The door in the back of the store had led Craig and Octavio to an alleyway, which had nothing resembling an exit. "Crap," said Craig, "What do we do, what do we do..." As he frantically looked around for an exit, Craig spotted a dumpster near the back. Without thinking, Craig ran towards the dumpster and jumped right into it, pulling Octavio in with him as well. The disgusting aroma of the garbage inside made the two cringe, however, they knew they couldn't make a single sound.
Coco slammed the door wide open, walking into the alleyway, his three friends following. "Where the fuck did those two go?!" shouted Coco. One of his companions pointed to a tall brick wall and said, "Uhhh, you think they coulda climbed over that?" Coco replied, "Yeah... yeah they probably did climb over that! C'mon boys, let's get their asses! Alright Clapton, lemme climb on top of ya so I can get over the wall!" Coco climbed on top of Clapton, however, the two were too clumsy and idiotic to do anything right. Coco kept falling off of Clapton as he continued to lose his balance.
Craig and Octavio both peeked up from the dumpster to see if the group of four had left already, but every time they thought they were gone, they saw that the group was still attempting to get over the wall. Suddenly, as Octavio was peeping, he felt a burning hot sensation touch his leg through a trash bag. He inspected this bag, and found out that it was filled with abandoned cups of coffee. This gave the octoling a bright idea. Octavio carefully stepped out the dumpster, making sure not to make a single sound. In his left hand, he held the bag of coffee.
Slowly, Octavio tip toed towards the four. Craig peeked at Octavio, thinking to himself, "What the hell is he going to do?! This octoling, he's insane! He's gotta have a bomb in that bag for him to be so confident in ambushing four dudes." As Octavio got closer to the four, he called out, "Hey! I'm right here, guys!" Coco and the other three looked back at Octavio, surprised to see he hand't left, and that was when he attacked. Octavio swung the bag of coffee at them, the boiling hot liquid burning their faces.
The four all fell to the ground, grasping their faces and shouting. They clenched their eyes, not allowing themselves to see a single thing. This is when Octavio began to kick and punch them all. Craig witnessed this, thinking, "Man, that's pretty fucked up. But they're assholes, sorta... and beating them up looks kinda fun..." Before long, Craig was beating them up right alongside Octavio. The four eventually managed to escape the two, and ran off into the store, and then back into the streets. Craig and Octavio high fived each other for managing to successfully get rid of them.
Craig exclaimed, "Ay, that was a little smart of you! You really handed it to 'em!" Octavio laughed, "Oh, it's nothing! By the way, who are you? You don't know me, so why'd you decide to help me?" Craig replied, "Well, those guys really rubbed me the wrong way. I knew they were bad people the moment they started flapping those big mouths. By the way, why'd they try to attack you?" "Well, it started when the Coco dude told me that for a bunch of cash, he'd find medicine for my Dad. It was a shit ton, and although my Dad has a ton of money, I didn't want him to pay for it. I told that Coco dude that I'd pay it off later. I may uh, be a tad late with the payment- but it doesn't matter! The medicine he gave me is nowhere near that expensive! He's a damn scammer!"
Craig replied, "Damn. That really blows. But hey, he'll probably leave you alone now, I know I would." Octavio nodded, before asking, "What's your name? I'm Octavio Aran. You probably already know, I think you heard 'em say my first name." "I'm Craig Cuttlefish. I think I recognize your last name, isn't your family kinda well known in the octarian community? Also, I'm just noticing this but- is that the Military Academy emblem pin?" Craig pointed at the pin, which was attached to Octavio's jacket around the chest area. "Yeah, it is. You goin' there as well?" Craig laughed, "Hell yeah."
"That's neat. Say, you're pretty cool. I know some people who're also going, you might like 'em." Octavio pulled out a business card and he wrote an address on it, along with the time '1 PM'. "Come by tomorrow. We can all hang out." Craig said, "Sounds like a plan!" The two went back into the store, Craig finally purchasing his sliced salmon and chocolate bar. The two left the store, going in their own separate ways. Craig once again ran into his friend, Louis, and so he walked back home with him.
Octavio opened the door to his house, placing the bag of groceries on top of a dinner table. "Dad, I'm home!" exclaimed Octavio. His father's name was Octasek Ric Aran, a prominent figure in the octarian community. This is because he is the descendant of a few famous octarians, and has also had many fundraisers to help octos in need. His father rolled in with his wheelchair, saying, "You're finally back. What took you so long?" Octavio sighed, "Nothing, Dad. I brought everything you asked, I can make some crab cakes."
"Thank you, Octavio. Could you bring me my lantern? I left it in my office, and I don't feel like wheeling myself back in there." Octavio sighed, "I really don't get why you use that thing. We have lights, y'know? We're in the modern age. Hell, some people are even buying boxes that show moving images! They're called televisions, we outta get one." His Dad said, "I don't care about any tele-whatevers or any light bulbs. Just bring me my lantern!" Octavio replied, "Alright then." Before walking off to his father's office.
To Be Continued