Cashier

Bonus 3.2: Brett and Landon (Part 2)

Landon was shocked.

One minute, he was walking out of school, and the next?

Madness.

And lots of itchy spots. 

The powder was everywhere—in his hair, on his face, arms, legs—everywhere. He immediately dropped his backpack and ran around in a panic. The wind only made the sensation worse. He laid down on the patch of grass by the sidewalk and started rolling back and forth. The grass provided a little bit of relief, but not enough.

Another thing that wasn't helping was the crowd of students that was forming around Landon. Most of them were either laughing at the poor boy, taking pictures and videos, or looking at him like he was insane. All the while, Landon was rolling back and forth, tears in his eyes, and the words, "It itches" on his lips. What did I do to deserve this, he thought. As his rolled forward, he got another look at the crowd and instantly knew why he was suffering.

Brett. He was standing at the front, staring at his with blank eyes. He looked the same—his blonde hair was effortlessly styled, and he wore the same tight clothes he always did—but he also looked as hollow as a puppet. He looked nothing like the Brett he saw and kissed and made love to at the party just months ago. Shaking, Landon stood up and ran to his car as fast as he could, not daring to scratch himself. Brett, sighed and took off in his direction. He had some explaining to do...

—

Landon may or may not have bought more than enough soap than he needed to.

He bought soap of every kind: Gels, solid soaps, bath bombs, even some odd-looking soap-lipstick hybrids he saw in the clearance bin. He was itching so much, that he had drawn blood in several places. His eyes were red from crying in the store, and his hair looked like it had been caught in several windstorms. He looked depressing.

The clerk behind the cashier must have thought so too, because her face told Landon that she was trying her hardest not to laugh.

"Whoa...what happened to you," she asked. That was the first time in his life that a pretty blonde girl showed and ounce of worry for him, even if it seemed superficial.

"Some dolt covered me in itching powder, Landon replied with contempt. He was starting to tear up again, and willed the tears back.

For a second, the girl froze, like she had remembered something important, but she shook her head and willed the thought away."Huh...why?"

Landon tried his best to relieve the itch on his back, but he couldn't reach so he stopped trying. He loudly tapped his foot on the ceramic floor to distract himself. "Uh...I don't know. Maybe because I told him he was cute."

The girl tried to hold in a laugh. She awkwardly cleared her throat, but it was too late. It was obvious at that point that she didn't care. "I'm...so sorry...That'll be $87.90. Cash or card?"

Landon quickly paid for everything and ran-walked away. Just as he was exiting, he bumped into someone. To his misfortune, it was Brett.

However, the cart rammed into his crotch, so at least he would be out of commission for a while.

Brett held back a curse and looked at Landon. His eyes seemed a lot less empty than they did earlier. He was starting o look more and more like a human, but he still seemed fake in a way...Landon couldn't explain why if he tried.

Brett scratched the back of his head and sighed. Here goes nothing, he thought. "We need to talk," he said.

—

To be continued

Sorry to leave you at a cliffhanger, but that just the way the crumble cookies 🤷🏾‍♂

-Fred