//------------------------------// // I // Story: Making Friends // by Sir Alexander Wolfgang //------------------------------// Fay worked late on Fridays. She worked, of course, for a guy trying to find an excuse to fire her. She wished she could think that it sucked, but she had no friends, so what else would she do on a Friday? Plan a vacation to the Crystal Empire? Tend to her pet rabbit? Contemplate suicide? Her job was to stand around all night, fooling with her pink hair, or looking at Yaoi drawings on her cellphone. Yeah, she’s a gas station clerk. Occasionally people came inside, but they were usually hours apart. Seldom did two come inside at the same time. So she simply stood there, bored to death. Sometimes she thought about taking every dollar in the register, and running away, and starting a new life. But she reasoned that karma would strike, and she’d get hit by a bus, or arrested. So, she just stood there, breathing. Bing Fay looked up. Not one, but two people walked in. A brawny looking, white headed, dark complected woman, and a shorter, tan, rainbow haired, wire framed woman. Both wore sunglasses. Both had several piercings. Both looked like lezzies. Fay watched as they separated. One went into the restroom, while the Brawny one went to browse the drinks at the far end of the store. There were two people in the store, other than Fay. This was exciting. Fay heard a toilet flush, as the tall one approached the counter, placing an energy drink on the counter. She scanned it. “2.99, please.” Fay said, her voice gentle as ever. As the woman reached into her coat, the restroom door swung open, and the other woman sped out, racing for the security camera. She uncapped her can of spray paint, and sprayed thick black paint into the camera’s lense. Fay’s eyes went wide with fright at the realization. She looked back at the woman across from her to see that she was pulling out a gun. Fay shut her eyes, and put her hands up, holding tears back, before the gun was even pointed at her. “Hey dork, open your eyes!” The brawny chick said. Fay opened them, breathing heavy, heart beating like a drum. “Put all the money in that register in one of those plastic bag, then hand it to me,” the other woman commanded, walking over. Her voice was scratchy, and cocky. Fay did as she was told, but stole a glance at the woman with rainbow hair. Particularly her jacket. “H-Hey, is your name D-Deandra?” “What? No, keep putting the money in the bag.” “N-No, you’re her! You’re Deandra Dash! We were friends in high school, you always made sure nobody picked on me.” “No, I’m not who you think, I never even went to highschool,” the rainbow headed woman replied, insistantly. Suddenly Fay became a little brave, no longer loading a bag with money. “Come one, it’s the same coat you wore all through school. A Wonderbolts, bomber jacket!” “The Wonderbolts are awesome, tons of people probably have these kinds of jackets!” “No, it’s even got your name sewn to it! Deandra Dash!” Fay pointed to the particular patch on the right breast. “It’s Rainbow Dash!” Bing. Everyone looked at the front door, (Now there were four people in the store. Damn, is tonight busy) and saw a tall, purple haired man walk in, and make a beeline for the counter. “Second pump,” he said, placing a twenty bit bill on the counter. Everyone just stared at him. “What?” He saw the short woman next to him, “Oh, hey Deandra, how are things?” Deandra face palmed. The other woman, the one with white hair, snatched up the twenty, and yelled: “Get the fuck outta here!” He turned white when he saw the gun, then ran back to his car. Deandra looked up,defeated. “Just load the fucking bag, Fay.” Fay complied, with no hesitation. She handed them the bag, and they took off. Fay stood there, still breathing hard through her teeth. Was this what it felt like to be alive? To be truly alive? Deandra, and her cohort (named Gilda) sped away in their rusty old jalopy of a car. They were both tense, and quiet until finally: “What the fuck?” Deandra, who was behind the wheel, looked over to Gilda, who was in the passenger seat. “What?” She said, seemingly dumbfounded. “You got fuckin’ I.D’ed back there, that’s what!” She looked stern, taking off her glasses, and looking Deandra right in the eye. “We still got the money.” “But you got fucking I.D’ed by that dork back there!” Gilda gave a heavy sigh, shaking her head, “This means fuckin’ jail! They get you, they get me!” “But they ain’t gonna get me, so the ain’t gonna get you. Calm the fuck down.” “The bitch knows your name! We’re going down,” Gilda put her face in her hands. Deandra glanced over at Gilda, “Hey, relax. We just lay low for a while. No big.” “Where exactly are we gonna lay low?” Gilda asked, ever so slightly more calm. “At Jackie’s, I guess. Over at Sweet Apple Acres.” She said so simply. “No, I don’t think so. You can, but I-I think I need to get out of town a few days.” “Oh, really?” Deandra said in a tone riddled with sarcasm. “Don’t be such a pansy ass.” Gilda glared at Deandra/ Deandra laughed. “Lighten up. I’m sure she didn’t tell the cops too much. Gosh, we were best friends, I doubt she forgot about what we had. A loyal one, that gal.” “Name’s Deandra Crash, she has spiky, shoulder length, rainbow colored hair, a hoop piercing through her septum, gauged ears, not too big. Her eyes were kinda purplish, and her skin was tan, real tan. Almost like she’s from the Griffon Isles. What else, uhh, she’s short, and she loves the wonderbolts. Oh, and I didn’t get such a good look of her friend, but she was tall, dark, and white headed.” That’s exactly what Fay said to the police. One Month Later It was Friday, but instead of working, Fay lazed about her home. She had absolutely nothing to do. She had been fired by her lousy, fat-ass boss. For what? “No loyalty.” It rang through her head like a bell in the hands of a four year old afflicted with the worst case of A.D.H.D imaginable. “No loyalty.” What the hell did they mean? Fay described Deandra as best she could, she even told them her name, what did boss man expect? For her to take a bullet for him? She almost wet herself at the sight of the gun! But still, Fay couldn’t help but feel guilty about telling the police about Deandra. Deandra had been the only one to stick up for Fay all through high school. And this is how she repaid her? Ratting her to the police? It felt criminal. It felt like she had outdone Judas. Like, perhaps she really did have no loyalty. Maybe this was karma. Not getting hit by a bus, or arrested. She didn’t have loyalty for her old friend, and she lost her job because of it. But what would happen to Deandra if karma even existed? She’d become a criminal, she may even be killer! Fay hadn’t seen her since the party after graduation. She’d been nothing but a vague memory since then. Fay was about to die of boredom. Without a job she couldn’t really pay the bills, so there was no water, no electricity, no anything. She just kinda sat on the couch, somewhere between asleep, or trying to sleep. She hadn’t bathed in three days. She didn’t wear anything but an old T-Shirt, and dirty sweatpants. She had a rabbit somewhere. His name was Angel, and he was a little, furry, bastard. But she was his mommy, and he loved her. But ‘piss on you’, was his general opinion of anyone who wasn’t Fay. The house was like any other house in the neighborhood. Single story, and made for single resident. But unlike every other house in the neighborhood, there was a certain lowlife hood skulking up to the front. One with prismatic hair, and one whom muttered obscenities to herself, almost crazily. The hood stepped up to the door, and instead of ringing the doorbell, she slammed an arm into the door three times. Fay jerked awake from a nap that had just begun. She sat up right, as Angel Bunny scurried away, and looked at the front door. She hustled over to it, taking a look through the peep hole. And her heart skipped a beat. The door creaked open, like a small child was being called into his parents room to be disciplined. The hood was fed up, and shoved the door open. Fay fell on her ass, and looked up at the woman. “D-Deandra, wh-what a-” “Shut up, you little bitch, I ain’t got time for your shit!” Deandra slammed the door shut, then looked back down at Fay, “I’m out on bail, and before I go down, I figured I need to pay you a fuckin’ visit.” Fay’s heart raced, sounding like hammers upon metal to her. “I-I’m sorry, I-I just, damn, what was I supposed to do Dee?” “I dunno, stay Fucking Loyal to your friends, maybe?” That hit Fay low. She had always considered herself a good friend, but when Deandra slapped that card onto the table she felt almost sick. “We haven’t seen each other in almost five years.” “Didn’t know time cut ties.” She grabbed Fay by the hair, and pulled her up. Fay did not resist, just gave a slight whimper as she found her footing. “I knew I’d lose my job if I didn’t tell the truth!” For the longest time there was nothing but heavy breathing, a tense glare from Deandra, and an impish, and frightful look on Fay’s face. But like everything else it came to an end. “Listen, you little Freak,” That particular insult cut Fay deeper than razors. It was something she was called every single day throughout high school, “you’re gonna fix this. It’s only fuckin’ right after all the times I saved your ass in school.” Fay nodded. She never thought Deandra could be like this. She never thought Deandra would have such malice for her. She felt like she needed to make things right. “The judge is a corrupt old fucker. You’re going to make the money to pay him off for me, okay?” Deandra gritted her teeth. Fay nodded quickly, voice caught in her throat. “Good.” Deandra put a finger in Fay’s face, “ I’ll be back every day until you’ve got the twenty K.” She turned to leave. “Wait!” Fay blurted out. Deandra stopped. “Uh, I-uh, I d-don’t know where t-to get that m-much money.” Deandra turned around “Seriously?” Fay remained silent. Mostly out of fear that Deandra would snap. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” Deandra rubbed her mouth in thought. Fay stood there. “I-I think I have an idea.” “We could rob Diamond Dog Jewelers.” “Uh, no, I think I have a pretty good idea.” Deandra looked at her dismissively, “Whatever.” She shrugged, “Shoot.” “Every Saturday my boss drops off a blue pouch of bits at the bank, in a drive thru. Maybe you could intercept it?” “Heh. You’re coming along. But I doubt that pouch is gonna have twenty grand.” “It’s better than nothing.” Fay shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.” Deandra sighed. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow night, what time do we need to leave?” Fay looked down at her feet. “A-Actually, I have a question.” “What?” “C-could I, maybe spend the night with you? I-I need a shower, and, well, yeah. I figured since we were old friends, maybe, uhm, please?” Deandra looked her over. She wasn’t lying. Her shirt was stained, and dirty, as were her pants. The pink hair on her head looked greasy, and nappy. Pink nail polish on both her fingers, and toes, were chipped, and needed to be redone. Her pale skin had grey splotches on it, and frankly, she smelled quite bad. Like old cheese that had ran a marathon, then pissed itself, and cried uncontrollably for hours on end. “Yeah. You can stay. Just go get some clothes, and whatever. I’ll be in my car out front. Fay offered a glint of a smile, before nodding, and running off to her room. Deandra left, and sat in the car. It’s the night of the heist. Or rather, the mugging. Fay and Deandra were sitting in her old jalopy, at ten o’clock PM, in the bank parking lot, adjacent to the actual building. Between the building and the lot there was a small Drive-Thru station.. “Where is he?” Deandra asked, losing her patience. “R-right there.” They looked at the silver car pulled up to the drive through, and before the driver could do anything Deandra pulled a mask over her head, threw the car into drive, and sped in front of the other car, blocking it’s way. “What the fuck’s your problem, you asshole,” Fay’s ex-boss said, blaring on the horn. Deandra stepped out, wielding her pistol like excalibur, “Outta the sun-damned car, now!” The man complied, nervously, “P-please, what do you want?” he said, stumbling out of the car. Deandra found his change in demeanor laughable. “That blue bag. Toss it over, now!” With shaky hands the man did as he was asked, and tossed it. Deandra caught it, and handed it to Fay, sliding back into the driver’s seat of her car. She sped off, like a demon on wheels. The sun rose over the land looking down with beams of gleaming light. Over the rolling hills, and through the tall, tall, trees. To the city where a great many of the denizens bustled about. Gracing everyone with it’s gentle shine. It was like a picture from a story book, so beautiful, so- “. . . damn motherfuckin’ bright,” Deandra said, pulling the old, musty covers over her head. Fay got up from her place on the couch, yawning, and stretching. She was wearing what she wore last night, save for the shoes. All black. Black pants, black T-shirt, black everything. And then she remembered where she was. At a busty old trailer in a busty old part of town. Sweet Apple Acres. Home to more meth labs, crooks, and rednecks than you could shake a stick at. Sweet Apple Acres was a trailer park in case you hadn’t guessed. It was here that the young, toned blonde named Jackie Lee McIntosh (Nicknamed Applejack) lived with her (mostly) honest, blue collar family. It was her, her little sister April, her Grandmother (who raised her) and her brickwall older brother “Big Mac.” Of all the people in the trailer park (and to most people in the kingdom) he was the tallest, simply put. It was breakfast time, now, and all the people inside Jackie girl’s trailer feasted on bacon, eggs, cereal, and whatever else they could scrounge up. Deandra and Applejack sat at the folding table across from each other in the kitchen. “So, Dash,” Applejack swallowed, “How long you plan on, uh, plan on stayin’?” Dash looked up from her food, and scratched the back of her head, “Well, I dunno. Maybe um. Maybe a month, if that’s okay.” Applejack sighed. “And that flutter girl?” “Well, she’s my guest, so that makes her your guest.” Applejack was not happy. “That’s six people under one roof. Ya’ know, the landlord didn’t even want granny, and April to stay. What’s she gonna say about you?” .”Well, uh, she don’t have to know about me and Fay.” Applejack pinched the bridge of her nose. “Whatever.” She sounded as though she were defeated. Because, simply put, she was. Breakfast was officially over when Big Mac gave a loud, obnoxious, and above all else, satisfying belch, at approximately 12:01 PM. Sometime after smoking a cigarette Deandra and Fay poured the contents of the blue zipper bag onto the folding table next to the window, while the noise of Saturday cartoons played out in the background. All over the table spilled the neat, clean bits. It was a lovely sight. They began to count them, reaching the grand total of four thousand bits. “Fuck,” Deandra said. “That’s no where close to twenty K.” Fay looked at her, and sheepishly so, she put a hand over Deandra’s. “D-Deandra, I have twenty two thousand in the bank.” She swallowed. “If you want, I could-” “Why didn’t you tell me that yesterday? We could’ve avoided that whole robbery, Fay. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love a good robbery, but I need to be staying low, man.” Fay’s heart sunk. “-Loan it to you. If you’d like.” She said in a voice unlike herself. “Thanks anyway, though.” Deandra stood up, “I appreciate you doin’ that for me.” Fay shook her head, then quietly said: “Any time.” Deandra ruffled April's hair as she stepped outside of the building, lighting up another cancer. And that was that.