The Fortune : The Inheritance Games

Chapter 2

Maybe he's lost

He doesn't seem to notice my sudden jump at his presence, much less the fact that I am rudely staring at him. He instead keeps his eyes on the bottle of Coca-Cola and the bottle of Pepsi Max he has in each hand, putting way too much thought into his decision.

I would go for the Pepsi Max

 I politely excuse myself to walk past him, and he moves without looking up. The aisle is small so I struggle to squeeze past him, but I'm eventually successful. I then leave him and walk to find Aiden. I know exactly where to find him, and my intuition is correct as I see Aiden browsing the sweets section like I expected. I walk to the next aisle over and grab a can of salted Pringles before walking to the counter to pay. I greet Dennis once more as I place the items on the countertop and search through my blazer for my wallet.

"No Mike n' Ikes today, Little Thief? Or have you got a pack in your pocket you thought you could nick?" he jokes, scanning the drinks. I scoff, playfully shaking my head, then look down out of curiosity about what's in front of me. Lo and behold, I see a packet of the berry mix Mike n' Ikes, my go-to option. I take it as a sign and pick them up.

"You knew I would come here and pick these up, ay?" I smile, tossing the packet towards Dennis.

He catches it and scans it, "Gotta keep the business moving," he shrugs nonchalantly. Once he finishes scanning, he taps a few buttons on the register, "Okay, that's £4.30." He turns to me, ready for me to hand him the cash. I stare at him, confused, as I glance at the items in front of me and do some maths in my head.

"Wait, no," I say, confused, "Mike n' Ikes is 1.25, Pirngles 1.49, two Red Bulls 1.85 each, isn't £4.30 altogether?"

Dennis thinks before letting out an "ah" sound and tapping the buttons on the register again, "Yeah, my mistake, sorry," I breathe a sigh of relief, I've always felt bad anytime he tried to make me underpay him, "That'll be actually £3.22."

I pause, clocking what he's trying to do, "Dennis, I can't-"

"Look kid," he interrupts me, "I know you need it, I've got a son a few years older than you, he was stressed during this time, anything I can do to make it easier for you I will, so your total is £3.22 and if you really really feel bad about this then one afternoon when you're free you come help me but only after your mocks are done, deal?" He offers his hand.

I think for a second, "Deal," I say, shaking his hand as my brother approaches from behind. I give Dennis what he claims I owe him "Thanks, Dennis," I repeat with a genuine smile. He gives me a warm nod as I step aside for my brother to walk up and pay for his stuff.

As Dennis scans, I place everything but the Mike n' Ikes and a Red Bull into my bag, I stuff the sweets into my inner blazer pocket and hold my drink in one hand.

"Do I get some sort of discount?" He asks eagerly with a smile.

"No." Dennis shoots, not saying a single word more during their interaction.

I let out a snort at the slight of my brother's deflation as Dennis puts on an annoyed act that he breaks as he hands my brother his change. 

"Cheers again, Dennis, see you around," I say, opening the shop door and walking out as my brother daps him up again, saying, "Yeah, see you around, Bossman." Dennis bids us farewell before turning to the only other person in the store.

We walk across the road to the bus station, waiting for it to come, and I look around us to find the usual mix of people. Two old ladies who take this bus to their salon to get their hair done, some uni students trying to get to the tube station, some businessmen and women going to the same station, as well as students from our school. I pass my can to Aiden, who, without a word, opens it and takes a sip before passing it back to me.