Skid Row Beginnings
A Little Shop of Horrors Prolouge
Chapter 1: Skid Row Home For Boys
A/N: Every wondered what happens before the events of Little Shop? This story has one shots of all the characters from Little Shop and will briefly touch on Audrey and Orin's relationship. I haven't written any fics about Orin so I am trying to slowly get used to writing about his character before I work on my collaborative piece with HermoineLennon. The first chapter focuses on Seymour and is a draft for a chapter that I was going to use to another fic. Seymour's friends Alan and Nicholas and the orphanage headmaster are my own creation. Alan reappears as an adult in my fic Epilouge To The Three Matchmakers. Disclaimer: I do not own rights to any settings or characters from Little Shop
Skid Row was in a really bad part of Lower Manhattan. A part of town ravaged by crime and drug use, the drop out rate was also abnormally high drop out rate. At one side of town there was an all boys orphanage. Many boys who were residents were in living situations that had been split apart by these types of issues. Unlike his fellow orphanage mates Seymour Krelborne had been abandoned at birth and had no knowledge of the reasons behind why he was left there or who his parents even were. It was quite an unfortunate circumstance.
Seymour constantly prayed for a better life. Even more so then his friends who he knew had knowledge of better life previous to being at the orphanage.
One night lying awake in bed Seymour was talking to his best friends Alan and Nicholas on either side of him. They were his best friends at the orphanage and were becoming more and more like the brothers to him.
"Do you guys ever wish you knew what your parents were like?"
Alan nodded in agreement. " I often wonder what my mom looked like. I bet she was pretty."
Seymour smiled and thought to himself. 'I hope my mom was really pretty too and that someday I might met a girl that's just as pretty as I picture her to be'
"Do you guys ever think we'll get out of this crummy place?" Alan asked
"I hope we eventually do. I would love to get out of this part of town… someday." Nicholas said wistfully.
Seymour nodded. "That's my biggest hope. That I get out of this orphanage and get adopted by a nice family. Start a whole new life."
"Boys, it's lights out. Time to be quiet." Said Mr. Lawson the headmaster of the orphanage.
And so the three boys drifted of to sleep.. dreaming as they often did of a better life.
Little did Seymour know that his wish would soon come true.
At 11:30am the next morning Mr. Mushnik the owner of the flower shop down the street from the orphanage stepped in to the orphanage. He was on a mission to find a boy to adopt who could be an apprentice at his flowershop and as he would mature become a full time employee.
Hattie, the secetary was a frequent customer of the flower shop and greeted Mr. Mushnik warmly.
"Good Morning Mr. Mushnik. How can I help you today?
"Hello Hattie. I'm here to look into adopting a boy from this place."
"Any specific age?"
"Between 11-15. I'm looking for someone to apprentice me in the shop who I will eventually pay as a full time employee as he gets older."
"Okay, I will page the headmaster and he'll come show you around."
The headmaster was down to the office in no time.
"Hello Mr. Mushnik. I'm Mr. Lawson. Let me show around the place so you can observe the boys and how they interact with each other."
Mr. Mushnik followed the headmaster down the hallway to the cafeteria where the children were eating their lunch.
"Boys, we have a visitor. This is Mr. Mushnik from the flower shop down the street. Please say hello."
"Hello Mr. Mushnik." The boys said in unison.
"Mr. Mushnik is looking to adopt someone so he can have an apprentice at his flower shop. Be on your best behavior as he observes your interactions."
"Yes sir." Another in unison reply.
Mr. Mushnik walked up and down the aisles of lunch tables taking mental notes of each boy's behaviors. He stopped at Seymour's table and paid careful attention to Seymour who was helping to collect the trash at the table and interacting with the rest of the people at his table as he helped to clean up.
'Excellent. Just the kind of person I want to work at my store.' He thought to himself.
He walked back over to the headmaster.
"I would like the boy in the plaid shirt with the glasses in the table at the back of the room."
"Seymour Krelborne?"
"Yes. Seymour would be a perfect person for me to shape in to a quality employee at my store."
"You've made a great choice. Mr. Mushnik. Seymour is one of our most caring and considerate residents. He's a good friend to everyone and very helpful."
"Fantastic. Where is the paper work I need to sign?"
"For now you can just take him and get him settled. Seymour was a foundling and we have had the hardest time tracking down his birth parents. We don't know if they are still alive."
"And I'll get the paper work eventually?"
"I'll send it to you as soon as possible."
"Fabulous. Call Seymour over here please."
"Seymour Krelborne, come over here please"
The room was silent. The question was lingering in the air. Was Seymour in trouble? If he was it would be a first for him. He was never in trouble.
Seymour went up to the headmaster and Mr. Mushnik
"Yes sir?" he asked
"Seymour come with us. We want to talk to you in private." The headmaster said
"Yes sir." Seymour said and the three left the cafeteria and went to a private area of the hallway.
"Seymour, Mr. Mushnik wants to adopt you."
"Adopt me? Really?" Seymour was shocked at what he was hearing.
Mr. Mushnik smiled. "Yes my boy. I want to adopt you. I think you would be a fabulous asset to helping me in my store."
"Seymour. Go to your room and start packing. Mr. Mushnik will be back later to come pick you up."
"Yes sir." Seymour was grinning from ear to ear as he walked off down the hall to his room to go back.
When the bell rang singling the end of lunch Alan and Nicholas were in the bed room getting stuff read to study with their tutor when they noticed Seymour packing his suitcase.
"Hey buddy, what's with the bag you're packing? You leaving us?" Nicholas asked.
Seymour grinned. "Yeah. Mr. Mushnik is adoptin' me. I'm finally getting out of here."
Alan and Nicholas were happy for their friend yet sad at the same exact moment.
"We're gonna miss you Seymour." Alan said
"I'll miss you too but I'm not that far away you guys can always come visit me at the store." Seymour said
"Still it won't be the same. I'll miss the late night chats." Said Alan
Seymour got up and put an arm around both of his best friends's shoulders.
"Just think I'll be getting out of here and getting a chance at the life we've been talking about every night. Some day you'll get the same chance too."