The next day I went bright and early to find jobs again. This time no distractions. I stumbled through every store I could, I even ended up walking several blocks just to see if I can find something new and interesting. There was a toy shop and a Starbucks after walking a couple of blocks, which peeked my interest but I decided that it's better to stick close to home so maybe the deli will accept me. I went back home to find Alfie playing video games in his pajamas.
"Wanna walk around Times Square with me?" I asked
"Isn't that like far?"
"By foot yes, but not by taxi."
"Uhm Sam? Are you going to ask permission?" asked Tracy coming out of her room
"Yes I was, as soon as Alfie agreed to go."
"Fine I'll go." he stumbled into his room to get dressed
"I'm still not being asked..." Tracy folded her arms
"Tracy? Can Alfie and I take a taxi to Times Square?" I smiled
"No."
"What? Why?"
"I'm kidding. Yes you can go, but be careful and do not take photos with anyone dressed in an Elmo suit. They steal wallets."
"Why would anyone wear a suit to steal?"
"Because it's the city and it's actually not a bad idea."
"Tracy!"
"Come on! How else would you pit pocket someone?"
"I wouldn't."
"But if you had to."
"Then I suppose a giant Elmo costume is the way."
"Also stay away from Big bird and anybody wearing minimal clothing."
"What!? What is this place?"
"The big Apple." She laughed
Alfie came out.
"What's with the horrified look?" He asked
"Big bird, naked people, and pit pocketing." I said
"What?" He looked at us with confusion
"Have fun!!!" Tracy pushed us out the door
The city wasn't exactly the cleanest place or the most peaceful one, but it was interesting. Everyday there were new people, not only tourists. Because the city was huge, there were many places to go and a lot of people liked to visit all of them.
"So found a job yet?" Alfie said while his hand glided on a nearby fence
"Don't touch that, it's dirty, and I was going to stop by the closest deli to ask."
"Oh good maybe I can get a drink."
We went in. I saw a man about mid 60's working the register. He had a grey beard which matched his balding grey hair, and was reading a newspaper. Alfie ran in behind me, looking at all the options of drinks, there weren't many.
"Uhm excuse me, I was wondering if I could get a job here?" I said sweetly, he looked up from the newspaper
"You could.."
"Oh great!" I smiled
"If you kill someone for me."
"K...kill!?" I moved back from the counter, the guy bursted out laughing
"No I'm kidding, we are actually looking for help so there's no need for an application. When do you wanna start?"
"Uh... any time after school, so 4 on weekdays."
"That works. See ya then."
"That's it? You don't want any information? Or my name?"
"Fine if you insist. What's your name?"
"Sam." I said, this guy was strange
"Samuel?"
"Samantha..."
"Right right, makes sense. You're a girl.... right?"
"Yes..." I looked around for Alfie, he returned with a bottle of Pepsi.
"Did you get the job?" He asked
"Yeah I did."
We bought the Pepsi and walked outside.
"I really regret taking this job, that guy seems so weird." I said
"Yea, but so do you."
"Alfie! Seriously he creeps me out."
"Yea, but so do you."
"ALFIE"
"Sorry sorry." He laughed and then took a sip, he suddenly dropped the bottle and started spitting. Everyone stopped and stared.
"Alfie? What's wrong?"
"That's not Pepsi!"
I grabbed the bottle and took a sip. It tasted like regular Pepsi.
"What do you mean? It tastes fine."
"I mean yes, it's Pepsi but there's a freaking rat tail in there."
"A rat tail? How do you even come up with this?"
I dumped the full bottle on the street and to my surprise, there was actually a rat tail.
"Did it get in your mouth?" I asked
"No it just touched my lip a little."
I grabbed the tail and Alfie's hand and angrily walked into the deli.
"What the hell is this!?" I threw the tail on the counter
"Oh my god you found it!" He started laughing
"Yes we found a rat tail in a Pepsi!" Alfie yelled
"Dude I'm about to call the cops, is there one in every bottle!?" I yelled
"Sam you need to calm down." He was still laughing
"It's fake."
"Fake!? You put a fake rat tail in a Pepsi? And for what? A joke?"
"If you've been working in a gloomy deli for 7 years, you tend to want to spice things up."
I stared at him with disappointment.
"You're lucky you haven't been sued yet."
"Actually someone tried once, didn't go well. I'm pretty old, I tend to win cases against me."
"You're like 60, you're not that old." Alfie said
"Correction, 63. I'm dying."
"We are all slowly dying, but can you not try to make someone die faster by scaring the life out of them? Please? Cause the next rat tail is going to happen when I'm working and I'm not an old man so I won't get away with it." I rolled my eyes at him
"Okay fine. I might need some help checking each bottle though. I hid 2."
"Oh my god!"
Alfie and I sat in the deli for about 3 hours checking every single bottle to only realize in the end that there weren't 2 rat tails hidden and that the second one was still behind the register. By the time we left, we didn't have time or the energy to head to Times Square so we just went home.
I threw my bag on the kitchen counter and slumped down on the couch.
"Long day? How was Times Square?" asked Tracy coming out with a face mask on.
"AH" Alfie jumped up
"Alfie, it's just a mask, and we didn't get to go. We spent all day in the deli down the street."
"Ew why?"
"It's a long story, but I'll be working there." I smiled
"Oh that's great!"
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Sorry for taking so long updating. I've been stressed out and I just had no motivation or ideas for the book. But I'm doing my best. Thanks so much for reading!