Ch 138: Hey Wait a Minute (Peter)

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I walked down the street with Paul, kicking at the rocks on the sidewalk. "Dude this sucks. Mr. G seriously is giving us this project a week before finals?" Paul let out a sigh, shaking his head. "I know, it's stupid. We literally graduate in two weeks why the hell do we need to find a historic artifact or something to present to the class? I'm so tempted to not do it."

I grinned, shaking my head. "I'd say go for it except you're my partner and I really need an A on this to get a B." Paul laughed, rolling his eyes. "Alright fine I'll do the work. Nice idea to go to the pawn shop," he said, before freezing, staring into the window display. "That's Gene's bass."

Frowning, I joined him at the window. "What? No it's not, he still has his!"

"No that's his! Look see, there's the dent from where Ace dropped it, and that's the strap I got him! That's his bass!" Paul protested. "It's definitely not, why would Gene's bass be in a pawn shop? He's way too careful to ever get robbed," I countered.

Shaking his head, Paul pulled open the door, walking into the shop as the little bell above the door rang gently. It smelled like cigarettes and the guy behind the counter looked like he lived off of them.

"Hey, where'd you get that bass in the window?" Paul asked, interrupting the owner's little welcoming spiel.

Squinting at us, the guy scratched his scraggly beard for a minute before shrugging. "Eh, some kid came in a few days ago and sold it to me." "Yeah yeah but what did he look like? Did he give you a name?" Paul asked, getting impatient.

I was wandering around aimlessly as the guy kept staring at Paul, looking desperately for anything to present to Mr. G. "Uh, he was tall, little taller than you maybe. Looked about your age. Curly black hair, wore a t-shirt that said something about wrestling. Casablanca maybe?"

Damn, it really was Gene then. What the hell was he up to?

"Did he sell you anything else or just the bass?" Paul asked, definitely getting way too upset for this level of sketchiness.

Shrugging, the guy gestured at the shop. "Hell, kid, you think I can keep track of everything in here?" "Well you should be able to since you're supposed to keep track of purchases and sales. Check the receipt,"  Paul snapped.

Rolling his eyes, the guy rummaged behind the counter for a moment, pulling out a wad of receipts. "Alright alright fine. Yep, just the bass and the amp. There was a box of picks too."

Reaching for his wallet, Paul looked at the bass in the window, face falling. "I'll take everything he dropped off." "That'll be $1300."

"$1300?! But you only gave him $1000 for everything!" he shouted. "Gotta make a profit. I'll go down to $1250 for you," the owner said simply, shrugging again.

Paul opened his mouth to protest but I grabbed his arm, shaking my head. "$1250 is fine! And then add on an extra $3 for this thing," I said, dropping an old magazine on the counter. Scowling, Paul somehow pulled out $1253 in cash and grabbed the bass while I took the amp and the picks and the magazine and we bailed.


"I mean sheesh Paul, you're gonna get yourself killed! Don't argue with sketchy ass pawn shop owners! That's how you get mugged," I grumbled, lugging the amp to my car.

"He ripped us off, that's bullshit," Paul growled, setting the bass into the trunk. "Honestly, he gave Gene way more than he should've. I mean come on, his equipment is old as hell, it's not worth $1000. At least we got it back. Why do you think he sold it though?" I said.

Paul shrugged, climbing into the front seat. "Probably behind on rent. Wish he'd just ask for help." "You know Gene. He's never gonna ask for help, he's too stubborn for that," I said with a sigh. "Anyway I guess we should go take it to him."





Out of breath, I knocked on the door, setting down the amp and stretching as Paul climbed the last few steps with the bass behind me. "Damn, eight flights is a lot of stairs," I grumbled, knocking again. Finally, Gene pulled open the door, looking like he had just woken up.

"Peter I swear I've got a shift in an hour this better be good," he grumbled, yawning. Wordlessly, Paul picked up the bass and shoved it into his arms. Gene stared blankly at us for a moment, blood slowly draining from his face. "Where did you--how did you--I thought...I thought that..." he stammered, hands starting to shake.

"We saw it in the window when we were going in there to get something for gov and I picked it up. Gene, what the hell is going on?" Paul cried.

He shook his head, clutching the bass to his chest. "We needed money fast and we didn't have anything else to sell. It's...it's too much with the rent and the hospital bills and...damn I was really desperate and so yeah."

I pushed the amp across the ground toward him. "Sorry, man. If you ever need help with money just let us know, we can help you. That's what friends are here for, you shouldn't have to resort to stuff like this."

Gene shrugged, face burning. "It's okay, we'll be moving out to California eventually anyway. Hopefully we'll find a cheaper place there and good jobs and stuff. But uh...but thanks though," he mumbled, hugging the bass tightly.

Paul looked crushed but he nodded. "Yeah. But not until the end of summer, right?" he asked hopefully. I nodded, also praying Gene wouldn't leave for a few more months. As much as we butted heads, he was a good friend and I was gonna miss him. Gene forced a smile, looking like he was two seconds away from bursting into tears. "August, I think my mom said. So we'll have the summer."

"That's good. It'll be fun. Anyway, me and Paul have to go finish the gov project. Seriously, call us if you need something. I still have extra money left over from like IDs and stuff." Gene rolled his eyes, grinning. "Of course you do. Anyway I'm gonna go back to sleep for a few more minutes since I'm not gonna be home until two. Thanks for getting this back guys, seriously. You didn't have to do that."

Me and Paul looked at each other, grinning. "Yeah as your friends we kinda did though. Anyway goodnight have fun at work we'll see you tomorrow!"

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