Blandview High Musical

29. Vicious Cycle

Frankie sighed as he walked through the glass door of the jewelry shop. He was sweating buckets over what he was about to do. The woman behind the counter was blonde, sleek and beautiful. She was wearing a black suit with a purple shirt under the blazer. She looked up at him and smiled. Her smile almost as dazzling as the diamond earrings she was wearing. On her fingers, expensive rings past and before each knuckle, stacked. Around her neck, a gorgeous lavalier that stopped just under her breasts. "Can I help you sir?" She asked as Frankie strolled up to the counter.

            He shoved his hands in his pockets, not wanting to muddy the clean glass with his handprints. "Yes, I'm looking for rings." "Right this way." She said, motioning for him to follow her. Within the glass cases, gold and silver shined alike as he moved down the length. She stopped at a singular case. "Who might it be for? Wife, girlfriend, mother? Or perhaps a ring for yourself? We have a lovely—" "It's for a woman I'm hoping to make my wife." He said, looking up at her. "An engagement ring. Come over here." She said, turning her back towards him and looking in the other case. Frankie walked around to face her. Inside the case were gorgeous rings. The way the light hit them nearly blinded Frankie.

            One caught his eye. "Might I see that one?" He said, his finger hovering just a centimeter above the glass. "Sure." She said, pulling the ring out and handing it to him. "Now that ring is about $250 solid price, but we do financing if you give us $100 down payment and then $50 afterwards." "What if I give you $50 right now and then $50 for the rest of the payments?" Frankie said, raising the ring up. The woman furrowed her brow. "Listen, I run a struggling business. I want this woman to have this ring, but I would like to do it on my own time." The woman scoffed, giving a sardonic grin. "Well, how about this..." She said, plucking the ring from between his fingers. "There's a Walmart just on the other side of town, I know for a fact you can get a ring exactly like this one for $45 dollars. Now, it isn't real, but if it's quantity and not quality you're looking for, then I suggest going there." Frankie just sighed.

            About 30 minutes later, he found himself leaving a different jewelry store after finding a newer and much prettier ring. The shop owner had been nice enough to let him put the ring on layaway after Frankie promised it'd be paid off after Thanksgiving and had even signed a promissory note. He felt so wonderful as he placed the small black velvet box inside his glove compartment. He had planned on surprising Janet on Thanksgiving Day by showing up for dinner and asking her to marry him. He had never felt so confident about anything before. His heart was doing jumps inside his chest.

            But all of the excitement could wait as he needed to get back to the diner to begin the renovations for it. He put the car in gear and drove back towards the diner.

            Shayne groaned roughly as his eyes opened up. His view of the room he was in was vertical as his eyes rolled over in the back of his head. He was trying to wake himself up. His arms were bent up under the pillow as he lifted his head. Cypress Hill's "Hits From The Bong" echoed from the other room as Shayne rolled over onto his back. He gazed up at the ceiling which was adorned with psychedelic colors all swirling together. The intoxicating smell of French toast hung heavy in the air. He looked over at the clock and it was 8:00 am. He had no idea where he was or any recollection of the night. He remembered leaving the club with Khaleesi and Thor, but nothing afterwards. Maybe they had more drinks, maybe they smoked...or maybe— Shayne let out another groan as he sat up, rubbing his head. There was another body asleep on the other side of the bed. Sandwiched between them was a glass pipe in the shape of a dragon and a pink grinder.

            Shayne tossed the covers off himself to reveal that he was naked from the waist down. Without thought, he reached forward and grabbed the boxers that were on the ground. He stood up from the bed, pulling the underwear on. He ran his fingers through his hair and headed for the cracked door. He pulled it open and the sunlight flooded in. Squinting his eyes, he was drawn to the figure standing at the stove. Khaleesi was standing at the stove with a spatula in her hand. The bread was toasting in the pan as the counter was dirty from being her workstation. "Hey, sleepyhead." She said, softly. "Hey...what're you doing?" He asked, moving up behind her. "Making breakfast for you two." She said. He leaned forward, resting his head on her shoulder. She was wearing one of Thor's shirts without underwear on underneath. "Stop, I'll burn myself." She said, softly. He pulled away from her, leaning against the counter. "Have a nice time last night?" She asked. He leaned his head back, sighing with passion on being reminded of it. "Oh yeah."