Chapter 2: Where it all begins

(Texas, early 1990s)

An 18 year old Maria had just gotten off her flight at an international airport. She had moved out of Portugal after she had enough of her neglectful parents and wanted to start a new life. Her parents needless to say were very harsh to her through most of her childhood, often saying stuff to put her down. Luckily, her friends and teachers helped her stay on her feet when times where tough. When she gathered up enough money, she got away from her family and decided to start a new life out in the US.

"A new home and a new life to start," Maria said to herself. She soon got her luggage and waited for a taxi to take her a motel to stay at for a while. When she got there, she felt very happy. She felt free from the pain that she had to face years ago. Most importantly though, she felt like she could be herself without being judged by her parents.

Meanwhile, a 19 year old Glenn was at his parent's house. He mainly worked as an assistant manager at a sandwich shop within Barkmart. Though, he experienced a lot of bad luck. His older brothers refered to him as the outcast of the family while his parents felt he was more or less of a weirdo. Long story short, Glenn was frequently teased by his brothers, his boss was the definition of an asshole, and he barely had the money to move out of his parent's house. This unfortunately would result in him being a downer most of the time.

"When can I just find happiness for once?" Glenn sighed, "Oh well, I guess that's my life and I'll have to deal with it..." He then got on his work uniform and left to go to work.

A few days later, Maria was picking up some groceries at Barkmart. She was also looking for somewhere to work so she could pay for rent. After she was done shopping, something caught her eye. It was a sandwich shop within Barkmart called Marlon's.

She went inside and talked with one of the employees. "Hello," Maria said, "Are you hiring?" "Ah, yes we are," the employee said as she got out an application paper, "What's your name?" "Maria," said Maria. "Well Maria, if you finish filling this application out by tomorrow, one of my bosses will be in that morning," the employee said, "One of them is Glenn and the other is Buzz." Maria got the application and thanked the employee before heading back to her home with the stuff she needed.

To be continued in next chapter...

(Chapter 2 published 5/4/21)