Page 2 of The Good Char (Soul Taker)

KIMMY

We’d been wandering around the mall for over an hour at Cindy’s insistence.

Halloween was coming up and she wanted to find the perfect costume for one of the parties she had lined up.

I didn’t mind being dragged along with her and Nicole but sometimes their explosive personalities could be exhausting.

But I loved hanging out with them anyway.

It was the perfect place to find what she needed.

The hot pink neon sign on the outside was more than inviting and the fact that the building offered much needed air conditioning from the blistering sun also helped.

Having grown up most of my life in the desert of Nevada here in Death Canyon City, the halloween decorations along the store fronts in Hellscape Mall only added to the spooky atmosphere.

The city itself already had weird legends going on for them, so this was the icing on the metaphorical cake.

The more we walked, the more excited I became over all the spiders and ghost and stringy webs.

We’d just finished hitting the upper level stores and decided to come downstairs to the food court for a short snack break.

It was located right smack in the middle with all the best eateries.

One of the food shops even looked like it was under construction.

I was curious to see what was going to pop up there.

Cindy pointed us in the direction of The Good Char and my stomach cramped from both excitement and hunger.

I haven’t had one of these since I was a teenager.

The man working behind the booth was tall, dark and broody with his tattooed arms crossed as we approached.

But I was caught by the expanse of the menu and the very delicious looking lemonade dispenser that was in front of me.

It was a nice change from the hot teas my mother loved to drink and make for us at home. I should definitely get some lemonade.

Cindy was rambling beside me, as I continued to check out the menu with scrutiny. Wow, there sure were a lot of options for what could be done to a hotdog. This was so fascinating.

“Do you see him?” Cindy snapped, tapping my chest with the backside of her hand with annoyance, stealing my attention. “It’s like he is totally ignoring us. Rude.”

I inwardly winced, feeling her words were directed at me as well before looking over at the tall man behind the counter.

My eyes widened when I realized he was staring straight at me.

I quickly averted my eyes and went back to pursuing the menu while biting my bottom lip out of a nervous habit, mentally cataloging what I wanted.

Cindy did what she always did when she couldn’t get her way. She began to snap her fingers in front of the worker. I had to remind myself that our cultures were vastly different and I needed to not mentally judge her.

But if she had a mother like mine, she would have probably been pulled away by her ear by now.

“Hey! I’ve been calling you twice now. I want an order of number three with a side of fries and the pink lemonade,” she called out with her hand on her hip.

I was in awe of her audacity. Cindy was one of pretty girls with her hair beautifully teased before she left the house.

I obediently lined up behind her ready with my order, excitedly with my hands clasped in front of me.

“Three corndogs and three lemonades, you got that?” Cindy ordered again with emphasis.

Oh! How nice, she ordered for us! Without a doubt, the smell that came from this food stall was exquisite. I was drooling over imagining myself taking a huge bite out of the corndog when my attention was drawn to a small sign at the window.

I blinked a few times, slack jawed. It was the answer to one of my prayers and something I needed horribly.

I stared at it again, making sure I wasn’t seeing things. But I wasn’t. In big, bold black letters, HELP WANTED, stared right back at me.

“Holy cow! Look Cindy!” I pointed to the sign while dancing to the beat in my own head. This was it! I was asking for a sign the other night and here it was!

Cindy immediately snarked at my excitement and I felt myself deflate a little.

“Like, girl, there’s no way I would be caught dead working here. The guys will think you are a total spaz. I would rather work with my parents than a place like this .”

I couldn’t be mad at her. It was because she would never understand the things I went through. She was rich and her parents were more than well off. She never had to worry about anything.

I bit my bottom lip as thoughts continued to race through my head.

This might just be my way out of the house, which was a total drag since I graduated.

My parents weren’t terrible, they just weren’t what normal parents usually were.

They came to this country with a purpose, to make a better life for their family.

But their rules and expectations became a bit much the older I became, especially after moving out to Death Canyon City when it first began to populate.

My parents were more than willing to give me the money I needed, but it always came with a cost. So, the perfect solution would be for me to make my own cash quickly. I also needed some type of escape from their helicoptering tendencies.

The broody man behind the counter was quiet as he expertly worked his machines and procedures. I watched with rapt fascination at the way he smoothly operated everything with practiced ease.

When he brought our orders to the counter, he shoved them toward us with a grunt.

I tried to contain my giggle of nervousness when I slowly walked up to help grab our orders while Cindy paid.

I flicked my gaze to the man, trying to see what his name was but when his eyes shot to mine, I ran away like a coward.

Looking around the food court, Nicole had saved us a spot at one of the nearby tables.

With a bright smile, I made my way toward her as she got to her feet to help me with the tray.

Once I placed our food down, I stood there awkwardly warring within myself. This was my chance wasn’t it? The sign I prayed for when my parents were being overly annoying about my aspirations and when I was going to help manage the family restaurant.

Come on, Kimmy. You are an adult. You can do this!

What if they get mad?

You can’t think about that now. This opportunity might pass you by and then you’ll live with regrets and what ifs!

Okay, brain. You’re right. I can do this.

I worked up my nerves, turned and took a confident step toward The Good Char so I could inquire about the job.

“Can you, like, hurry up?” Cindy called out, completely annoyed at my detour from our snack break. “This is such a drag. I'm ready to eat,” she whined.

I snickered a little, feeling a little lighter in my step. Admittedly, this was Cindy’s way of saying she wouldn’t hold me back from what I wanted and that gave me the extra confidence I needed to go through with it.

My eyes widened as I took in the owner once again.

He stood so large and looming, but he seemed nice.

With my hands clasped in front of me to keep my nerves at bay, I stopped right in front of the counter and took a deep breath.

I did take notice that he wasn’t brooding this time around. That was a good sign, right?

Flutters of butterfly wings in my stomach made me a little lightheaded as I wrung my hands before me, right before I blurted out the question without thinking.

“Has that position been filled, s-sir?” I pointed at the sign and gave him the biggest smile I could, hoping it would convince him to hire me. I had been told I had a friendly face. Places liked that didn’t they? It would help drive more customers here, my logical mind supplied me.

I was sweating bullets as he took a few moments to look me over. I knew I was small in comparison to the average American girl. It didn’t give much a way as to how hard of a worker I was. I stood there nervously as a few different emotions crossed his features but I continued to smile with hope.

I flicked my eyes to his name tag a few times but the way his large arms crossed, it skewed the angle of it.

Finally, he shook his head and answered with a deep tenor that made my eyes bug out in surprise. “Not yet. The last person who worked for me didn’t work out. It’s like he fell off the face of the earth.”

Perfect! I’ll take it! Pick me! Oh, please pick me! Why did he say that last statement slower than the others, though? How very strange.

I cleared my throat and tried to stave off the waiver in my voice. “Well, if you want someone that will give you 110%, I will gladly take the job,” I confidently told him.

I had always been a hard worker, my parents raised me that way. Initially, it was a fact that left a slight sour taste in my mouth when talking about it, but now I knew that this would help catapult me where I wanted to go.

“I may be small, but I work super hard and I promise that you won’t regret hiring me.”

I forced my hands to my side and bit my bottom lip to stop myself from smiling like a crazed animatronic clown.

“We will see,” he said with a scowl pointed in Cindy’s direction. I looked over my shoulder in confusion to find Cindy scowling right back. She then rolled her eyes and I could mentally hear her say, “ugh.”

“Oh, don’t pay any attention to her, she always looks like that,” I nervously laughed, hoping he wouldn’t change his mind about hiring me. We had such different personalities that I always questioned the saying of birds being similar flocking together.

“If she always looks like that, as you say, she needs to get her face checked out.” He turned his attention back on me and I gave him another bright smile. His expression didn’t change. “You be here early tomorrow morning and we’ll get you trained. The job is yours.”