This story involves a new character named Providence, whom is Eugene's new friend and is featured in my story, "Crane Game Obsession."
"Hm, hm, hm," an overly cheerful boy's voice hummed. A crop of red, puffy, curly hair showed between the shelves of a local store. Eugene tipped his shoulders side to side in a sort of self-congratulatory dance. As unlikely as it was, he pulled a brand-new wrapped copy of a video game off the shelf and walked it to the counter to purchase it.
"I'd like to purchase this game, please," Eugene said with his most amiable of voices. Then he power stepped out of the store with his rustling plastic bag. Outside the door, he nearly tripped over his own sandals as one on of toes folded funny, but Eugene righted himself, then continued on his way, videogame and store brand bag intact. He swung his arms and strutted down the street.
Eugene's predetermined destination might have had something to do with his mediocre luck, for he soon came to a lovely, freshly painted, old two-story home in Hillwood. It was not far from Lila's house but much better looking. The reason was the repairmen who even now were working on a pair of wooden shutters on the side of the historic home. They had taken them down to be repainted and now, they were only just lifting them up to be reset in place. At a thankfully far distance from them, Eugene stopped on the front stoop of the house to ring the doorbell with incident to any of the men, their paint, or their ladders.
"Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong!" the doorbell sounded out. The door popped open and a head popped out.
"Ding-dong?" a girl with a lovely voice quoted the door as she glanced out of her front door. "Oh! Eugene! Did you get the game?"
"I sure did!" Eugene held the wrinkly, plastic shopping bag aloft, elation on his face. "I found exactly the game you were looking for, Providence!"
Eugene stepped lightly through the front door onto a cute, fuzzy, welcome mat in the shape of teddy bear- albeit a flat one. She crossed her wrists modestly in front of herself and blinked once at Eugene before regarding her friend with joy. After she had moved here from another part of Hillwood, she had met Eugene and they had become good friends.
"I'll set up the game station!" Providence uttered before walking gracefully into the living room of her house. At the arched entrance to the living room, she took the plastic bag with the brand new video game in it from Eugene's hand. The boy immediately fell over on a broken sandal. Providence finished loading the brand new video game into her game station, took up the controller, then glanced over to regard Eugene's prostate position on the floor.
"Oh!" she remarked without especial excitement. "Did you fall down, Eugene?"
"Fall down?" Eugene laughed. "No! Of course not! The floor just needed a hug, that's all!" Eugene pushed himself up and joined his friend Providence on the couch.
"I like the game," Providence said, drifting into it. Her thumbs jammed the game controller at a furious pace. Her eyes took on a serious focus as she endeavored to pass the current level."
"Meep, meep, meep! Sproing!" Providence relaxed again the couch as the game screen turned to text boxes. She lay the controller on her knees and relaxed one hand against the cushions.
"It's a really good game, Eugene," Providence remarked. "Thank you for picking it up for me."
"Oh well, I used the money you gave me for it!" Eugene shrugged with modesty. "And I thought I'd say hello since I've been busy around town all week."
"With clog-dance lessons?" Providence asked, her long, dark braided hair cast back over her shoulders. "And your other friends?" There was tiny touch of sadness there as Providence mentioned her other friends. She was reliant that someone came to visit her, instead.
"Oh, come on now!" Eugene flustered, his chest swollen with his own optimism. "They don't bite. Most of them, anyway. I'm sure they would be happy to let you play with us."
"Well," Providence said thinking deeply as she twitched one end of a braid. "I'll think about it. But I don't really wanna play sports. But I would like to meet them all. Outside of school." She forced her frown into a smile.
"Oh, well you'll have plenty of chance to get to know them in school as well!" Eugene uttered with pure honesty. "Don't worry, Providence! They are some of the nicest people I know!"