DYSFUNCTIONAL • [ D. BOSTICK ]

|7.| scrooges

"What about at the gas station up the road?" Nora suggested, looking up from her phone.

"Didn't it get robbed just last week?" Devon asked plainly making her sigh.

"Walmart?"

He cringed.

"The organic market on Staples Avenue?"

He chuckled. "Do you think you can handle hippies and the smell of weed all day?"

She shrugged, "A job is a job." She said as she began filling out the online application.

"I suppose." He muttered before they fell into silence again.

It had been almost half an hour of them sitting in a random coffee shop, using the wifi. Devon occasionally glanced up at her to see her eyebrows furrowed and her lip between her teeth.

It hadn't been too long since Nora got fired, but she was determined to try and find another job as quickly as she could.

As she finally finished the questionnaire along with the application, she sighed. "Do you work today?" He shook his head.

"The bread in the kitchen is stale, I figured we could go feed it to the geese down at the park rather than just throwing it away."

"You seriously want to go feed one of nature's most deadly animals rather than literally anything else?" She shrugged.

"You have a better idea?"

-

"If I get attacked and die, make sure there's a Sabbath cover band and those Little Debbie Banana Twins at my funeral." Devon says as he parks the car.

Nora scoffed out a laugh at his sarcasm. "They're geese, not psychopathic murders."

"If you ask me, I'd say they are both."

As they both exited the car, they both walked side by side, Nora holding the bag of bread. It was fairly cold outside, they both had jackets covering their bodies.

The leaves were beginning to change color, and it was already sunset. The colors of the sky were painted in the small lake in front of them, the ducks and geese swimming around in the water and making noises.

Nora and Devon both sat on a swing, Nora simply rocking herself gently but Devon going full throttle and pumping himself higher and higher. Nora smiled at him since he was actually having fun despite his apprehension at first.

Nora had stood and walked over to the edge of the water, opening the bag of stale and partially molded bread. She sighed since they let it go to waste, but she figured the ducks would appreciate it more and it was only a little less than half a loaf.

She rolled the bread between her fingers into little balls and threw them in the water. Some of the ducks came onto the grass and crowded around her. She merely smiled softly and continued making sure each one was fed.

"Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea." Devon says as he suddenly approaches her. She smiled back on him. "Exactly. Stop being such a Scrooge and enjoy the little things."

He scoffed, "I'm not a Scrooge. It's usually me who is dragging you out somewhere." He defended. She sighed and offered him a slice of bread when she realized he may have been correct.

They both eventually sat on the bench and continued throwing pieces of bread until the bag was empty.

"We're all out, guys." Devon said to the ducks who were quacking louder than before. Nora smiled at him and chuckled softly before sighing in content.

The sky was getting darker and darker, she was trying to savor the way the colors mixed together in the sky. It was breath takingly beautiful, she just wanted to see it forever.

"We should probably get home beofre the crackies arrive." He said, standing up. Nora scoffed and grabbed his wrist, pulling him back down next to her.

"Enjoy the moment, will you?" She said, looking towards him. They were much closer together than they were before, his eyes bored into hers before she looked away.

She had rested her head on his shoulder, letting out a soft sigh. Devon rested his arm on the bench behind her, deciding to enjoy the sky until it was completely dark just like she asked him to.

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