Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

The Other Side

"Let me drive my van into your he-aart.." Steven mumbled as he scribbled all over his math homework. He chewed on the eraser of his pencil idly as he stared at the word problem.

"Whatcha doin' there, Stu-ball?" Greg asked loudly, as he scrubbed the headlights of a car delicately with a sponge. He wiped the sweat that started to bead at his forehead from working in the hot beach sun.

"Just finishing some math, Dad!" Steven hollered as he wrote the finishing touches to his answer. "Done!" He slammed his pencil on the table in excitement and hopped out through the van's doors, his flip-flops skipping across the concrete.

"Dad! I finished my homework, so can I go to the boardwalk?" Steven flashed a pair of puppy dog eyes towards Greg, who was busy eyeing the dirty windshield of the car he was cleaning.

"Yeah, course' son," Greg ruffled Steven's curls, smiling when the boy laughed at the action. "Just be home by seven and be careful at the boardwalk." Steven whooped and hugged Greg, before turning to leave for his fun.

"Oh and Steven?" Greg called out, his smile faltering. "Make sure you don't-"

"-go to the other side of the beach! I know Dad! You've only told me a million times!" Steven then turned around once more to continue his way to the boardwalk.

Greg sighed and went to grab the sponge inside the bucket to continue his work on the windshield, but only saw his tired face reflected across the water.

—

"Hey Peedee!" The boy with blond hair that uncannily resembled fries, turned to see Steven with a bright smile.

"Hey, Steven," he leaned against the counter, "What'll it be?" He had already begrudgingly knew Steven's answer to his question, but quiet hope held out that Steven would order something from the actual menu.

"Gimme...." Steven turned his head dramatically and clenched his fist. "...the bits."

Peedee sighed and mumbled an exasperated 'ok' before disappearing to grab the potatoes to prepare them for the fryer. Steven peered into the window to see Ronaldo sitting down with headphones on.

"Hey Ronaldo!" Steven stage-whispered as Ronaldo offered him a distracted wave, his eyes not leaving his phone screen. Peedee returned from the back room and began to fry the bits of potato.

Steven felt his stomach grumble at the smell of the sizzling fries.

"Sooooo Peedeee," Steven said, trying to take his mind off his rumbling stomach. "How's work at the fryer?" Peedee looked thoughtful at the question.

"Not all its cracked up to be," he said, as he eased up the fries from the boiling oil. "Sometimes I wish I didn't tell my dad I wanted to work in the business now. I don't have anytime for myself anymore, don't even have time to ride the seahorse at Funland..."

Steven hummed as Peedee emptied the fryer and scraped the fries onto the container.

"It doesn't help that Ronaldo keeps telling me that it's only a matter of time until Dad makes me wear the Frybo costume." Peedee scoffed as he picked out the burnt fries. Ronaldo jumped up at the mention of himself, his headphones slipping off his ears.

"It's true though!" Ronaldo interjected. "A week after Dad put me to work, I had to wear the Frybo costume for a month. The seagulls always attack you."