The place now? It is a little restaurant known as 'BURGER WORLD'. The time of night? It is closing time. Everything was quiet at the moment until three knocks are heard.
"Yo, Fat man! Open up! I know you're in there!"
"Cry Baby," a heavy voice asks then opens the grate. 'Fat man' frowns at Shorty, "Not again." Shorty smiles and crawls out.
"Yep," says Heat as he slides out. "And, Shorty, you're supposed to ask if the cost is clear, first. You know Hamm doesn't own the place. He's a normal person, like you and me."
"Well, after hearing what happened to you, it looks like I'm the only one with a job."
Heat frowns, "Does everyone know?"
"Whoa! Where am I," the high guy asks as he gets out.
"You're home," Heat sarcastically.
"Cool," he props himself against the wall and goes to sleep. Hamm, a fat Trinidadian with blond dyed hair, picks up the grate and starts to put it back.
"No, wait. One more," he reaches in and helps Frida drag herself out.
"Where are we," Frida asks.
"Now, we're at casa de Hamm. Burger World. Hamm, this is Frida."
"Nice to meet you, but now what?"
"Get our asses back home as quickly and silently as possible."
"Shorty, isn't it past your bedtime," Hamm inquired.
"So, what? I want to stay up and party like Heat does. He's my idol," Shorty smiles as she hugs Heat's side.
Heat smiles, "We're getting you home, first. You need your rest to be as good as I am."
"You mean sleep all day because I have no life now," Shorty giggled.
"Let's go. See you later, Hamm. And, don't let Trippin' try to eat his own arm, again, okay?"
"So, where are you two going once I get put back," Shorty asks.
"Yeah, Frida. Where are you going?"
"To the nearest, fairest hotel."
"You two are going to do naughty stuff in there aren't ya?"
"'Naughty stuff'? How old are you, Shorty?"
"I'm twelve."
"And, what type of naughty stuff do you think two people would be doing?"
"You know…. Stuff."
"Whoa, whoa! Wherever you're going with this, it's way too early for the two of us to be doing things like that. Well, …."
"Are you kidding? I mean I would. But, even though you have to pay for the room, you don't have to clean the mess. And, I would do it EVERY night! It's one of my dreams to do that."
"You mean girl's your age think about this thing?" They stop at a door.
"Well, …not ALL of them. And, that's because they've already done it."
"What?!"
"Heat, can we do it together one day?"
"Well, Shorty, I'm not sure if-."
"I don't get it. What is it that you would like to do with Heat," Frida asked.
Shorty carefully opens the door, "Have a pillow fight and jumping on the beds, of course. DUHUH!" Heat looks a bit flushed. "Three more questions? Where are you staying, how long will you stay, and how old are you?"
"I'm staying here for a couple of weeks. The place I'm really staying at is around the other side of town. And, I'm seventeen."
"One more question?"
"It's getting late, Shorty," Heat intervened. "Now, get inside before we all get in trouble."
"Night," and she closes the door behind her.
"Come on," Frida smiled as she ran off.
"Wait up! You don't know this city." After some sneaking around the some cops, they arrive at Heat's part of the neighborhood. "Shesh. The cops are everywhere, now. I guess you will have to stay at my place. I'm afraid to even go there, myself. Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah. But, once they start to disperse, I'm gone." After they make it into his room, they decide to sit around and wait. But, the flashing lights never seem to leave. They eventually end up falling asleep. When Heat wakes up in the morning, he notices that Frida's not there. He spends that Saturday morning walking around the city. Wandering if today was really Saturday. If everything he thought that happened was all a nightmare, or at most a bad omen. But, the one thing that seemed all too real was the feeling he had, caused by his groove-tron reacting to another. If it was for real, was that feeling associated with a destiny? Or could it be a desire to feel danger once again. He threw away his thoughts, being taken in by hunger. Now, the lone man makes his way to Burger World. Maybe food in his stomach will make him forget the things in his head.
"Frida?" He whispered. The strong feeling struck him. He tried to ignore it and to keep walking to where he was going, but it just kept getting stronger. It was a rush of power. A power that he wanted to challenge. He gave in to his senses and walked to an alleyway. Why here?
The sound of a gun being cocked, "Long time, no see. I see they didn't get you."
"Who are you?"
"I'm the BIGGEST conspirator on the planet. I'm Strike and you better remember that. If we don't have a talk, then it's gonna be the third strike and you'll be out. Got it? Now, I'm a nice guy. I need to ask you a favor. Since the cops are looking me and I can't really go anywhere, I'll need your help, soon."
"Why should I help you?"
"Because they're tired of your parties. In fact they think you're my accomplice. So, you better watch your back."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because if you don't squeal, I don't. Got it? Besides, …don't you feel it?"
"Feel what? This? Something which I bet you have, too."
"Oh. So, THAT'S why you walked right towards me. But, there are more than two of us. A whole lot more. We are the chosen children."
"What do you mean? People make their own destines."
"And, sometimes what we want our destinies to be involves other people. I will save your butt because we're the same, boy. But, in the end, I have the final say of what goes on."
"No one predicts how I live."
"So, you say in what you want YOU'RE destiny to be. But, I tell everyone what to do in mine." Strike comes out from the shadows, "You like?" He is wearing Trippin's clothes. "But, I got to get out of this soon. It smells like…well who cares? I'll do that after I get a hair cut." Puts gun away. "I know there's more. You can either take orders from me or be struck down by me. And, I guess I'll know you're decision when we dance side by side." He starts to walk deeper into the alley, "That's how we are all linked, you know. By our dancing."
"What does this have anything to do with dancing?"
"Use it while you dance. You'll see."
Heat goes to Burger World and tries to explain everything that happened to Hamm. Heat is sitting backwards in a chair while Hamm is sitting across from him, taking a break, and Burger Dog is cooking.
"Heat this up, will you?"
Heat points his finger out and starts to cook a burger, "This has to be a dream. There's no way that this could be happening. Burger dog, pinch me!" Burger Dog walks over, reaches up and back slaps Heat. "Ow! I said 'pinch me'," Heat rubbing his face.
"He's a dog. If you wanted a pinch, you should've asked me."
"Now, I don't know what's worse. Getting pimples by being pinched by greasy fingers, being pimp slapped by a dog, becoming a criminal, or meeting a mysterious girl and having her disappear on you."
"Well, you're not exactly a criminal, yet. Just associated with one by mistake. And, don't worry, Heat. I got a way to pay off your rent and you don't even have to risk your life for it."
"Huh? That's new. But, for the last time, I'm not wearing a hair net!"
"No, not here. I meant THIS," Hamm shows him a poster for a dance tournament. "I know that with your skills, you might do well enough to keep everything going for a month or two."
"I'm not sure. Doing this? Might get me in more trouble."
"I thought you looked for trouble." Heat smirks at him. "Besides. That girl's from out of town, right? Maybe she came here for the contest, too. In fact, I was thinking about joining it, myself. I've been snacking on junk food for too long and I need to shed a few pounds."
"You mean, I get to see the dancing legend dance in MY lifetime?"
"It's true. In fact if I were you, I would start practicing, now."
"Can I have that flier?" Hamm gives it to him. "He could be right. Maybe I will meet her, again. And, when I do, I'll prove to her why they call me the King," Heat thought. "Hey! The last time for tryout is tonight!"
"I know. That's why I told you to start practicing now." Heat gets off the chair and tosses the burger to Hamm as he runs out.
"Ow! Hot!"
Heat goes back to the club and practices, like others who are there. He keeps thinking about what Strike said. About using his groove-tron while he danced. What would it do to his dancing ability? But, he decided not to test it out, yet. He was starting to get a little superstitious because of the bad luck that he was running into lately.