ALIVE - R. BOWEN

eight

The cold air blew in from the door of the Redonovich's pizzeria. Ricky shrugged off his coat and spied Gina sipping on a milkshake and talking to Howie at the counter. He took a deep breath and made his way over to the duo.

"Hey guys, what's up?" He asked as he took a seat on the stool next to Gina's.

Gina spun her stool slightly to face Ricky, "Hey Ricky, what're you doing here?"

Yes, what was Ricky doing here exactly?

Red had invited him to hang out at the pizzeria until his shift was over, so that he and Ricky could go to the skatepark as soon as he got off, therefore making the most of their time at the skatepark before Ricky's dad expected him home. Red had told Ricky that Gina and Howie would be there, and as Ricky wagered his options he decided that spending an hour with Gina wouldn't be so bad. After all, he'd have to get used to her if she was Red's best friend no matter if he liked her or not.

"Oh, uh, Red and I are going to the skatepark after his shift, is it okay if I sit with you guys while I wait?" Ricky cleared his throat mid-way through asking.

"Yeah of course!"

Gina replied while Howie simultaneously said, "I actually have to check on my tables-"

Gina looked at her boyfriend and he widened his eyes as to tell her that he wasn't comfortable with the two of them being alone, Gina brushed him off. "Yeah, you go do that babe. We'll be right here."

Ricky tried to ignore the awkward exchange that he had just witnessed but he couldn't shake the feeling that he had done something wrong. When Howie walked away, Ricky got Gina's attention and said, "Alright Gina, be real with me, does your boyfriend have a problem with me?"

Gina debated if she should tell the truth or not, ultimately deciding not to and replying with, "No, it's not you, he just has a problem with me hanging out with other guys."

"Oh, but Red?"

"Is cool- since they've known each other a long time." Gina took a sip of her milkshake.

"Ah, I see," Ricky replied, Howie's jealousness not sitting right with him, "Does it bother you when he gets like that?"

Gina raised an eyebrow, and Ricky instantly wished he hadn't said anything. "Not really, all guys get a little jealous, right?"

Ricky thought about Nini and EJ, and had no choice to reply to Gina's statement with one of his own. "Fair point."

Just as the silence was getting too long, Red came bursting through the swinging doors of the kitchen, "Ricky! I thought I heard your voice!"

"Here I am."

Red leaned against the counter, across from Ricky. "My shift is over in about ten minutes, I just have a few things I gotta do then I'll change and we can go."

"Cool, and hey, think that maybe you can actually do your job and get me a coke?" Ricky joked.

"Anything for you." Red laughed and walked back into the kitchen, dropping Ricky's coke off and going to buss his last table.

"So," Gina, who had been scrolling through her phone all through Ricky and Big Red's exchange, said, "Principal Gutierrez told me you might think about joining the school musical."

"Yeah, no. He suggested that I should but it's uh, not for me. I have no talent and I don't know anything about plays or whatever." Ricky replied, slightly annoyed that Gina and Principal Gutierrez were having meetings about him.

"First of all, it's a musical, and that's fine. Red can teach you everything he knows. I mean it's kinda too late to play a part since the show was casted a month ago but we're always looking for people to help out backstage." She suggested.