Better in Color✖️Egobang

Nine

"That will be $2.76, sir." The little woman behind the counter said.

"Here you go." Barry hissed, still pissed at Ross for almost crashing the car while choking on a pretzel. The clerk handed Barry the bag of a Twix bar and a pack of cigarettes.

Everything was cheap in the east compared to the west, especially since, what the government calls the "Great Movement of America" where we almost split into two countries after the west wanted to bomb Russia for "accidentally" nuking a small Asian country.

None the less, Barry didn't mind the low prices of gas, candy, and just about everything. Easier for the boys since they normally bought hotel rooms.

Barry grabbed the bag and touched the little counter girl, but still gray. The girl had red hair, too.

"Sorry, sir. I found the one." The girls pulls her hand back as Barry takes the bag. "Good luck, though."

"Yeah, yeah. Bye." He was in such a bad mood lately, and for no reason at all. Probably just fed up since he was probably going to be the last one to find his true love, or never meet the girl, or at this point, person of his dreams.

His parents never believed in true love, so they just married without color. The kids in school called Barry a "gray head", the slang used when a kid is born from parents who were not in love. About 6% of his school was gray heads, but Barry was special to his classmates. No reason other than he was more shy than the others.

Barry had promised to prove his parents wrong. But what if those kids were right.
No one can love a gray head.

There were only 6 schools across the country, since many people would search before having kids. Many people never found the one and never had kids. Others popped out babies since the population in America kept getting smaller as years pasted.

Barry felt tears brim his eyes and dashed out of the gas station and into the backseat with Ross. Dan was driving with Arin the passenger seat.

Ross gently and comfortingly grasped Barry's shoulder and shook it a bit. "Flashbacks?" He whispered. Arin and Dan were oblivious to their conversation.

Barry nodded and put his head in his hands, holding back tears.

"It's okay, buddy. You'll find the one. I promise." Ross assured him, giving Barry a big hug to calm him down.

To Barry, the world suddenly felt less hopeless.