Fireworks

13

"Time for dinner, bitches. I've been waiting for this since this morning so don't fuck with me right now." Angel announces, plopping down into the booth first.

"I second that," Cecily says, grabbing a menu. "I think I'm going to try something new tonight."

I end up sitting between Arlo and Ryan, which is unpleasant seeing as they're probably the two biggest dudes here and I may be the smallest of the group. Arlo's thigh is flush against mine and Ryan's arm is slung around the back of the booth so my head is basically level with his armpit.

I tuck my legs as close together as possible and let my hands rest in my lap to try to make myself smaller, but they're both pushed up against me from either side and I really can't do anything about it. I should have taken an edge seat. I wonder if Isa would swap with me? But she's sitting next to Edwado, I doubt she'd want to switch. Plus if we did it would be obvious.

Suddenly Arlo is scooting away from me, and a few inches of space is left between our legs.

I look up at him, ready to apologize for crowding him, but before I can open my mouth he says, "If you need an edge seat I can ask to switch for you."

I blink up at him, surprised. Could he tell I was uncomfortable?

By the look he's giving me I think he can, his eyes lingering on my scrunched shoulders and tense thighs, my knees locked together.

I say softly back to him, "Thank you, I'm alright though."

He nods once before going back to the conversation, and I'm eternally grateful to him for not making a big deal out of it.

Vinnie has come over and started taking orders, his mood not much improved from the last time I saw him, though Isa acts as if he's Bobo the clown.

I quickly skim over the menu for something vegetarian and quickly decide on a cheese quesadilla and a side salad. Everyone before me ordered a milkshake so I got the same flavor as Isa. I pass my menu down as everyone else orders and Vinnie disappears into the back to presumably start on the food. I haven't seen any other employees here, and I wonder if he's the primary cook as well, or if someone's back in the kitchen helping him.

"I can't believe Harriet fired Trey. I for sure thought he was going to be coming back this year." Montserrat is saying

"I heard dude got all drugged out on the last few days of sales and tried to sell a crate of bottle rockets to Jason's mom while he was high as a kite." Angel says while typing something into his phone.

Edwardo leans forward. "Well I heard he got into some serious gang shit or something, like some dealers were after him or something like that."

"Let's be honest, the guy's 27 and was hanging around a bunch of 17, 18-year-olds. Harriet and her parents were never a fan, it makes sense for him to be gone, doesn't it?" Cecily inputs.

Wow. I guess the Fireworks Stand had a history I didn't know about. Of course, Isa had told me about a few past employees while we were working today, but nothing like this.

"I wonder where he's at now," Johan says, glancing not so subtly at Arlo, whose arms are considerably more tense than when this conversation started.

Isa told me Arlo is 19, and took a gap year before starting college to work and save up money. He's been doing the firework stand since before Isa started, and he was the one that initially got her the job. I guess he somehow knew Harriet through friends of friends, and she offered him the job while he was trying to pay for his mom's medical bills. He's been working at the tent for longer than anyone sitting at the table and is considerably closer with Harriet and her family than anyone else.