avoid the main square, which was always packed with the lunch crowd by that time.
Some of the coolest shops could be found on the smaller side streets. I guess being pushed aside by the bigger and swankier stores pretty much made them grow some mighty big balls and bask in their fringe status.
I decided to explore Sycamore Lane, which was this narrow little street a couple of blocks or so from the main square. A bunch of shops ran the length, but only about half of them were actually open for business. The rest were empty spaces, with the display windows getting all filthy and difficult to see through. The good thing was that none of them were boarded up like in the dingier alleys in the seedier parts of Vintage. The empty shops were just empty and dirty, with “for lease” signs tacked onto the display windows.
At the end of the street was an adult bookstore. I thought of walking in and pretending like I was twenty-one, but because the window was covered up, discreet-like, with pink paper, I had to steal a quick look through the front door. The tall, tattooed woman at the counter caught me staring, and judging from the way she looked at me, I figured she wouldn't be convinced that I was old enough. She even moved her arm to show off her “Devil's Angel” tattoo with the bloody knife filling up her entire upper arm.
Okay, okay, I got the hint.
There was also a New Age bead shop a few doors down, not to mention a leather store that also sold all kinds of bongs in different designs and shapes. There were a couple of edgy urban wear shops with eardrum-shattering music screaming through the doors.
The highlight, though, was the new retro arcade about three doors down from the bead shop. At that point I realized that I was getting pretty hungry, so I could only manage a quick jealous look through the window while making a mental note to tell my friends about it the next time I saw any of them. It would be great for the whole gang to go there and spend a couple of hours chilling and wasting money on awesome games like Pac-Man or Tron or whatever. Of course, I'd still have to go online, find free cyber versions of these games, and familiarize myself with them before tackling the real deal.
Except for Asteroids. I could whoop major ass with my eyes blindfolded with that game.
I decided to go to the lingerie store where Liz worked. It was the one that Althea tried to get me to work for a while ago. There I found her folding T-shirts and looking bored as hell.
"Hey, I'm hungry,” I said, waltzing up to her. “No school today. Feed me."
She just scowled. “You're playing hooky. No deal."
"No, really. You can even call Brenda if you don't believe me. By the way, how're the bruises coming along?"
She sighed and held up her injured arm, her scowl deepening. “I don't know how long it'll take for them to go away, but it's been embarrassing as hell. People look at me funny, and I've had a couple of girls pull me aside and suggest that I report my abusive boyfriend to the police."
"Lesson learned, I guess. It's not worth literally risking life and limb over bonding moments with Mom."
Liz nodded, rolling her eyes. “I never thought that she'd have that kind of a grip. Man. The movie wasn't even a third done, and she'd already turned into a human barnacle. I had to threaten her with wasting a stick of butter just to pry her fingers off my arm. Seriously, if you want to see Mom back off, hold the household budget hostage. She'll listen."
"What, didn't Scanlon help?"
Liz shrugged. “His idea of helping was resting an arm around my shoulders and asking me if I was getting scared every, well, five minutes or so."
"He's a real Romeo, that Dorsey guy,” I noted, which earned me a pretty lethal sort of look from my sister.
"Lay off him, Eric,” she warned. “Or I'll tear your balls off with my teeth."
"Sweet. I like your subtlety.” I looked around and took in all the froufrou underwear and casual clothes that packed
Some of the coolest shops could be found on the smaller side streets. I guess being pushed aside by the bigger and swankier stores pretty much made them grow some mighty big balls and bask in their fringe status.
I decided to explore Sycamore Lane, which was this narrow little street a couple of blocks or so from the main square. A bunch of shops ran the length, but only about half of them were actually open for business. The rest were empty spaces, with the display windows getting all filthy and difficult to see through. The good thing was that none of them were boarded up like in the dingier alleys in the seedier parts of Vintage. The empty shops were just empty and dirty, with “for lease” signs tacked onto the display windows.
At the end of the street was an adult bookstore. I thought of walking in and pretending like I was twenty-one, but because the window was covered up, discreet-like, with pink paper, I had to steal a quick look through the front door. The tall, tattooed woman at the counter caught me staring, and judging from the way she looked at me, I figured she wouldn't be convinced that I was old enough. She even moved her arm to show off her “Devil's Angel” tattoo with the bloody knife filling up her entire upper arm.
Okay, okay, I got the hint.
There was also a New Age bead shop a few doors down, not to mention a leather store that also sold all kinds of bongs in different designs and shapes. There were a couple of edgy urban wear shops with eardrum-shattering music screaming through the doors.
The highlight, though, was the new retro arcade about three doors down from the bead shop. At that point I realized that I was getting pretty hungry, so I could only manage a quick jealous look through the window while making a mental note to tell my friends about it the next time I saw any of them. It would be great for the whole gang to go there and spend a couple of hours chilling and wasting money on awesome games like Pac-Man or Tron or whatever. Of course, I'd still have to go online, find free cyber versions of these games, and familiarize myself with them before tackling the real deal.
Except for Asteroids. I could whoop major ass with my eyes blindfolded with that game.
I decided to go to the lingerie store where Liz worked. It was the one that Althea tried to get me to work for a while ago. There I found her folding T-shirts and looking bored as hell.
"Hey, I'm hungry,” I said, waltzing up to her. “No school today. Feed me."
She just scowled. “You're playing hooky. No deal."
"No, really. You can even call Brenda if you don't believe me. By the way, how're the bruises coming along?"
She sighed and held up her injured arm, her scowl deepening. “I don't know how long it'll take for them to go away, but it's been embarrassing as hell. People look at me funny, and I've had a couple of girls pull me aside and suggest that I report my abusive boyfriend to the police."
"Lesson learned, I guess. It's not worth literally risking life and limb over bonding moments with Mom."
Liz nodded, rolling her eyes. “I never thought that she'd have that kind of a grip. Man. The movie wasn't even a third done, and she'd already turned into a human barnacle. I had to threaten her with wasting a stick of butter just to pry her fingers off my arm. Seriously, if you want to see Mom back off, hold the household budget hostage. She'll listen."
"What, didn't Scanlon help?"
Liz shrugged. “His idea of helping was resting an arm around my shoulders and asking me if I was getting scared every, well, five minutes or so."
"He's a real Romeo, that Dorsey guy,” I noted, which earned me a pretty lethal sort of look from my sister.
"Lay off him, Eric,” she warned. “Or I'll tear your balls off with my teeth."
"Sweet. I like your subtlety.” I looked around and took in all the froufrou underwear and casual clothes that packed
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