Baby's First Rebellion {QSMP JuanaFlippa} COMPLETE

Baby's First Job

"I appreciate your honesty, but that does not make everything okay. You still stole from us." Mr. Blade shredded the cheque in front of Juana, reminding her she would not be buying dinner tonight.

"I know, I know..." Juana's pockets were empty now but she still felt shame. "I guess I just thought it was worth stealing, as long as I could eat something tonight..."

Mr. Blade was no stranger to empathy, so he could understand why Juana would try to take from him. "How old are you? You look awfully young to be homeless."

"Sixteen, my birthday is in two weeks..." Juana had ran away from home nearly a year ago. A few days after her sixteenth birthday.

"I see...Did you run away from home because your parents suck?"

"How could you know?"

"I know, I'm very observant." Mr. Blade crossed his arms, having a conversation in his head. His late son told him what to do. "I may be strict, but I'm not a monster...You do some chores around the shop, and I'll buy you dinner."

"You're not my dad." Juana responded sarcastically. She wasn't used to having authority anymore.

"For today, I am." The man got a cloth from behind the desk and threw it at Juana. "Wipe down the cases, sweep the floor. That's all I ask of you."

Juana took a deep breath, trying not to lose her tempter and the opportunity for dinner. "What's for dinner?"

"Depends on how well you clean." Mr. Blade shrugged and gestured towards the many cases in the shop. "Get cleaning, I'd hate for you to go hungry tonight."

"Fine." Juana started with the case closest to her. She made sure to do a thorough job, since the owner was right there, watching her.

"So, where do you stay usually?" The owner asked curiously.

"In the back of a van...I own the van, don't worry. It's not a hostage situation." Juana said jokingly. She was surprised that the man actually laughed with her. "Is it funny to you?"

"No, no...you're just a witty one." Mr. Blade sighed. "How did you end up in this situation exactly?"

"Isn't that a bit invasive? We just met." Juana mumbled.

"We just met, and you were about to steal from me...isn't that a little invasive?" Mr. Blade tilted his head.

"Oh, whatever...people like you drive me crazy..." Juana continued to scrub the glass cases.

-

After over an hour of shining up the old antique shop, Juana finally collapsed onto an old velvet armchair. "Te odio..." (I hate you...)

"¿Qué te gustaría para cenar?" (What would you like for dinner?)

Juana sat up and stared at the owner for a good minute. "¿Puedes hablar español?" (You can speak Spanish?)

"Sí, mi hijo me enseñó." (Yes, my son taught me.) Mr. Blade walked to the door and switched off the open sign. "He was very big on being able to make war and peace with anyone. Now, what do you want for dinner?"

"Uh, I'm fine with anything. Thank you..." Juana followed the man out of the shop, waiting as he locked up. Her brain told her trusting a man she just met was dangerous, but she had a feeling he was harmless. Plus, she couldn't hear her logical side over the noise of her stomach growling.

"There's a restaurant nearby. We can walk there in five minutes, how about we go there? And you can tell me about where you really belong." Mr. Blade had every intention of helping Juana.

"Sure." Juana agreed. "But it'll be one quiet dinner, I don't belong anywhere."

"That can't be true, everyone belongs somewhere." Mr. Blade told her gently. "You just have to figure it out, you're only young. You'll figure it out."

"I'm sixteen and living in a van...people who belong don't do that." Juana followed him down the street.

"Minor inconvenience, that's all. You'll figure stuff out."

-

They got to the restaurant and sat at a table in the back. Somewhere where there was less people trying to eavesdrop on conversations. The waiter brought menus, and they looked them over.

"What would you like?" Mr. Blade asked.

"Uh..." Juana was looking at the prices, mostly. This man was being awfully patient with her, she couldn't be greedy. "Tomato soup?"

"Sounds good, I wouldn't mind soup." He put down the menu. "So...where are you from?"

"Well..." Juana shrugged timidly. "I was born here, in the country of Dream, but my father moved with me to Quesadilla Island very soon after my birth."

"Oh, really? I hear it's a nice place." Mr. Blade smiled.

"Oh, it is!" Juana smiled at the memory of her old country. It was a beautiful place, too bad her parents had to ruin the memory.

"You know, I've always wanted to see the big dragon statue...it must be something special at night."

"It's beautiful!" Juana rarely felt homesick, but this was one of those occasions. All she could think of was going for late night walks around the dragon, with her friends. Her parents particularly enjoyed fighting at night. When it got too heated, she'd sneak out and collect her friends. Then they'd stay up all night with her until she felt safe enough to go home. She hated those nights, but would do anything to see the dragon again.

The waiter came back, to take their orders.

"Two bowls of tomato soup. I'll have water to drink..." He looked at Juana, wondering what drink she wanted.

"Water for me too, thank you."

The waiter nodded, took the menus, and left.

"How long have you been on your own?" Mr. Blade was still curious about Juana's situation.

"Uh...well, let's just say I'm starting to forget what my parents sound like." Juana shifted around uncomfortably. "Going home is not an option for me, so...don't try to talk me into it."

"What are your parents like?" Mr. Blade attempted a new question.

"They're ordinary...well, I have two dads...so I guess that's not ordinary to some people. My biological dad, Charlie...He started dating my other dad, Mariana, not long after we moved to Quesadilla Island. I call Mariana my mother...it was always kind of an inside joke. When I was little my dad tried to convince me Mariana was my biological parent too. Although, I did eventually question it, after 7th grade health class...It almost worked out though because my biological mother was Hispanic, and so is Mariana." Juana explained without saying what was wrong with her parents.

"I see...so, what did they do?"

Juana held her breath before letting out a deep sigh. "It's not just one thing. My parents have always had an interesting parenting style... I've never had the best relationship with them."

"I see..." Mr. Blade nodded, understanding that it probably wouldn't be good to keep poking for information. "You know...I have a buddy that's looking for a janitor...are you looking for a part-time job?"

"Well, yes...a job would be nice. I've had a couple things going for me but... Eventually my sticky fingers would get me fired." Juana admitted.

Mr. Blade pulled out his wallet and slipped out a business card. "Only about an hour away, little shop in L'manburg. Beautiful town. Used to be its own country back in the day, now it's a tourist attraction, mostly."

Juana looked at the card and read the bold letters out loud. "Wilbur's Taxidermy?"

"Oh yeah, it's a nice little shop... Wilbur's a little special or...well let's call it how it is, the man is god damn insane. Nice man at heart though, and he will pay well. All you have to do it dust some stuffed rats."

"Oh boy, I can't wait to start..." Juana knew she should be thankful, but it didn't sound very appealing.

"Make sure to keep your sticky fingers to yourself... although, I'd pay money to see you try to shove a stuffed squirrel into your pocket." Mr. Blade teased.