Pests

Phylum Part 8

"PHIL!"

It sounded like I heard this through an audio filter; it was muffled and heavy on the bass.

Man how drunk was I?

I fought against my heavy eyelids and gauged my surroundings. I'm in the front seat of the van? Where did the party go?

"Phil! Are you okay? Wake up!"

Uncle Steve reached through the cracked open window and jostled me up.

"You've been out for hours Phil! The appointment took a lot longer than I thought and.. oh god, what's that smell?"

I deeply inhaled and couldn't recognize any stand out, dominant scent. Uncle Steve stood by me, grimaced, and immediately covered his nose and mouth with his hand.

"You really don't smell anything?"

This fucking kid is an idiot.

I looked at him and tried to shake off the overwhelming groggy feeling I had.

"I don't know what you are talking about Uncle Steve." I inhaled again. "Just... could you please calm down?"

At least I knew that I was upsetting him, I haven't seen it a lot, but I recognized his rage.

"Well gee Phil, let's think about this for half a second. What were you fiddling around with in the back of the van before I went inside?"

"I was... Oh shit, the Cyper."

There it is. Took him long enough.

"The fucking Cyper nozzle wasn't screwed on tight enough and now it's leaking through."

"That would explain why I feel this way."

"Phil, first off, you could have died if the window wasn't cracked open. Secondly, you know how expensive that shit is and how much we have to order!"

I hung my head. I know he gets upset when I debut my "I screwed up and I'm sorry face." It's not unlike an ashamed puppy dog, knowing he shouldn't have pissed on the carpet.

"Unbelievable Phil, you really didn't notice? I guess I have to watch you like you were a fucking infant now. How old are you again? How can I trust you to run a business after I leave when I can't even trust you to do the most basic upkeep things correctly? I mean, shit; this is the stuff that the part-timers or interns would do. Come on Phil! This isn't something a co-owner should be doing!"

Steve has never talked to me this way, so I decided to fight back and defend myself.

"Good! You know that I don't want this fucking hand-off pity job anyway. Who care about the bullshit family legacy stuff? Dad only ever started this business because he didn't have any talent in anything else!"

"Oh, so you think you're so different and better than him? What exactly is your amazing talent that will land you a high-power high paying job?"

Where is all this hostility from Steve coming from?

Before I could respond he cut me off.

"Yeah, I thought so. You're in the exact same boat he was in, except Stan's dad didn't give him shit. You at least have a business that he built from scratch and handed off to you, you ungrateful little asshole."

If only he knew of the powers I have. He makes a good point though, what the fuck can I do with this? I definitely could use this to have the upper hand in a lot of situations but how so, and in what capacity?

This fucking kid is eating away at my patience. I have to pay for it; I know he can't afford it.

"Steve, if all of this is about money I'll fucking pay for it... It's really not that expensive."

"I know it's not but it's the principal man, if you don't learn to not be wasteful now, you never will!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Okay Steve, I got it."

I know I'll hate this. After he moves I'll bail on this company and really get started... but in what?

He finally walked away to put his supplies in the back.

If this kid bails on this company, then all that his dad sacrificed for him would be for nothing. I can't let that happen, can I?

His thoughts continued to trail off, but I got interrupted by my phone buzzing in my pocket.

The caller ID didn't register.

"Hello?"

I always sounded extremely skeptical when I picked up the phone to an unknown number.

"Hey Phil, this is Brad! What's up man, where are you?"

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"Phil, it's a quarter to seven... did you still want to hang out tonight, are you feeling up to it?"

"Oh damn! I didn't know it was that late! Sure man, uh... where are you?"

"Well I'm just about done with my shift. Do you want to come back here and I can just drive you over?"

"Okay, yeah man sounds good."

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit."

"Cool later Brad. See ya."

I can't believe it's so late! I was asleep for five and a half hours? Jesus Christ that can't be good.

Steve sat down up front and turned on the ignition.

"So what's up Phil, where are we going?"

"Could you take me back to the Armadillo? I'll meet up with Brad and go from there."

Steve nodded and remained silent.

If it's a lost cause to try to teach him these things, then it's a lost cause I guess. I'll be in Pueblo and not thinking about this crap anyway. Maybe I should just write it off entirely.

I knew he was upset, but it didn't matter to me. He was right, Should I try to calm him down, even if it is a total lie? He would eventually figure out that I had other plans; even if I didn't. Wait a sec. My eyes just lit up with an epiphany. Tonight will be a great way to gauge if I can really utilize my powers to persuade people. I'm suddenly a lot more excited by the prospect of heading to this party. I felt like a stereotypical evil old man, twiddling my thumbs and hatching a dastardly plan. All I needed was to be bald and have a cat in my lap.

What the fuck is on this kid's mind? I would love to be that far away from it all, all the time.

Without me knowing we have arrived, he parked right in front of the restaurant.

"Alright Phil, don't be an idiot tonight. Be safe out there! Smart decisions!"

"Okay Steve, I'll see ya later!"

Fuck him. I'll do what I want tonight.