Disclaimer: That 70's Show and all the lovely little people in here belong to Fox and Carsey-Warner. Not me. Not that I don't wish I could have them or anything. You know...a Hyde to love and cuddle and hug would be nice to own though. A girl can dream, can't she?!
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Little Old Ladies and Enlarged Obsessions
Point Place, Wisconsin.
The Fotohut.
2:33pm.
Wiping away at the shop counter, Leo hummed away, singing some little ditty he had heard from some customer's car radio, some time ago. He worked at the counter absent-mindedly, stopping every once in a while to bend over and sniff at it. Shaking his head, he would just start wiping again, oblivious to the door opening at his side.
"Hey Leo man! What are you doing?" a voice said from behind him, frightening him enough to make him jump. Eyes wide, Leo turned around and held his hands up, still clutching the cloth in his left.
"Hey don't hurt me! I ain't got no--Oh hey, Steven, I thought you were some guy who was gonna rob me or something," Leo said as he recognized the owner of the voice.
Hyde laughed and then paused to sniff the air. "What the hell is that smell, man? It's like you dumped little old lady all over here. Smells just like one."
Leo turned back to wipe the counter. "Man, I found this cool bottle on the sidewalk outside. I was all, Hey! free goods. So I took it and then I smelled it. And someone honked his horn. I thought Hey bro! This ain't no fast food place. Some people always got to hurry man. You got to take it slow. Live life in the slow lane, you know? And I went to open the window and I was, Hey! What's the hurry? We're open all day man--"
"I got the point, Leo. Let me guess, you knocked the bottle over?"
"--And he was saying some mean things and I...yeah, I knocked it over. You got me!" Leo nodded. Looking at his watch, he turned his gaze back towards Hyde, "You know what time it is?"
"Uh, you got a watch on, bro?"
"Man, you're early! I'm not going to pay people for coming into work early. That just goes against all my beliefs."
"Yeah, you are, Leo."
Grinning, Leo bobbed his head and slapped Hyde on his shoulder, "Yeah, I am."
Steven gave his boss a quick, playful jab back and motioned towards the backroom, "Hey, I'm gonna go start on those orders from yesterday. Let them start piling up and people get crazy. Want blood and stuff man."
"Yeah, you better get to work. Coming in early. Huh, kids these days," Leo watched him walk off and sniffed at the counter again, "This counter does smell like little old lady."
A few minutes passed as Leo worked away at the counter. Outside, a car horn honked repeatedly. Leo looked up from his counter and peered out the window.
An older man, dressed in a clean, pressed suit, banged at the steering wheel of his shiny Lincoln Continental. As soon as he spotted the older hippie open the Fotohut's drive-thru window, he angrily rolled down his own car window and thrust a manila envelope out at the man. His face turned a deep, vivid red as Leo flashed a goofy smile at him and snatched the envelope away. "Here! It took you long enough. My daughter wants this photo enlarged to a 9 by 10. See that you get this done as soon as possible. I took care to write my name, phone number and very explicit directions on the envelope. Just call me when it's ready." Leaving Leo little time to respond, the man drove off.
"Whoa. Don't have a brain anu-aner-aneur...ah whatever man." Opening the envelope, Leo pulled out a glossy photograph. First, he merely glimpsed at it. And then as if spotting something really important, he looked harder at it. Looking towards the back and then back at the photo, he smacked his forehead, "Wow this is too weird." He turned towards the backroom and shouted, "Hey Steven! You should take a look at this picture man! It's got your girlfriend in it! And it's got some guy that looks a lot like you! It could be your twin, man!"
Swinging the door open, Steven peered in and then stormed towards Leo. "I told you, she's not my girlfriend!"
Chuckling, Leo handed him the photograph, "Wow, well then this is really weird because she looks like your girlfriend and that guy looks a lot like you. This is freaky. Like the Twilight Zone or something."
Gazing at the photograph, Steven shook his head and threw it at the counter. "That is me, you idiot. Where'd you get this?"
Picking up the photo, Leo laughed and shrugged, "Some angry guy told me to develop it man. I thought he was going to explode or something." Stopping to study the photo and then look over at Hyde, he smiled innocently, "Hey, you clean up real nice. Looks like you two went on a date or something."
Shaking his head, Hyde began to pace back and forth. "It was the prom man. And I only went with her because I felt sorry for her. And for the love of God, she is not my girlfriend."
"Okay, okay. She's not your girlfriend. Are you sure though because I thought only girlfriends blow up pictures like this of their boyfriends to stick in their rooms..."
"Oh god, this is a nightmare. I can't enlarge this thing for her. It's like I'm consenting to this whole insane obsession of hers. And then she's going to stick it in her room and fawn all over it. I can't take this man. What'd I do to deserve this?"
"Hey man, enlargements make good money." Noticing Steven's sour gaze, Leo shrugged, "Okay, I'll do it myself."
"Ah forget it. I'm going back to work so I can take my mind off this whole thing. Get me when it's time for break." With that, Steven turned for the backroom and slammed the door behind him.
Still holding the photograph, Leo just shrugged, "Well, they do make a pretty nice looking couple."
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Little Old Ladies and Enlarged Obsessions
Point Place, Wisconsin.
The Fotohut.
2:33pm.
Wiping away at the shop counter, Leo hummed away, singing some little ditty he had heard from some customer's car radio, some time ago. He worked at the counter absent-mindedly, stopping every once in a while to bend over and sniff at it. Shaking his head, he would just start wiping again, oblivious to the door opening at his side.
"Hey Leo man! What are you doing?" a voice said from behind him, frightening him enough to make him jump. Eyes wide, Leo turned around and held his hands up, still clutching the cloth in his left.
"Hey don't hurt me! I ain't got no--Oh hey, Steven, I thought you were some guy who was gonna rob me or something," Leo said as he recognized the owner of the voice.
Hyde laughed and then paused to sniff the air. "What the hell is that smell, man? It's like you dumped little old lady all over here. Smells just like one."
Leo turned back to wipe the counter. "Man, I found this cool bottle on the sidewalk outside. I was all, Hey! free goods. So I took it and then I smelled it. And someone honked his horn. I thought Hey bro! This ain't no fast food place. Some people always got to hurry man. You got to take it slow. Live life in the slow lane, you know? And I went to open the window and I was, Hey! What's the hurry? We're open all day man--"
"I got the point, Leo. Let me guess, you knocked the bottle over?"
"--And he was saying some mean things and I...yeah, I knocked it over. You got me!" Leo nodded. Looking at his watch, he turned his gaze back towards Hyde, "You know what time it is?"
"Uh, you got a watch on, bro?"
"Man, you're early! I'm not going to pay people for coming into work early. That just goes against all my beliefs."
"Yeah, you are, Leo."
Grinning, Leo bobbed his head and slapped Hyde on his shoulder, "Yeah, I am."
Steven gave his boss a quick, playful jab back and motioned towards the backroom, "Hey, I'm gonna go start on those orders from yesterday. Let them start piling up and people get crazy. Want blood and stuff man."
"Yeah, you better get to work. Coming in early. Huh, kids these days," Leo watched him walk off and sniffed at the counter again, "This counter does smell like little old lady."
A few minutes passed as Leo worked away at the counter. Outside, a car horn honked repeatedly. Leo looked up from his counter and peered out the window.
An older man, dressed in a clean, pressed suit, banged at the steering wheel of his shiny Lincoln Continental. As soon as he spotted the older hippie open the Fotohut's drive-thru window, he angrily rolled down his own car window and thrust a manila envelope out at the man. His face turned a deep, vivid red as Leo flashed a goofy smile at him and snatched the envelope away. "Here! It took you long enough. My daughter wants this photo enlarged to a 9 by 10. See that you get this done as soon as possible. I took care to write my name, phone number and very explicit directions on the envelope. Just call me when it's ready." Leaving Leo little time to respond, the man drove off.
"Whoa. Don't have a brain anu-aner-aneur...ah whatever man." Opening the envelope, Leo pulled out a glossy photograph. First, he merely glimpsed at it. And then as if spotting something really important, he looked harder at it. Looking towards the back and then back at the photo, he smacked his forehead, "Wow this is too weird." He turned towards the backroom and shouted, "Hey Steven! You should take a look at this picture man! It's got your girlfriend in it! And it's got some guy that looks a lot like you! It could be your twin, man!"
Swinging the door open, Steven peered in and then stormed towards Leo. "I told you, she's not my girlfriend!"
Chuckling, Leo handed him the photograph, "Wow, well then this is really weird because she looks like your girlfriend and that guy looks a lot like you. This is freaky. Like the Twilight Zone or something."
Gazing at the photograph, Steven shook his head and threw it at the counter. "That is me, you idiot. Where'd you get this?"
Picking up the photo, Leo laughed and shrugged, "Some angry guy told me to develop it man. I thought he was going to explode or something." Stopping to study the photo and then look over at Hyde, he smiled innocently, "Hey, you clean up real nice. Looks like you two went on a date or something."
Shaking his head, Hyde began to pace back and forth. "It was the prom man. And I only went with her because I felt sorry for her. And for the love of God, she is not my girlfriend."
"Okay, okay. She's not your girlfriend. Are you sure though because I thought only girlfriends blow up pictures like this of their boyfriends to stick in their rooms..."
"Oh god, this is a nightmare. I can't enlarge this thing for her. It's like I'm consenting to this whole insane obsession of hers. And then she's going to stick it in her room and fawn all over it. I can't take this man. What'd I do to deserve this?"
"Hey man, enlargements make good money." Noticing Steven's sour gaze, Leo shrugged, "Okay, I'll do it myself."
"Ah forget it. I'm going back to work so I can take my mind off this whole thing. Get me when it's time for break." With that, Steven turned for the backroom and slammed the door behind him.
Still holding the photograph, Leo just shrugged, "Well, they do make a pretty nice looking couple."