Starting
Getting of the shuttle bus, he walked through the bustling crowd he looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. Looking up at the building in front of him he whispered to himself "This must be it." With the huge SKATESHOP sign on the building who could miss it?
"Yahiko! You're early man!"
He turned towards the voice it had to be Kenshin. His ticket to better things.
"Kenshin! Man, glad to see you."
"How was the flight?"
"Awe, man it was great. Never been on a plane before….kinda nerve racking…we had slight turbulence."
Kenshin laughed and ushered him inside. He was the type of guy anyone would want to meet. Laid back and cool. With slightly long hair,red, and he had an X shaped scar on his cheek. He did so much pot as a kid you could probably still find some in the back of his shop. Old habbits die hard.
The shop was lined with all different shapes and sizes of skateboards. The place was a bit small but just the right size for its owner. He put all he had into the place. Clothing lined the back wall and the shoes lined the floor. Posters of upcoming competitions and skate companies were everywhere you looked. Where Yahiko was from he never had a skateshop anywhere. The closest one was miles away.
"Man look at this place!"
"Like it?"
"Yeah I like it."
"Good, hope to keep you around. How long you staying?"
"How long you want me?"
Kenshin laughed again and showed him the back room. A cot was set up and a small table stood beside it.
"As you can see we normally don't receive guests here. Hope you'll be comfortable."
"Yeah all I need is a place to sleep…."
"And a new board. That thing looks like it was put together with tape."
Yahiko looked down at his board. It was ragged from hours of use. It wasn't pretty but it was all he had.
"I don't got any money…"
"Nah, you don't need any. I figured your board might be in shambles. So I decided to splurge." he smiled and went behind the register and pulled out a new deck.
"Dude, man I can't…"
"Yeah you can. I own this place. Wholesale crap. It didn't cost me much. Just take it alright?"
"Yeah… yeah…." With a steady hand he grabbed the board.
"Damn man, thanks."
"Don't get teary eyed." Kenshin winked, "The skate tool is behind the register. I'm not THAT kind so you might save up for some new trucks."
"Ha, yeah…"
"Got to get a few errands run think you can man shop?"
"If you think it's a good idea…"
"You'll be fine if you make a sale just write it down." He pointed to a log book "and that's all you gotta do"
"Ok…"
"I'll be back soon don't get you panties in a bind." he laughed and walked out the door.
Yahiko looked bewildered. Only a short few minutes and he was manning a skateshop of a very interesting character. He was amazed and grateful. He started to laugh. He knew he would like it here, but it wasn't a sure thing. Nothing was a sure thing and especially with his father leering behind his back. If he didn't get his, Kenshin might have spent his money for nothing. He hoped he could do this is not for himself, but for Kenshin.