𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐈𝐒𝐇// 𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐗𝐎𝐂

𝐥𝐱𝐢. ✭ 𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐎 𝐀𝐈𝐔𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐈

FEBRUARY 11, 1976; STEVE
2:06-2:09 p.m.

"Next up. What's your order?" The teenage cashier was bent forward lazily on the ice cream counter, scooper in hand. He was pimple-faced and wore this real dreary expression. The kids in front of me, a boy and a girl, were sharing a heated exchange of whispers.

"I thought you said you had it." The girl groaned, shifting around in her little cowboy boots. Her bright ginger hair was catching the summer sun through the shop's windows. "Eddie, don't say you made us walk all this way and you don't have it."

"I do have it!" Her friend protested, an earnest look pressed into his face. Sweat was dribbling down his forehead from his dark hair. "I swear...I swear I counted." The metallic sound of coins clinking against each other was melodic against my ears. The boy was turning the loose change he had around in his palm.

"Come on." Drawled the cashier, picking at his nails impatiently. "We don't have all damn day."

"Sorry, one sec." The boy dumped all of his money onto the spotless red counter. The coins clattered onto it, making the cashier grimace.

"Eddie, hurry!" Urged the girl, jogging the presumed Eddie's elbow. "You said you'd buy me a scoop of strawberry. You said-!"

"I know, I know." Hissed Eddie, his fingers sliding over the individual coins. He had turned to stacking them. The nape of his neck had hair stuck to it with sweat. "Lemme count, alright. I gotta count first."

"You know, you're wasting just about everyone's time here." The tag on the cashier's required uniform read Glenn. The guy wielded his ice scooper toward Eddie as if it were a staff. A mean scowl had etched itself into Glenn's face.

"A dollar-ten, a dollar-eleven, a dollar-thirty-six, a dollar-forty one, and..." Eddie's whispered adding trailed off as his change ran out. He was short a measly three pennies. Dropping his stare down to his torn-up converse, he mumbled, "No more shoe money."

"Oh." A crestfallen look had made its way onto the girl's features. "That's alright. You have enough for one, Eds." She patted Eddie's shoulders, trying her best to comfort him while disappointment simultaneously weighed her down. "I'll be fine. I can just eat some of the ice from the freezer to cool down."

"No, no, no." Shaking his head, the boy refused to leave his spot in line, even as his friend tried tugging him away. "This wasn't how this was supposed to go, Chance."

Overcome with impulsivity, the hand that held my ice cream money fell open. I had gone in with five bucks and some change. Every coin that fell to the restaurant's tile had a distinct chime to it. The two turned around, summoned by the noise.

I crouched down to collect the cash, glancing up at them once in a while, making sure to leave exactly three pennies behind. Once I stood, I tapped the Eddie boy on the shoulder, pointing to the ground below.

"Oops. Looks like you dropped some."

Chance, the girl beamed, revealing a missing front tooth. She then roughly elbowed Eddie, nudging him to do something. His eyes locked on me warily, narrowing despite her insistence. When he refused to speak, Chance bent down to scoop up the pennies and say, "Thanks."

MARCH 25, 1986; STEVE
9:06 - 10:58 a.m.

"Middle seat is all yours, Henderson!" I called out through Max's open window, my mouth stuffed with Pringles. A flash of Dustin leaving his house appeared in my peripheral. "No way am I taking it!"