Hey guys, how's it going!? Now I know it's weird for me to come out with new fics basically at all, but here I am again, and obviously with another Zelda fic.
So I think for this one I wanted to get down to some real grimy stuff! I'll be talking about all kinds of different themes and topics that some people may find offensive, specifically involving drug use, strip clubs, and sex workers. I really hope you all wanna stick this one out because I think it's going to be one Hell of a ride! I do want to let you know that I am extremely busy in university, but I have been working hard on this fic, so hopefully I can update this fic at a reasonable pace.
Anyway, I love you all!
PS: I have been working on Drowning In Pain if you have also been reading that fic. I hope to have the next chapter up sometime soon!
PPS: The main inspiration that stemmed this entire idea of stripper/sex worker fic was thanks to Tove Lo's "Habits (Stay High)." So check it out if you want to see the basic context of this fic. :)
Chapter 1 - Spirit Temple
"Everyday is Saturday night
But I can't wait for Sunday morning, Sunday morning..."
X X X
August 1, 2009
It had almost been a year since Dark had seen Link.
But, before this, high school was a different time. They became very close friends during those four years. Although Link had a fair amount of friends, and was always considerably busy with Zelda and her friends… but especially Zelda, Link still made time for Dark. He wasn't always be available when Dark needed him most, but Dark knew that Link was his best friend anyway. After graduation, Link left for university and Dark stayed in the south end of Hyrule's bustling downtown area.
It wasn't long after turning eighteen in the later months of their graduating year that Dark moved out of his parents' house. They never had a great relationship anyway. He could have managed living with them a bit longer, but he found that living in a dingy apartment in the centre of downtown suited one man well enough.
On the other hand, it was the job hunting that threw Dark through a loop. How was he supposed to qualify for any positions of higher merit other than working in a hell hole like McDonald's or Burger King? It was entirely impossible without a college or university degree; he had no money for either of those and a high school degree was basically useless in itself. Dark constantly questioned his wasted years in high school.
Luckily the crap trust fund that Dark's parents put together since Dark's birth was his saving grace. They didn't save up much and constantly took money out of it considering they had mortgage and finance issues themselves, yet the remaining few thousand covered all his rent for seven months and scantily served him at least two meals a day.
Then, suddenly, the money was gone.
Dark had to find a job.
X X X
Dark swore that he had at least another month's worth of rent saved up before he had to panic, yet a knock on his front door erupted throughout the living room, startling Dark from his snooze.
He shot up from his comfortable cocoon and rushed over to the door in a sweat.
The skinny, pale teenager with tousled dark hair and piercing red eyes swung the door open with a nasty glare. He wanted to look as though he were prepared to answer the door with alertness considering it was three in the afternoon yet wearing only wrinkled grey slacks and a black tank top definitely gave away his laziness.
The angry middle-aged, balding and overweight man certainly did not have time for Dark's crap today.
"You've missed rent," he snarled, leaning closely toward the teen.
Dark then stated, eyes hooded and leaning back, "I have enough for this month's."
"You clearly don't because your cheque bounced."
Dark's face paled. "Well, fine. I'll check my balance right now."
Dark turned away from the door and walked over to the end table beside his grubby couch. He hadn't had money for a phone in a while, so he made due with his iPod Touch and Wi-Fi. He opened his banking app and checked his saving's account. A measly remaining 228.67 rupees existed, which was way below his three hundred rupee rent bill.
He swivelled on the spot and viewed the man at the door with a look of disbelief.
"So obviously you don't have the cash, Dark," the man growled, leaning against the doorway. "You know what? You've been consistent with your payments and I don't really have a problem with you, kid, so I'll give you two weeks to get off your lazy ass and find a job. If you have a job by then, I will wait for your first pay cheque to come in. If you don't get a job, you're evicted the next day because I need my damn money like everybody else in this damned world. Got it?"
Dark couldn't even manage a rebuttal before the door slammed in his face.
Damn, he was mad. He wasn't lazy. He tried searching for jobs and nothing ever worked out. This time though, it was serious. The sheer thought of living with his psychotic parents once again made Dark wild.
He had to get a job.
Dark was dropping resumes left and right, at least ten resumes a day throughout the first week. He left them at places he never even considered working himself and to every place that was hiring, regardless of the needed credentials.
Without any response, Dark was out the second week, doing the same thing. He even put resumes out at the same locations.
Tomorrow was Sunday and basically his last day of survival. Because if no one answered by tomorrow, he'd be evicted by Monday.
Exhausted and building up a sweat, Dark sat down on a cement flowerbox outside of the sketchy restaurant he just dropped his last resume off at. He unbuttoned the top of his black dress shirt. Being dressed up was exhausting. How would he even be a waiter in a restaurant if wearing a uniform like this would stress him out alone?
Having a job would be rough, too.
He sighed and rolled his head back, swiping a delicate hand back through his dampened hair. He rested both hands down on the cement ledge and closed his eyes tightly.
Why wouldn't anyone respond? He needed a response!
"Well, well, well… who is this gorgeous young man seated before me?"
The flamboyant voice had Dark snap his eyes open and glare above him. A skinny, little man with long flowing pastel violet hair stood before Dark in white suit, including a purple cape that matched the purple handkerchief in his front pocket. His clothing seemed far too expensive for someone to wear in this area of town.
He scrunched his nose up. "'Gorgeous,' really?" Dark snapped, clenching his teeth. "At least I'm not the one wearing a purple cape."
"Hey, now," the man replied with false offense. He reached back and brought it forward, rolling the satin texture between his fingers. "This is my best cloak. So how is handing out resumes on this fine, summer day, my dear?"
Dark felt far more disgruntled than he did before, gripping his hands tightly against the brick below. "Have you been following me?"
"Oh, dear me, no, no!" he immediately responded while a dangerously odd smile crossed his face. "I was just inside of the restaurant and happened to see you speaking to the manager."
Dark pursed his lips and furrowed his brow, but didn't speak any further. He wasn't too sure of that; he didn't remember seeing this odd man in the restaurant. Dark also could have just missed seeing him in the restaurant, too, but he had to be prepared for anything. Although exhausted, he could probably manage running away right now.
"You're very cute when you make faces like that, you know," the man assured softly, that unassuming smile still on his lips.
Dark stood up quickly at that, fists clenched at his sides. "I don't know who you think you are, but you need to lay off with the shitty compliments. You just sound fucking creepy, to be honest! What do you want from me?"
The man raised his hands defensively. "Hey, hey now! I only saw you handing out resumes and I assumed you were looking for a job, so I thought I would mention a unique job opportunity that may have come up just in time for you, my dear. Additionally, looking good is beneficial for this opportunity. I was merely letting you know that you've hit the mark."
"O-oh," Dark muttered and his pale face flushed quite a bit. He released his fingers from their tight grip at his side. "Well, I-I…"
"No need for apologies," the man chided as he came closer to Dark. The teenager went rigid as this unknown man rested his arm along Dark's back. "I'm Vaati Minish and I have a couple of questions as we talk a little further. Is that all right, my dear?"
Still blushing, Dark just nodded silently, finding the sidewalk to be mighty interesting right now.
"So, what's your name there, pretty boy?" the man, now known as Mr. Vaati Minish, asked gently.
"Um, I'm Dark Link," he replied softly. "Do you... do you mind if we sit down?"
Mr. Minish laughed airily and loudly. "Of course. By all means."
The two men sat back down on the frame of the cement flower box; Mr. Minish's arm remained along Dark's back, which made Dark feel antsy.
"So, my dear, you live nearby?"
Dark raised his eyebrows and released a small, but much needed laugh. "Yeah, crappily enough, if you consider it living. I'm staying at The Royal Family right now, but to be honest with you, I might be evicted if I can't get the money I need basically by tomorrow."
"Well, depending on how you answer the last couple of questions I have for you, we may be able to arrange that," Mr. Minish shared softly, rubbing Dark's back. "But that's good, we need someone on call so if you live nearby that's always a major plus for Mr. Dragmire, our loving boss. All right, next question, you're done high school, I presume?"
Dark nodded and smirked a little. "Yeah, thank the Goddesses. I finished last summer."
"Oh, that is just wonderful!" Mr. Minish finally released the small of Dark's back by clasping his hands together out of excitement. His eyes lit up. "And now one last question...!"
Mr. Minish's incredibly eager face brought forth extreme doubt from the bowels of Dark's stomach.
Just what am I getting into?
"Can you dance?" Mr. Minish breathed out, light eyelashes fluttering in wonder.
Dark was flabbergasted. There was no way he could hide his reddened face this time. "D-dance? Like how?"
"Fluidly, my dear. With style, with allure, with good posture! And can you learn choreography quickly?"
Now Dark's words couldn't stop tumbling out of his mouth. "Well, I-I… I mean, I'm not horrible. And my friends have complimented me before. And-and... I learn quickly and have a good memory. So choreography wouldn't be too hard. W-wait, what's this for? Are you a band manager? Is this some sort of dance recruit team that you're in charge of?"
Mr. Minish couldn't help but let out a low chuckle. "Not exactly. You know what? Are you busy now?"
Dark sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you just saw me hand out my last resume of the night. So I guess not."
At this, Mr. Minish rose from his spot and turned to face Dark. He raised an arm, opening up his cloak while pointing further down the block.
"The venue is two blocks away. Join me and let's see what we can do about your rent predicament."
As Mr. Minish didn't seem too harmful to Dark's wellbeing just yet, Dark weighed his options. It sounded like a job was being offered to him without much warrant. He could probably protect himself against Mr. Minish if he truly needed to.
Dark stood and then walked ahead of the purple haired stranger, brusquely heading forward to his potential job opportunity.
X X X
Dark was standing outside of a square, black marble building with the bold golden-hued words Spirit Temple running along the top of the blackened doors and windows. The name sounded familiar, but didn't fit quite right within his memory bank. Maybe going inside might strike his memory correct. On either side of the entrance he only got to view the beautiful, intricate pottery for a moment before Mr. Minish called Dark inside.
He walked into a small, square, and dark room before Vaati led him into the main room. His eyes widened substantially once viewing his actual surroundings.
Dark was inside of a... strip club.
His mouth almost dropped, but he could feel Mr. Minish's expectant eyes on him so he kept his teeth clamped shut. He couldn't stop his eyes from quickly surveying the entire room over and over again.
Along the back wall of the large room, ruby drapes lined the back of stage while varying golden tones from the show lights made the curtain and the golden stage that rested along glow. The sides of the stage were black and it had an extended centre, the path almost reaching out to the two closest booths. In the middle of the room there were four evenly spread apart booths with low backs and sturdy tables with poles extending up to the ceiling. Then, right before him were many tables scattered in front of the booths.
The left side of the room was occupied by a large, black bar, with a golden backdrop light which illuminated the impressive alcohol collection on the wall behind it; at least twenty stools stole up room in front of the counter space. Dark noticed the women's bathroom on the left wall behind the bar followed by the men's bathroom along the right wall covered by the shadow of the staircase headed to the second floor. There was another door near the men's room and Dark assumed that it must have been a unisex bathroom. The floor was tiled black with intricate, gold and ancient-like patterns etched on some varying tiles, and the walls were painted a dark, alluring red—ultimately, the style of the club showed an extreme, sensual desert theme. Upon further inspection, he finally realized that walls bordered both sides of the stage, clearly leading down two questionable hallways as well.
Dark eventually met the eyes of Mr. Minish once again. The purple haired man smiled in glee, hands together.
"So, what do you think of it?"
Dark swallowed. "I would just be a... stripper?"
Through this question alone, Dark's worry clearly showed in his tone.
"Now, now, young one!" Mr. Minish announced with great concern. "Come now!" He grasped onto Dark's hand and whisked him over to the closest table, heading further into the club. He pulled out a chair for Dark and gestured for him to sit as Mr. Minish then found a seat across from the young teen. Daintily, Mr. Minish crossed his legs over. "I didn't want to scare you right away with words. This is why I brought you here first. Also, my dear, you won't 'just' be a stripper. You are an exotic dancer, an entertainer, a strip-tease extraordinaire, a performer! You are also part of a team! And... you have the potential of making good money." Mr. Minish finished with a menacingly crooked grin.
Dark nodded in growing interest, but also scrunched his eyes up in question. "But I have so many things to ask."
"Do not worry!" Mr. Minish responded gleefully. "I believe Mr. Dragmire is here. I can speak with him and have him explain any questions you may have. Be still, Mr. Link."
Dark nodded again and Mr. Minish vanished down the right hallway. As soon as Mr. Minish was gone from the room, Dark's mind couldn't stop racing.
How had he been handing out resumes to work in restaurants just only twenty minutes ago? What was he honestly doing in this strip club? Could Dark live this lifestyle? Could he even dance well enough to securely support himself?
The questions couldn't stop banging around in his head. He leaned forward in his chair, Dark scooping his head up in his hands as his elbows rested on his knees.
What am I going to do?
The abrupt bounce of footsteps emerging from down the hall shooed away all thoughts and he stood up, facing the emerging people. Mr. Minish came out from the hallway first, cape flowing behind him as he dramatically led the owner of Spirit Temple, Mr. Dragmire, over to meet Dark. Upon viewing Mr. Dragmire, Dark felt himself growing smaller.
The man was humungous, his six foot five body clad in a dark suit looming behind Mr. Minish as they manoeuvred through the tables. Authority poured out from Mr. Dragmire's large stature, the floor beneath him probably crying out from his size. Dark olive skin and fiery red hair gelled back from his face perfectly bordered his hawk-like, amber eyes. When meeting Dark's gaze for the first time, Mr. Dragmire's lips pulled up in crooked interest, nostrils on his aquiline nose flaring open. His eyes did not remain viewing Dark's questioning red eyes long and instead started examining Dark in full.
"Hello, Mr. Link," Mr. Dragmire's deep voice drawled out. He extended an enormous hand to Dark. "I'm Mr. Dragmire, owner and operator of Spirit Temple. You seem to be quite the object of interest in so far as Mr. Vaati is concerned."
Still bashful from being in such an intimidating man's presence, Dark did not recognize Mr. Dragmire's introductory gesture until an awkward amount of seconds later. He zipped forward, taking Mr. Dragmire's hand into his much smaller one and shook swiftly. Dark then blushed as his hand left the man's hand and he rubbed at the back of his messy head.
"I suppose so," was all he could laugh out, smiling a little at Mr. Dragmire.
"Could you turn around, boy?" Mr. Dragmire instructed, gesturing a small circle with his index finger in the air.
Dark blushed again at the command and turned quickly. Clearly Mr. Dragmire wanted a closer inspection of Dark.
"Pull your shirt forward so I can see your back."
Dark pinched his dress shirt by the front and pulled it forward, cotton material pressing tightly along the smooth curves in his back. He heard a small hum from Mr. Dragmire and he peered back over his shoulder in question. Mr. Dragmire smirked and gestured for Dark to spin around again. The young boy faced to two older men, hands folded in front of himself.
"If you are comfortable enough right now, opening your dress shirt would finish my basic inspection of your interesting, little shape."
Dark felt his face heating up a bit more indignantly this time. He didn't even know this guy! And he was going to talk about Dark like that?! But things were happening so fast and the sudden prospect of money had Dark reacting lightning fast. His gentle fingers swiftly undid all of his buttons, revealing his pale chest first and stomach last. Mr. Dragmire glanced over Dark's hairless chest a couple of times, but continuously ravaged Dark's lower half with inquisitive golden eyes. His dark hair that flecked down his naval held Mr. Dragmire's attention much longer than Dark wished. He kept his eyes low until Mr. Dragmire addressed him again.
"You are eighteen?"
Dark nodded, trying to do up his shirt, but Mr. Dragmire's words interrupted his movements. "I'm gonna turn nineteen in three months."
"You have quite the fascinating body, Mr. Link. Have you ever considered exotic dancing before?"
"Thank you. And I'd prefer if you called me Dark," Dark shared in a hushed tone, clenching at his own fingers more tightly out of defense. "And I haven't. But I can dance all right, plus I'm a fast learner."
Mr. Dragmire shared an odd smile with Dark and tapped his chin. "Here, I can make a potential offer to you to help with your current finances... but I need you to ask any questions you have of this job opportunity."
"Sure thing," Dark agreed. As he did, Mr. Dragmire gestured back to the table Dark and Mr. Minish were at first sitting at. He did up his shirt while they walked over. Now sitting down with Mr. Dragmire, Dark felt a little less intimated by the large man's stature, and he was thankful that Mr. Minish stayed too. "Okay, so, first of all, I'm just wondering what a normal day is like. Do I have appointments made by women or do I just... kind of dance and wait for them to come up to me?"
At this question, a deep, rumbling laughter began to roll out of Mr. Dragmire's mouth. Mr. Minish smirked at his side.
Dark felt immediately embarrassed by the question he asked. What did he ask wrong? Dark really had no idea what the day in the life of someone who stripped was.
"Oh, boy, I see you're in for a bit of a surprise," Mr. Dragmire murmured as he glanced to Mr. Minish with a mischievous gleam in his eye. Mr. Minish elatedly clamped his hands together and he looked to Dark with a wide grin. "This is a gay strip club."
The blood rushed to Dark's face without remorse. He really wished that Mr. Minish had been a little more informative about the job opportunity before he was dragged here. He didn't want to them to think that Dark was being judgmental, but his blushing face most likely told them otherwise.
"Look, kid, this is a career built around entertaining others. You job is to make sure that clients are pleased and convinced by your endeavours, that is all. If the gender or sexual orientation of clients—"
"No!" Dark exclaimed suddenly, cutting off Mr. Dragmire. He zipped his mouth quickly, right away seeing his potential employer's irritation, so he thought he might as well get his point across anyway. He threw his hands upwards. "I don't care what someone's preference in a partner is, but I… well, I never thought that I was gay."
"If you can dance and entertain, that's all that matters," Mr. Dragmire responded dryly, rolling his wrist impatiently.
"Aaand you may find out more about yourself than you already realize!" Mr. Minish chimed in as well.
Dark pursed his lips.
He could dance. And he felt he had the ability to entertain if he truly wanted to. For men? Well, what was so different from entertaining women in the first place? Money is money. Plus, Mr. Dragmire said he could help Dark with his current financial problems by tonight, which was incredible and so very selfless for a man that didn't even know him.
Ultimately, Dark came to the conclusion that if he ever felt too uncomfortable while working at the club he could give his two weeks' notice and that would be that.
"All right," he murmured softly, nodding to himself. Dark then made eye contact with Mr. Dragmire. He then repeated more loudly, "All right."
Looking pleased, Mr. Dragmire leaned forward and folded his hands on the table top. Dark glanced away from Mr. Dragmire's intimidating eyes and looked at Mr. Minish, who had his legs crossed tightly, eyes fervently inspecting his perfectly manicured nails.
"So, to answer your first question, Dark," Mr. Dragmire continued. Dark was surprised to hear his name for the first time from the intimidating figure sitting in front of him. Mr. Minish also raised his eyebrows at Mr. Dragmire. "Your day can vary greatly. We sometimes have shows. On show nights, as well as regular nights, you are performing public lap dances and strip teases, as well as private lap dances and strip teases. These private sessions are done in any of the rooms upstairs and can only be booked with you in person on the floor, so do not book any of your male clients ahead of your shift." The emphasis on 'male' clients made Dark smile just a little. "Finally, if you are not booked by a party or not engaging with a client, you are most often circling the room, or sometimes stationed at one of the poles."
Dark nodded at the response. "And how do the nights with shows go along? Is there a written schedule?"
"Yes, there are schedules. These shows happen once or twice a month. They have intricate choreography and often run twice in one night, usually including two differently choreographed dances. Our hours are shortened because of the provided dances therefore you can come in later on these nights, around seven thirty, to be exact, and these nights generally happen on Fridays. The first dance is run at eight and the second at twelve. On regular nights you are supposed to be here before six, and for day shifts you're usually asked to be in a bit before twelve. All shifts vary in hours as well."
"That sounds reasonable. When do we learn choreography?"
"Good question." Mr. Dragmire, with tight lips, smiled firmly. "Well, we're never open on Sundays, Mondays, or Tuesdays, so you're called in on those days for varied hours as well, depending on the intricacy of the choreography.
"And to answer your probable questions about the everyday process itself, you are mostly just hustling your clients on the floor. Engage with the clients that are not busy, although more than likely, they will engage with you first in so much as making any amount of eye contact. You must be attentive and observant. Engaging properly is found in the way you showcase your body language and your facial expressions; ultimately, you must make every move realistic and sexy. The better you get at this, the more money you make."
Dark could do that. He nodded again. He then added, "I guess I only have one more question, but I'm assuming I already know the answer..." Dark laughed a little. "But how do we get paid? We just take all the money we earned in one night?"
"You just take all the money you earned in one night," Mr. Dragmire mimicked playfully.
Dark's eyes lit up at once.
And Mr. Dragmire noticed this, so he chuckled deeply in response. "I see you are intrigued. Well, I can tell you that I am certainly intrigued in you. However, I will also warn you that for private sessions there is twenty per cent taken off that goes towards my paycheck as well. This is because I only get paid from cover, the bar, and how many private sessions we sell as a company."
"Thank you," Dark shared softly, bowing his head in the large man's direction. "And I think that's fair."
"Then I must ask you of one more thing," Mr. Dragmire inquired gently, gesturing a hand outwards to Dark. "Can you dance for me, Mr. Link?"
It wasn't the first time that Dark could say his mouth fell open today. "Y-you mean like right now?"
"Yes, now," Mr. Dragmire assured lowly. He pulled out from the table a bit, readjusted his tie while leaning back, and rolled his wrist, asking Dark to begin. "Nothing too extreme, I just want to see you roll your hips and move your body a little."
Dark didn't even expect to get a response from his resumes today, let alone being asked to dance in front of a stranger for a potential stripping job.
Shakily, he stood from his spot, and brought himself a few feet back from the table. While staring at the floor, he inhaled deeply and could only think: Just go for it.
Dark cemented his left hand on his hip and held his other arm at his side. He abruptly snapped his head upward, making direct eye contact with Mr. Dragmire's amused eyes. As he brought himself forward along the smooth tile, his hips swayed heavily, suddenly attracting Mr. Dragmire's eyes to melodically follow left and right. Dark provocatively brought his right hand up his thigh and midriff, then dragging his fingers in tantalizing patterns along his shirt, pausing to finger at some of the buttons before reaching the edge of the round table.
He swiftly brought his hand back down his shirt and rested it on the table top, circling around the table while dragging his hand along the smooth surface. He rolled his hips heavily while maintaining eye contact and finding close proximity to Mr. Dragmire. Dark smirked gently and he swung his hips in a larger circular motion, following the movement by making a one-eighty.
Now facing away from Mr. Dragmire, Dark dropped his height, left hand still on his side and right now on his knee, and he brushed his bottom with small, sensual movements over Mr. Dragmire's thighs. Dark then removed his once cemented hand from his hip and trailed it up the curve of his chest, finally placing his palm firmly on the back of his neck. At this, he turned his upper body, making attentive eye contact with Mr. Dragmire yet again while moving his hips more heavily.
Mr. Dragmire slowly let out a low, bellowing laugh and turned his head to meet Mr. Minish's eyes. Mr. Minish was off to the side, fanning himself profusely in response. Dark paused a moment and Mr. Dragmire shared aloud with a chuckle,
"All right, kid, that's enough."
Dark turned around eagerly and held his hands tightly in front of himself. Mr. Dragmire leaned forward in his seat and patted his breast pocket. He pulled out a couple of silver bills.
"I'll give you a two hundred rupee loan. We have a show coming up in two weeks; Vaati here can take you under his wing whenever he is available up until the show to show you the choreography and the ropes, get you ready for your first night out, all right? On the night of, pay me back my two hundred and you can keep whatever extra you make that evening, is that fair, kid?"
Dark swallowed heavily, but then nodded. He could do it. Dark would definitely try his hardest to make that two hundred back the first night. He gratefully took the money from Mr. Dragmire.
"Well, I must be off," Mr. Dragmire announced, standing from his seat. "I've had a long day. I will see you around, Mr. Link. Mr. Vaati will take care of you from here on out."
He excused himself with a small bow in Dark's direction and then thudded off in the direction of his supposed office, Dark assumed.
Dark let out a little sigh of relief; he then brought his gaze to Mr. Minish sitting at the table beside him. The purple haired man smiled widely at Dark and winked. He also stood from his spot, hand on his hip while inspecting the still flustered Dark.
"Well, well, my dear, would you look at that? Mr. Dragmire is absolutely fond of you! You can definitely tell, I mean, he even said your name once after you asked! And I can't blame him with those gorgeous hips of yours. I guess I'll be seeing you around. We should exchange phone numbers so I can be in contact with you about lessons?"
Dark inhaled deeply and then laughed out a little while rubbing the back of his head. "You see... I only actually have an iPod Touch. Could I give you my e-mail address and you can message me there?"
With phone in his hand raised near his head, Mr. Minish took a step back, and his nose scrunched up in pure disgust. "Poor boy..." Mr. Minish muttered, shaking his head at Dark. "Puh-leeease promise me that the first thing you do is get a cell phone once you save up enough money from your shifts."
"Sure thing," Dark promised weakly, giving a half smile to Mr. Minish.
Mr. Minish and Dark then exchanged information, Mr. Minish adding Dark's e-mail address to his iPhone right away while Dark wrote down Mr. Minish's number on his hand. Dark returned Mr. Minish's pen to him and nodded. He watched his elder place the pen back into his breast pocket.
"I should thank you for this opportunity," Dark shared, extending his hand out to Mr. Minish. "I mean, if you didn't so... oddly catch my interest, I probably wouldn't be here."
Mr. Minish smiled crookedly and raised his eyebrows as if it were no big deal. He reached out to Dark with both hands and securely shook Dark's hand. A funny, wide smile then crept across Mr. Minish's lips.
"You seemed to be a bit lost, so I thought a push on the shoulder could perhaps do you well."
Song credit: "Sunday Morning" - k-os
Updated: November 22, 2015
