A New Way of Living

Chapter Nine

Vivienne suddenly felt very alert, and knew exactly why. Glancing subtly over her shoulder, she couldn't see them, but she knew they were there. Then, like clockwork, she saw from across the street Riff, Balkan, and Diesel walking towards the hardware store. The other two didn't look in her direction, but Riff was watching as they crossed from one sidewalk to another, his gaze locked towards them with curiosity. He didn't miss anything. Vivienne fought the urge to roll her eyes - this was Jet territory after all - and turned back to Michael.

"Maybe," she replied, trying to be polite as possible.

"Would you like to grab a coffee with me? Now?" he suddenly asked, spurred on by her vague commitment.

"Umm..." She tried not to look back behind her again. "Maybe some other time. I should really get back and study."

He looked disappointed, but managed to hide it somewhat well. "Yeah, of course. Well, I'll see you round."

"See you."

As he walked away, Vivienne let out a breath. Interacting with her classmates was something she had tried to avoid, but being caught in conversation in her neighbourhood had been unprecedented. As she thought about starting to head back home, she heard the sounds of yelling from behind her. She turned around, seeing a small crowd begin to gather around where the Jets had wandered. She wanted to ignore it and go home, but her curiosity got the better of her and she found herself walking over, peering over the shoulders of those taller than her.

Outside the hardware store, Diesel seemed to be engaged in a yelling match with another young man. It was one she didn't know, but could see even from where she stood that he was Puerto Rican, and by her guess, a Shark. Balkan stood firmly beside him, but she noted the strangeness of how Riff stood back from them both, keeping to himself but sternly observing from behind.

"What the hell do you think you're doin' here?" she heard Diesel argue.

"Ellos no tienen lo que necesito en la tienda en nuestro extremo de la ciudad!" the Puerto Rican replied, somewhat desperate between his agitation.

More yelling ensued, and from nowhere she saw Ice, Mouthpiece, and Action appear from nowhere, leaving the Shark outnumbered. Upon realising this, he panicked, and threw something towards them, a hammer from the stand outside perhaps, and shoved Diesel back into some shelves. Then he was gone, slipping from the chaos quickly and slyly. Vivienne almost felt pleased for him.

Diesel stumbled up from the ground, face red with embarrassment.

"Hey!" the storekeeper yelled, appearing from nowhere. "You gotta clean that up!"

"I didn't do nothin!" Diesel snapped in return, his chest rising and falling in anger.

"I don't care. You no-good pieces of shit clean this up, now. Go hang out by the rubble and dirt where you belong."

Riff, now choosing to speak up, stepped forward.

"Oh yeah? How's this?" he asked, smirk growing on his face.

He then leaned forward and kicked over a stand containing boxes of nails, the contents tinkling onto the ground in a hundred ways.

As if they were all on the same sudden train of thought, Diesel now reached up and started throwing tools onto the ground himself, the other Jets joining in. It was childish and juvenile, and Vivienne crossed her arms disapprovingly at the sight of it. They all hollered and laughed as the storekeeper yelled. At the chaos, the crowd seemed to dissipate, and soon Vivienne was left staring at them as they suddenly ran out of things to turn over and destroy. Riff turned around, feeling her stare, and walked up to her before she'd had the chance to leave.