high tide (J.M)

Benji's Market

It was a hot and humid Saturday when John B had curiosity strike. He had been sitting on a well worn wicker chair watching his friends talk.

"Dude, Earth to John B." Kiara was waving her hand in the boys face when he finally broke from his trance.

"Huh, what?" He mumbled.

"You good bro?" Pope smiled.

"I need to find Arlo." He said chewing on his bottom lip.

"Arlo Claimont? Why?" Kiara said confused.

"I want to ask her some questions." John b said looking up at Kiara.

"Okay but isn't she like super shy? I've never seen her talk to anyone." Kiara quirked her brow.

"I don't think she's necessarily shy, more so selective in who she talks to and how she's seen." Pope spoke after a moment's silence.

"Okay, what does that even mean." JJ said leaning forward and rubbing his temples.

"All I'm saying is that I've noticed way too many bruised knuckles on that girl for her to just be shy." Pope shrugged.

"I'm going, you guys can stay here or I can drop you off if you want." John B said standing up.

"We'll go with you." Kiara responded with an unsure look.

Pope stood up now too.

"Hey , do not speak for me." JJ sassed.

They all have him a look.

"Okay yeah, right behind you guys." He said standing up and following them to John's van.

John B tapped the steering wheel as he drove to the library. He didn't know if Arlo still worked there or even what days she worked, but it was worth a shot.

After parking in front of the library they all climbed out.

As they headed in JJ was poking and flicking Pope out of both boredom and amusement. Kiara tried shushing them while John B went straight to the front desk where he tapped a silver bell.

The group waited until moments later Mr. Sullivan walked out from a door and into the desk area.

"Hello, how may I help you today?" The man wore a genuine smile.

"Uhm, I was wondering if Arlo Claimont is working today?" John B said putting all his weight on one foot.

"You missed her by an hour. Sorry." The man said.

"Uhm, do you know where I might be able to find her?" John B pushed, he needed to talk to Arlo now.

"Well either at home or Benji's market. She just started there as a cashier about a week ago."

"Alright, thank you sir."

The group headed back out to the van. Thankfully Benji's market was only two blocks away. It took only minutes for them to pull up and head inside.  Quite instantly the group spotted the girl at a checkout station scanning a mango.

Everyone grabbed a snack and drink, well JJ shoved a candy bar in his pocket.

They walked up to the girls checkout station right as the previous customer walked off. After setting down their items they all looked at Arlo.

"Did you find everything you needed along with high quality service today at Benji's market." The girl said with a plastered on smile.

"I actually need to talk to you." John b said.

Arlo raised an eyebrow as she began to scan items going slow.

"When do you get off, or when can we talk?"

"I get off at 10, what's so important?" Arlo said giving the boy a confused look.

"I have some questions. Can we talk tonight? I can swing by your place or we can meet somewhere." John B offered.

"Will that be cash or card?" The girl asked.

Before anyone could say anything Kiara handed the girl her card.

Once she swiped it she handed it back before printing a receipt. She quickly wrote something on it before putting it in the paper bag.

"That's my address, meet me there at 10:25. Oh and also, JJ the candy bar your stealing is poking out of your pocket." Arlo smirked and the teens headed out as Kiara laughed.

• • •

Hours passed and it was finally time. John B parked across the street from Arlo's house.

She lived smack dab in the center between the cut and figure eight. The yards grass was a bit overgrown with a gravel driveway. Arlo's house was painted an pretty shade of green with white detailing. There was an old wooden porch swing which was accompanied by a metal loveseat, a patchy rocking chair and some blue plastic chairs.

The gang climbed out of the car before crossing the street. The steps were creaky and paint had peeled off most of the wood.

"Do we knock?" Kiara asked.

"I guess so." Pope said.

John B took a step forward and pressed the doorbell.

You could hear it ring in the house followed by a voice and the sound of the door being unlocked.

A tall black man with a greying beard opened the door. He looked familiar but no one could really recognize him.

"Uhm, is Arlo home?" John B gulped.

"Who's at the door?" A woman asked from inside the house.

The man quirked his brow as if he were asking the question himself.

"We're Arlo's friends." Kiara spoke up.

"Some of Arlo's friends." The man answered.

"Y'all can come in if you'd like." The man said stepping back and opening the door wider.

No one being brave enough to say no, they stepped in. The house smelled like cinnamon and was fairly nice other than it's outdated furniture and crooked photos on the wall.

"I'm Ms. Claimont, and y'all are?" A woman asked walking in.

The group instantly recognized the woman.

"I'm John B, this is JJ, Pope and-"

"I'm Kiara, it's nice to meet you ma'am. Arlo speaks very highly of you." Kiara lied with ease.

"Well Arlo's in the garage, if you head down that hall it'll be the very last door on the right." The woman smiled and the group followed her directions.

Pope opened the door to reveal a large and well lit garage with it's garage door open. There were boxes and tools and a bike and landscaping tools and plenty of other various things.

"Arlo?" John B said in a quieter voice than intended.

The girl peaked from behind the hood of the car.  They all walked over to see the girl messing with the engine.

Her hands were dirty and her hair was messily pulled back into a ponytail. She glistened from sweat and wore dirty looking overalls.

"Deep 6 point socket." She said holding out a hand.

JJ picked it up from it's casing before placing it in the girls hand. She attached the socket to the wrench before putting it to use.

After a few moments she set down the wrench and grabbed a rag which she used to clean her hands. She leaned against the car now and looked at the group.

"So what do you want to know?"