The Neighbor

Chapter 6: The Rock Star from the States

I knocked on the brown bark door and the door opened immediately. A tan old lady stood in the door. Her long dress was light blue with a white, tropical flower print. Her face was wrinkly and her long brown hair was in a bun.

"Oh Danny! Come in, come in!" she shouted loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. I stepped in and shut the door. "I'll just go get Sugar, "she shouted. Her house was a little hut, like most of the houses in our small neighborhood. Her living room contained a brown leather couch and a ton of paintings of sunsets and palm trees. She had no TV but her kitchen always smelled like some kind of dessert.

She entered the room again with a small brown and white chichuahua in her arms. "Thank you Ms. Kekoa, "I shouted, taking the dog.

"You be careful with my baby, "she shouted.

"Ms. Kekoa, are you wearing your hearing aids?" I shouted. She touched her ears and looked surprised. She ran off into the kitchen and I followed. Her hearing aids were on the small dining table. She put them on and said, "That's better, isn't it? Would you like a cookie?" Her dog barked happily and struggled in my arms. "Oh my, that's right! That's what I call his treats, "she said, "would you like a treat?"

"Yes, thank you, "I said. She waddled over to her stove and handed me a small, golden sugar cookie. After I ate it I said, "Well I should probably go walk sugar."

"Yes, yes of course, "she said. I walked out with Sugar struggling against his leash. He always wanted to run and I never wanted to.

"Calm down Sugar, "I said sternly. We walked past the large house and the end of the path that had been empty for at least 14 years. But it wasn't empty now. There was a moving truck in the driveway and a ton of large, expensive looking stuff sitting outside.

The expensive stuff made sense considering the house it would be put into. It was the largest house in the neighborhood. It was three stories tall and made of sturdy material, instead of bark like the rest of the houses. I stood at the end of the asphalt driveway and stared at the humongous house and the large items about to be put in it. There was a huge flat screen TV, a long black leather couch, a waterbed, and much more. I could have stood there and stared forever but one of the movers chased me away, thinking I wanted to steal something. For the rest of Sugar's walk I thought about the one thing I hadn't seen in that driveway, the owner. I desperately wanted to meet the rich man living there. Maybe I could work for him, I bet he pays a lot.

I returned Sugar to Ms. Kekoa and got my 15 dollars. Back home I put the my money in my cash tin and thought some more about the owner of the large house. I needed to think of a way to see the man in that house.

"Danny!" my mother shouted up the stairs. She continued to yell my name until I got to the top of the stairs.

"What?" I said.

"I need you to go to the store and buy Kyle a ukelele, "she said and she handed me a few dollars.

"What about me?" I asked, "I need an instrument too and this isn't enough for two."

"You can buy one for yourself with your own money, "she said.

"But I was saving for--"

"I don't care, "she interrupted. I went back upstairs and grabbed the fifteen dollars I had just gotten.

"Guess I can say goodbye to colored pencils, "I sighed. I got on my bike and rode to the music store. Inside there was only the cashier and one costumer. I went to the ukelele section and got Kyle the cheapest one. I was about to grab one for myself but I looked over at the guitar section. One acoustic guitar grabbed my attention.

I walked over and touched it. It was light brown with a light purple lotus flower on it. It was exactly fifteen dollars. I picked it up carefully and walked over to the cashier. The cashier was having an argument with his costumer.

"Let me get this straight, you want to buy our entire inventory?" the cashier shouted.

"Yes, "the man said.

"I'm sorry sir but we need to have a few instruments left, "the cashier said, "we don't get another shipment until the end of the month!"

"That's not my problem, "the man said, "my employer wants all your instruments." My mind immediately went to my new neighbor, the only man who would be able to afford the entire store, most likely.

"What can I do for you?" the cashier asked me.

"I would like to purchase these, "I said, snapping back to reality. I realized the other man was gone.

The cashier checked the instruments and said, "That will be eighteen dollars."

"What was all that about?" I asked as I got out my money.

"I don't know, "the cashier said, "He wanted to buy everything for his boss, Brendan Jones."

"I've heard of him, "I said quite loudly, "he's that rock star from California! What's he doing in Hawaii?"

"Like I'm supposed to know, "the cashier said. But I wasn't listening anymore, I was thinking about my new neighbor. I devised a plan in my head on the ride home. I was going to meet my new neighbor, the rock star from the states.