Over and Under: The War of the Sock
Act 1: Minimum Wage
*See the notes at the bottom for the definition to these words. I realize that if you were not born in the South, that you may not understand what some of these foods are or what some of the slang means.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
How can someone entertain themselves when they have so little to their name that they can't afford ?
The old have long forgotten the fun they had in their youth no longer understand it, and not many of the young comprehend it. Kick the can, hopscotch, jump rope….
Or one that will still recognize but not in its original form. Capture the Flag...
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Ben took aim, found a hole in the defenses, and fired. The molten glob arced towards its target, and Ben smiled, knowing that he had just won. A sickening splat was heard as the target was covered in the molten mass as it quickly covered its target. The grits* had just stuck to the last empty spot on the ceiling.
Ben could only smile as his plans to turn his windowless office into a bat cave were that much closer. Most of his grit stalactites were now between 6 to 14 inches long. Now all he needed was some spray paint and he was set. He was kind of surprised that Mr. Jeffrey had let him get away with this, but then the old man could barely see anymore and the other employees didn't seem to care at all.
Admittedly, working the night shift at Jeffrey's Laundry Mat was boring and the pay only covered half the gas it took to get to work, but here Ben was king and nothing would oppose him. CRASH!
Well, maybe this king was a bit of a coward as he immediately hid under the desk upon hearing something crash from the drying room. He was considering calling the cops, but the lack of machines humming stopped him. He cursed several times as he realized that the blasted machines had just stopped working and it was most likely something breaking that caused this.
He got up off the floor and brushed himself off as he walked out of the office. He actually had some work to do.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Ben walked into the room and the first thing he noticed was that all of the dryer doors had somehow flown open and all the clothes were strewn everywhere. This was his nightmare incarnate. He actually had work to do and it wouldn't be easy either.
He was just picking up a sock when he noticed some rustling in the clothes. He froze as something snaked its way through the clothes to him. He was about to bolt when something popped up and out of the clothes in front of him. " 'Scuse Dobby sir. But could Dobby have the gold sock sir?"
Ben blinked. A bulbous-eyed gremlin was sitting in front of him. He really wished that he could have afforded that digital camera at that moment because no one would believe what he was seeing and would probably be asking where they could get some of what he was smoking when he saw it. "Uh, what?"
The things ears seemed to wobble around as it jumped up and down. "The sock, the sock. I need it to look presentable for the Great Harry Potter!"
Ben blinked again. A sock? Seriously. "Um, it kind of belongs to someone so I can't really give it to you."
The little creature seemed to be flustered for some reason. It popped its feet up out of the laundry and flailed its feet around. It also waved around a blue sock in its right hand. "Look, look. Dobby only have green and red for past Christmas but be needing new socks to look presentable to Great Harry Potter! Dobby already have blue sock. Dobby need gold sock to show Great Harry Potter he smart like Ravenclaw!"
Ben stared at the little thing and then thought about the money he could make from the capturing it. He held out the sock for a moment in front of the creature. When the creature tried to grab it, Ben tackled it to the ground. The ensuing struggle threw clothes everywhere.
The little creature finally seemed to break free and fired something at Ben. Ben held up the sock in his hand like a shield and the glowing thing bounced off and hit his left shoe. The shoe and his left sock ripped off of his foot and into the little creature left hand. It seemed to frown as it tossed the shoe aside and took the white sock. "Dobby no want stinky white sock. Why spell not work? Dobby need be going to Great Harry Potter now but be back. Bring help next time."
Ben watched it disappear with a crack and looked at the sock in his hand and his shoe. He sighed before putting the sock in his hand followed by his shoe. He then looked over the mess they had made and sighed as he went to work.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Ben related his tale of the previous night to Mr. Jeffrey after his night shift ended. The old man nodded his head sagely as if he expected this to happen, which threw Ben for a loop because he thought the old man would think he was crazy. Ben was about to question the old man until his head dropped back and a strange gravelly voice came out.
"Marked for greatness,
Go destroy unknown evil,
The sock shows the way."
Ben stared at old man Jeffrey speaking in this gravelly voice before shaking his head and leaving so he could sleep off the madness he just went through. He was starting to wonder if he hadn't smoked something strange at that point. He didn't notice the old man smiling as he left and certainly didn't notice as the pilfered sock on his left foot glowed.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
The old man smiled as he pulled something out of a safe. He held the ragged thing up to the light and watched the light glint off of it. His smile nearly split his face. "My legacy will live on it seems. Maybe a bonus awaits our young hero."
The old man shook his head for a minute. "Naw."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
*Grits - This is a morning food common in the South and made from roughly ground corn meal, salt, and water. Cheese, honey, and other condiments can be used to flavor it. Its can be served as a side with either eggs, bacon, and/or biscuits and gravy, or eaten alone. Its sticky, fills you up, and keeps you warm on cold days.
It has the consistency of thin to thick jello when warm and will harden as it grows cold and loses water. As many kids learn early on, it can be used as a substitute for clay or playdough when it is still malleable. It can also be shaped into play blocks that are quite sturdy once they cool down and dry out.