.
‘Missed me, you donut.’
‘Me and Bob aren’t friends, Jordan.’
Jordan finished setting up barbed wire, then her character turned and teabagged as the pair waited for the next round to begin. ‘And like I’ve been saying, you could be more than just friends!’
Joel began setting down mines. ‘No, Jordan, like I don’t like him.’
Jordan continued teabagging as she giggled in the background. ‘Relaxxxxx Joel! Your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell anyone.’
Joel sighed and dropped the topic. No amount of talking would convince Jordan that Joel just didn’t like Bob. The pair played a few rounds of Z.O.M.S., and before they knew it, two whole hours had passed. Joel’s phone was heating up a tremendous amount, causing him to rub his phone against his jeans to dissipate the heat.
‘I think we should call it here, my phone’s overheating.’
‘You should honestly invest on a tablet like I do so we could run the game for hours. Well, see you tomorrow!’
The pair signed off, and Joel left his phone charging against the wall. He got up, stretched, then grabbed a squeegee from the supply closet. While he stayed at the spa, he had to maintain the quality of the spahouse. That was the deal he had made with Mr. Giddles. It wasn’t a bad tradeoff. A few hours of pushing around water, picking up rags, and washing clothes in exchange for a place to stay with free wifi. His school didn’t provide free food, but there were plenty of people who threw away things from their lunch. It wasn’t the best living conditions, but Joel didn’t have a choice in the matter. His parents went on a ‘vacation’ and just never returned. After a few months of bills piling up, Joel did what he needed to do. Sure, he was always hungry and seeing naked old men wasn’t favorable, but at least he had a roof over his head.
As Joel stepped into the men’s changing room, Joel locked eyes with a very familiar boy. The person’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Joel? You work here?”
Joel stammered quietly. “...Why are you here, Bob?”
Bob stood there shirtless with a big grin. ‘My dad owns this place, why wouldn’t I use a free spa? Plus, now that I know you work here, I have more reason to visit!’
Joel tightened his lips as he felt the blood drain from his face. His only sanctuary of solitude and peace had just been invaded by his biggest nemesis. Worst of all? Joel couldn’t just run away this time.
Bob stripped completely with a wider grin. ‘Hope to get to know you, pal.’
...
Joel woke up with a mild sweat. The memories of his dream were already fading, but the feeling of fear and disgust remained. Joel’s heart was racing, so there wasn’t a point to trying to nod off again. Joel checked the clock. He had about one hour before school started. The teenager muttered, rolled out of bed, then stretched before heading off to the bathroom. After washing up, he headed out to the living room to see Huck typing away at his laptop. Upon noticing Joel, he looked up and nodded.
“You’re up early, kiddo. Want breakfast?”
Joel rubbed his stomach. “Yeah, I could use some food I guess. Where’s Ally?”
Huck guestured to the couch, revealing a lump under some blankets. The lump stayed motionless.
“...Is she ok?”
Huck nodded and sighed. “Yeah. Kid is super energetic during the day, but knocks out at night. I’ll let the kid rest for like ten more minutes, then try to rouse her. There’s some mac and cheese in the fridge, go microwave both boxes. We’ll head out at fourty-five.”
...
School was fairly uneventful. Joel turned in Zephia’s assignment along with his own, and sat down to learn about a subject he had learned a year ago. After a few hours of lessons, the final bell rang and Joel headed out to wait for Ally. Huck was busy in a meeting, so he had asked Joel to supervise her for the day. As Ally scampered out of the building with a massive grin, Joel waved his arm to the blond child. The pair then walked hand-in-hand to The Bottlecap.
As the door chimed, Gustavo looked up from the booths with a mild surprise. He finished wiping the table down, nodded to the children.
“Your timing is honestly impeccable. Huck just left.”
Joel frowned. “Why was Huck here?”
Gustavo gestured to the empty space. “No one ever comes by during the day, so Huck usually has meetings here during the day. He was talking with the mayor, but the two of them drove off somewhere to talk in further detail. Anyhow, what brings you guys here?”
Joel lifted his right arm, causing Ally’s left arm to swing up as she squealed. “Could you watch over her?”
Gustavo frowned. “You want a bartender to watch a child?”
“Yeah.”
“Any particular reason?”
“My teacher wanted me to drop off homework to another student.”
“Mm. You have proof?”
Joel internally cursed, but he rummaged his backpack to pull out the folded note from his binder. He handed it over to Gustavo, who plucked it out of Joel’s fingers. As Gustavo scanned the contents of the letter, his brow wrinkled.
“Hm. Zephia? Ain’t that Bera’s sister?”
“Yeah, her. I’ve been asked to drop off her assignments and go over the lessons with her.”
Gustavo rubbed the stubble on his chin, but he nodded. He returned the note as he walked over to the bar counter.
“So, guess that explains why you and Bera have been showing up at similar times recently.”
Joel scratched his head with a wince. “Yeeeah, kinda. Some stuff has been popping up, but we should be coming here at the same time more frequently.”
Gustavo shrugged. “Aight. Go have fun, kid.”
Joel gave a small bow of gratitude, waved bye to Ally, then headed out.
...
After twenty minutes, he rapped on the screendoor of Zephia’s house. A few echoing footsteps approached the door and Bera opened the frontdoor wearing a baggy grey hoodie. She nodded to Joel.
“Oh hey. Homework again?”
“Yeah.”
The house looked more disorganized than usual. There was a pizzabox on the kitchen counter, more clothes piled up around the hamper that rested in the corner, crumpled paperballs in another corner, and a red bra resting on top of Bera’s guitar. Blood rushed to Joel’s cheeks as he coughed and looked to the ground. Bera noticed Joel’s change in attitude, looked over at the mattress, then noticed the cause of his sudden discomfort. She rolled her eyes, snatched up the undergarment, and chucked it to the hamper.
“It’s a bra, big whoop. Zephia should be in the room. Let me know if y'all need something.”
Joel muttered an apology under his breath as he rapidly walked to Zephia’s door. He knocked on her door, coughed, then opened the door quickly. Zephia looked up from her bed wearing a simple shirt with no pants. Zephia screamed. Joel screamed. He quickly shut the door while saying apologies as Bera poked her head around the corner at the commotion. Joel closed his eyes, his head flush with sheer heat.
After a minute, Zephia opened the door quietly, peaking her head out slowly. Joel immediately got to apologizing as he bowed his head. Zephia dismissed his actions, not because she seemed to forgive him, but rather because the entire interaction seemed to be extremely awkward for all parties involved. After a few moments of awkward shuffling and avoiding eye contact, Joel timidly entered Zephia’s room and sat down stiffly in her room. He robotically handed over her homework assignment, and the two silently began to work. Once Zephia got stumped and leaned over to ask for help on a question, the tense atmosphere dissolved into a more academic one.
As the two of them wrapped up their homework, Joel decided to try and initiate a conversation. He asked about her art, and to Joel’s surprise, Zephia quietly opened up a bit. She showed off some newer pieces, in which all were extremely well detailed. The feathering of the sketches all complemented a grander picture, turning various lines into one cohesive character or setting.
Joel turned the page of a sketchbook to see the sketch of a woman reclining in a chair. “How long did it take you to draw this one?”
Zephia tightly held her hands. “Uh…maybe an hour?”
Joel laughed, but when Zephia quietly stared at the ground, his laughter died out as he stared at the artist. “Wait, seriously? You drew this in an hour?”
Zephia quietly nodded, and Joel’s mouth quietly opened as he focused on the drawing again. This wasn’t some rough sketch, yet it had a tremendous amount of detail. The tendons in the woman’s neck. The overcast shadow of the chair. The stretching of the dress as her arms were raised. All of this…in an hour?
“That’s…wow. How?”
Zephia slightly looked up with a mildly confused expression. “What do you mean? Is it bad?”
Joel shook his head. “What? No! The opposite. How could you add so much detail to something and then sketch it out with proper proportions in like an hour? Hell, you could give someone a week to sketch out something like this and it wouldn’t be near this level of quality!”
Zephia quietly looked to the ground again and muttered something under her breath, her ears flushing red. As she turned her back to Joel to pulled out some more sketchbooks, he quickly slipped a receipt into one of her sketchbooks and slid it under a pile of her books.
It genuinely felt like a waste to frame her. What a shame.
...
After some time, Joel and Bera left to go clock in at The Bottlecap. The dark blue nightsky gave off a cold aura, yet the warm breeze caressed their skin. Bera adjusted the guitar on her back as she cleared her throat.
“So…how’s Zephia?”
Joel looked at Bera. “What do you mean?”
Bera shrugged with her hands in her hoodie’s pockets. “I mean…is she ok? How’s her homework? Are you getting along with her?”
Joel looked down as he chewed his lips. “She’s…well, she understands the lesson eventually. We’re getting along. I mean, she isn’t too shy around me anymore.”
Bera nodded. “Cool, cool. You know she draws?”
Joel feigned fake surprise. “Oh? She draws? Didn’t know that, she never told me.”
Bera raised her eyebrow. “She never told you? Nevermind then.”
As the two continued to make smalltalk, the cold pit in Joel’s heart grew larger and larger. It was evident that Bera cared tremendously for her sister. Bera’s honest and relaxed personality only served to grow the doubt in Joel’s gut. Still, he put up a positive front until they reached the bar. The door jingled open with a chime, and the rowdy patrons roared in delight upon seeing their diva enter. Bera gave a small smile and waved to the drunkards, nodded to Gustavo, gave a small fistbump to Joel, then headed to the stage to tune her guitar. Joel tried to ignore the heavy seed inside of his stomach, and walked to the bar counter with a confident persona. Ally was doodling in a barstool, and waved with a cheer upon seeing Joel enter her field of view. The teenager forced himself to smile as he waved at the girl. Gustavo nodded to Joel, and handed him an order ticket as he pointed to a booth.
“They want another pitcher of beer. Hop to it, kid.”
Joel quickly settled into a rhythm of serving guests as Gustavo did what he could to contain the chaotic atmosphere. As he continued to work, Joel glanced around in mild confusion. Around this time, both Huck and Victoria would’ve been hanging out at the bar counter. Huck with his wings and Cola, Victoria tipsy with four empty bottle of Hermes. The absence of the two was odd.
As Joel grabbed some bottles from the fridge, he turned too Gustavo as he filled up a mug of foamy beer. “Hey, do you know where Huck and Victoria are?”
Gustavo placed the filled mug in front of a patron. “Mmm…I have a guess, but I can’t say. For Huck, its probably work related. I think Victoria is sick. I wouldn’t expect either to come in today.”
Joel nodded, and returned to his work. Honestly, it was probably for the best that they didn’t show up. Joel wasn’t sure if he could suppress his guilt upon seeing Victoria’s grin or the twinkle in Huck’s eye.
The night was fairly uneventful. Some drunkard got up and began dancing to Bera’s singing. Ally knocked out mid-doodle, causing Gustavo to quietly scoop her up and take her to a chair in the back. Joel was tipped twenty dollars by an older lady for being ‘so gosh darn cute’. After the bar closed, Gustavo and Joel cleaned up in silence. As Gustavo locked up shop, he nodded to the parking lot as he held a sleeping Ally.
“I’ll give you guys a ride home. I don’t think you’d be able to carry Ally all the way home. Red car.”
...
The apartment was surprisingly unlocked. As Joel stepped in with a drowsy Ally on his back and a takeout box in his hands, he saw Huck sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hands. Huck looked up with weary eyes.
“Ah, welcome home kiddo. Sorry about not being able to pick you guys up, work was…busy.”
Joel gently placed Ally on the couch and covered her with a blanket, causing her to mutter and snuggle deeply into the couch cushions.
“It’s fine. Gustavo dropped us off. Did you eat yet? He made you wings.”
Huck stared at the box and sighed. “That man knows me too well, hm? Yeah, I’ll take it. Thanks.”
Joel walked over to Huck and placed the takeout box on the kitchen table. Apart from the box, there was paperwork piled up in careful stacks. Joel grabbed a plate from the kitchen cabinet and placed it in front of Huck.
“Gustavo thought you were caught up with work. Guess he was right.”
Huck nodded. “Mm.”
“Is it normal for you to be working overtime?”
Huck chuckled as he began to open the to-go box. “Overtime? Not sure if you could consider it overtime, since I’m always on the clock.”
“Really? Don’t cops take shifts?”
Huck began to pick at a wing. “Normally, yeah. I work alone though, so no one to ‘cover’ my shift.”
Joel tilted his head mildly. “Huh? Why aren’t there any other cops?”
Huck pulled away some bits of meat. “Being an officer is dirty work, don’t think others should have to do dirty work is all.”
“I…guess? But don’t you get tired?”
Huck placed a sliver of meat in his mouth and chewed calmly. “Of course I do. That’s even more reason that I should continue to work alone.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
Huck chuckled. “I guess it doesn’t, huh?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2099KWWQt
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniKkP79TqV
Joel shrugged and left Huck to enjoy his meal in solitude. As he washed up and got ready for bed, he looked up at the ceiling. Everything was ready. Mr. Giddles would come, Joel would have his alibi, there would be no evidence contradicting Joel’s testimony, and he had even created someone with no background or written track record to take the fall for his sake. It was a perfect crime.
So…why did Joel feel like his heart was about to spill out from his throat?
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvAHYtu3I3
