TITLE: A Day in the Life of a Grim Reaper; Behind the Cloak and Sickle (Part18of30) AUTHOR: trista
DISCLAIMER: these characters do not belong to me, they belong to MGM, Showtime, the creator of Dead Like me, and the actors who portray them, please don't sue me, not that I have any money or anything you'd want!
RATING: PG-13 (for language, but the kids these days…)
CONTENT: Reggie/Millie friendship, Mason/George romance
SUMMARY: Rube and George have an enlightening chat, she also has to show Colt the ropes, and gets a new roommate what a day! AUTHORS NOTES: I skipped ahead till the day after Mason left, I think it works, not exactly what I had planned but I like it. Colt is the ultimate rockstar a cross between Todd Kerns ) and Trevor Tuminski ) defiantly with Trevor's eyes, I couldn't find a good pic but you kinda get the jist on the site! I was originally aiming for a 20 part series but it looks like it's going to be more then that… I'm hoping to have a part about Anika, and Rube will probably finally get a break. I made an illusion to an ep I haven't seen something about Rube liking the messenger, I hope I didn't fuck up!
I wanted to get this one out before work this evening, but 42 (my comp) had other ideas, but it think he's okay now so on with the story
"I don't want to get out of bed ever again," I sobbed.
"Peanut, I know you're hurting, but you have to at least try to just collect a few souls," he begged me.
"Rube, I don't know if I can, especially when you tell me that you want the new guy to come and shadow me today!"
"His name is Colt, and I know that you're mad that he was Mason's last soul, but you can't hold that against him."
"I'm not mad at him, honestly, it's just I would rather be alone right now."
"I really don't think that would be best right now."
"What am I going to do kill myself? Oh, yeah, I forgot, I can't do anything rash like that because, I'm UNDEAD! I can't do anything but wallow in my misery until I'm lucky enough to reap my last soul!!" I was getting really frustrated.
"It could be worse."
"How so?"
"You could be doomed to be a leader who has to collect more souls, but gets to take souls less often," he explained.
"How do you know that you need to collect more souls?" I asked.
"It's one of the things that you're told when you become a group leader."
I shrugged. "Is there any reason people are chosen as group leaders."
"Usually it has something to do with them needing to learn something, at least that's what I've been told. It's also usually because the powers that be think that the person deserves to live a long life, even if it's not exactly happy."
"I had no idea."
"I don't tell a lot of people this. I've been a reaper for longer then I'd care to admit, I've seen changes in the world that I would not have been able to even dream about when I was kid."
"I know you mean well, Rube, but you cannot possibly know how I feel right now."
"I don't think I'll ever know how you feel, but I think I may have some sort of idea."
I glared at him. "Who have you lost?"
"Here name was Celia, she was the group leader when I became a reaper. She was an amazing woman, way before her time. She took me under her wing immediately, and being a man I was very attracted her. She was a classic beauty. She must have been attracted to me as well, because about a year later. I think we reapers are always ahead of the times, because neither of us thought there was anything wrong with having a physical relationship at a time barley past prudes fainting over table legs. I thought that we would be together forever, but fate likes to fuck with all of us."
I tried to smile, but it didn't work. "And here I thought I was fate's only bitch."
"About ten years later I found out that she had been grooming me to replace her as team leader. She told me that she couldn't tell me where she was going, but promised me that one day we'd be together again. I don't exactly know what happened to her. Some people told me that she had received a promotion, and would be undead for at least two hundred years. They told me that she had done something really bad, and was being punished. Some people said that she had simply collected her last soul and moved on."
"What do believe Rube?"
"To be perfectly honest I don't believe she moved on. I'm not sure if I believe the two hundred years thing, but I'm almost certain that she didn't move on. For one thing no one ever replaced her. The group didn't need the extra reaper, so I suppose that maybe whoever was her replacement was sent elsewhere, but I've never heard of that happening. I find it more believable that she got a promotion, and I don't think it was one she wanted."
"Why do you say that?"
"If she was moving on she would have been able to tell me. If she got a promotion I could have tracked her down by now. I think that somehow she was taken from my life as punishment to both of us."
"How so?"
"You know about the reapers not having babies rule, of course, but back then it was pretty hard to prevent Now there are all kinds of methods of birth control, but then there was not. At that time because of it reapers were really not supposed to date. Sure, some did, but everyone said that it was a huge risk. We were careful, but counting days is not remotely fool proof."
"Are you saying-"
"Yeah, I think she got pregnant and was taken away because of that. I don't know what happened to her, and by now it's all together possible that she has done her final transition, and whenever mine comes I will see her again. It's also possible that she is being stuck right under my nose, and I can't even see her, and I never will again."
"Oh."
"I tried straight out asking, once right after she disappeared, but it wasn't a good idea. Trying to ask again is out of the question because it's like begging for an ass kicking you know you're going to regret. I still think about her a lot, and I miss her, and I think that that is my punishment for my role in the whole ordeal. I have had to deal with the pain of it all for so long I've forgotten how to feel, and I wonder if I ever even loved her." A tear rolled down his cheek. "So I can understand how losing Mason is affecting you, but unfortunately the higher ups don't give two shits about our feelings, all they care about is that the souls get collected, and everything runs smoothly. I'd take Colt myself, but I don't have another soul for another week."
I nodded. "I understand what you're saying, but it hurts so much."
"Just think, one day you will be reunited."
"How are you so sure?"
"After all this time, and all this agony I have to whole heartedly believe that there is something better lying ahead for us."
I nodded. "I guess you're right." I got out of bed. "Rube, thank you, honestly, you've helped me a lot, but could you please leave, I need to get dressed."
He smiled, and hugged be before he left. "If you need to talk, I'm there for you Peanut."
I got out of bed and got dressed. Mason had left the house before I woke up, and when I went into the bathroom there was a not, and a rose on the counter.
Georgie, you are my world, and I don't know what I'm going to do without you, I wish you could be there with me for the next step, but when you make yours know that I'll be there waiting for you. Love always Mason.
I put the note in my pocket, and I admit that after that day that note always stayed with me. Whenever I was upset or thought that the world was crashing down, I would take out that note, and remember that there was someone who loved me, waiting for me, and that somehow we would be together again. I went out the door, and Colt was sitting on my lawn.
"Uh, hi," he said. "You must be George."
I nodded. "Yeah, and you're my shadow today."
"Do you hate me?"
I looked him right in the eyes, and discovered that he had the most amazing eyes I had ever seen. They were blue, cat eyes, he also had hair that hung down around his neck, dark, and he was tall. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to hate the guy, if my heart hadn't already been taken I could have even fallen for the guy. I'm started to see why girls liked rockstar boys.
"I don't hate you, I'm just going through a rough time right now."
He nodded. "So how did you die?"
"I was hit with a toilet seat from the space shuttle."
"That's why that little prep said something along the lines of toilet seat girl meets toothbrush boy."
"Colvin? He's an ass. Toothbrush boy?"
"Yeah, the old guitarist from Purple Mist was a little jealous, although he was the one that quit, I can't help that we started getting places. Anyway, I've been living at the rehearsal space, and all of a sudden when I'm brushing my teeth yesterday morning, and he came in, and saw me. I guess he got really pissed, and he proceeded, to shove the toothbrush down my throat. I don't know how but the little bastard actually managed to kill me with my own tooth brush. And here I am, a grim reaper!"
"Wow, that's almost worse then getting hit in the head by a toilet seat hurtling from space!"
He laughed. "I would have to agree that the toilet seat thing is worse, but the toothbrush thing is way more baffling. I mean honesty, how the fuck do you actually kill a guy with a fucking toothbrush!?"
"Trust me you see some pretty fucked up things in this line of work."
"I'd imagine. So how long have you been doing this for?"
"About thirty five years."
He looked at me, kind of baffled. "But you don't look a day over twenty."
"Reaper metabolism, you heal quickly, and you don't age."
"You mean I'm going to look like this forever?" I nodded. "Damn! I picked a good time to die!"
I smiled. "We have places to get to."
"I saw you smile, I'll make you laugh yet!"
"One day I'll laugh, just not today, I'm kind of down, and I don't want to work today!"
"What's a beautiful girl like you doing sad?"
"The guy I've been dating thirty five years was replaced by you yesterday."
"Harsh. Though I wouldn't know what it feels like to be in love. It's all part of the rockstar life style."
"But you're not a rockstar."
"I was going to be if that little prick hadn't shoved my fucking toothbrush down my throat."
"Everyone thinks that they're going to be famous, and very few people make it."
"You were there at my last show, I had everything it took to be a rockstar."
"Unfortunately, things change."
"Can't I still be a rockstar?"
"I somehow think it's against the reaper rules."
"I hate rules! They're meant to be broken."
"Trust me on this one, you don't want to be breaking rules and pissing off Rube."
"So how do we get paid for this gig?"
"You, uh, don't, you take what you can from the dead."
"I'm no thief!"
"It's a victimless crime, they don't need the money, you do. Who's to know?"
He shrugged. "And if I don't want to do that?"
"You get a day job, but trust me that sucks a lot, you have to lie to get time off, and it's quiet the annoying hassle, but it took me a while to be okay with taking from the dead."
He nodded. "I see, so where are we going anyway?"
"A mall, where D. Burn is going to die today."
"How will you know which he is?"
"Watch and you'll see."
We got to the mall, and apparently D. Burn was going to die somewhere in the food court. I looked around, and there weren't all that many people there, except for the food court employees.
"What we want to do is be like a fly on the wall, and look for risk factors," I explained.
"We're in a mall food court that has ten different fryers, and eight hot irons, I somehow think the whole place is one big risk factor. Not to mention the possibility of food poisoning."
"Not our department, we don't deal with health shit, we deal with accidents, murders, suicides excreta," I explained. "Didn't Rube tell you this already?"
"Probably, but I wasn't paying attention."
I rolled my eyes. "You're right about the risk factors you know, there are way too many here. I say we look around at nametags, and see if we get lucky."
"Nametags, what are we looking for?"
"People who's names start with the letter "D.""
"Right."
He followed me around the food court, while I looked for nametags of people who's names started with "D" we were in luck, and there were only two, one was "Donna" and the other was "Douglas." Donna worked at a salad place, and there didn't seem to be anything behind her counter that could hurt her. To be honest the salads looked like they came pre-made and there was nothing that could hurt here, accept maybe a paper cut. Douglas on the other hand worked at one of those quick pizza and pasta places, and I could see a pizza oven in the back. I went over to him.
"You're Dougie Burn aren't you?" I asked the still pimply faced twenty five year old.
"I sure am!" he exclaimed proudly, with a southern accent.
"Well I'll be! Dougie Burn I never woulda thought I'd see you out here!" I exclaimed with a fake southern accent. "It's so nice to not have to hide this darn accent thing!"
He grinned. "Who might you be little lady?"
"I bet you don't remember me do 'ya? I'm little Millie Jones, from school!"
"Millie Jones?"
"You probably don't much remember me, I ain't bothered none! I was the little thing at the front of the class with them silly pig tails, and glasses. My mama used to make me were these silly Catholic school girl things to school!"
"Why, Millie Jones, I do remember you! You was so quiet back then! You sure have changed some since then."
"Yeah, everyone tells me that! You wouldn't happen to be able to wressle me up a little something to eat would 'ya seeing as I don't get paid until tommora!"
"I can't see why not, I am the assistant manager here!"
"Well, I'll be, I never woulda thought you would do that, I'll just have to tell my mama and papa about this! They'll probably come visit you right soon!"
He passed a few pieces of cheese pizza over the counter, and as he did I took his soul. "Now don't you go be telling everyone that I gave you free food cause I'll get in trouble."
"I promise I won't, thank you so much Dougie, I'll be seeing you 'round I'm sure!"
I walked away, and sat down with Colt.
"And that is what we call blending in," I told him. "Do want this?"
"I'll eat anything right about now! Thanks!"
I looked over at the pizza place, poor Dougie was so dumbfounded by the way little Millie Jones had grown up he didn't notice the broom had fallen on the floor, and he fell into the open pizza oven. I made sure I shielded Colt's view until he had finished wolfing down the pizza.
"What happened to him?" he asked.
"Fell in the oven, and it looks like, and it looks like someone's already called the police. We better split, I saw him move on," I replied.
"Why are we leaving."
"Well I was the last person who saw him alive, and I really don't want to talk to the police with a crappy accent, they'll catch on, and we don't want that."
He nodded, and we left the mall. "So where am I supposed to crash anyway?"
"Most of us just squat at various places."
"I don't think I could do that."
"Didn't you say you lived in your rehearsal space?"
He shrugged. "Well yeah, but that's different then squatting at some dead guy's place."
"Look, I have a room downstairs at my place, I don't think I could manage without a roommate. The place is paid for, but I you need to get your own food, and help pay the utilities. I'll give you a month to figure out your money situation, but after that I don't care if you starve or live on the streets, I need a roommate that's not a leach."
He nodded. "You've got yourself a deal." He held out his hand, and shook mine.
So Colt followed me home, and I showed him to his room, which had been Daisy's. We hadn't used it in a while, but I did vacuum the bed pretty often, and there were a shitload of sheets, that he could use. I got them for him, and he made the bed himself. He then went upstairs, and sat across from me at the table.
"So what do I need to know?"
"Upstairs, is our- I mean my place, don't come in when the door's closed, I'll follow the same rule. Your bathroom's downstairs, it's also the guest one, so keep it clean. Rube comes over in the morning sometimes, so if you hear the door try and answer it."
"So who's room was it before mine?"
"Her name was Daisy Adire, you two wouldn't have gotten along she was an aspiring film star when she died. She was a good roommate, I sill miss her."
"There are a lot of things I'm going to have to learn doing this."
I nodded. "Yeah, and if you ever want to know if you can get around something, ask me I tried it all when I started. Trust me it is not a good thing to get Rube pissed off."
"What about Anika?"
"What about her?"
"Should I watch out for her.'
I shrugged. "She's been a reaper for twenty years, we've never had any problems with each other."
"She just seems really authoritative."
"I wouldn't class her as that, she was quiet the punk when she first started."
"Really, I have trouble picturing that."
"Whatever, look, I'm kind of sick of talking right now, I feel like wallowing."
I went to my room, and I knew that I should email Reggie, and tell her something about what had happened with Mason, but I just couldn't think of a lie. I had hardly slept since I found out that Mason would be leaving, and that was two days ago. I laid down in my big empty bed, and cried myself to sleep.
End
End notes: see as much as you wanna you just can't hate Colt hehe… he's like my dream guy haha… only a drummer… mmm drummers… any-way! Up next, or soon George is going to get Anika's niece's post it, how will she take it, will George and Anika bond a little bit more? And what about that little prep Colvin? WHAT ABOUT GEORGE AND MASON!?!?!?!?!?!?!! All will be revealed in due time kiddies, stay tuned… hugz and kissez trista aka the dustytiger
DISCLAIMER: these characters do not belong to me, they belong to MGM, Showtime, the creator of Dead Like me, and the actors who portray them, please don't sue me, not that I have any money or anything you'd want!
RATING: PG-13 (for language, but the kids these days…)
CONTENT: Reggie/Millie friendship, Mason/George romance
SUMMARY: Rube and George have an enlightening chat, she also has to show Colt the ropes, and gets a new roommate what a day! AUTHORS NOTES: I skipped ahead till the day after Mason left, I think it works, not exactly what I had planned but I like it. Colt is the ultimate rockstar a cross between Todd Kerns ) and Trevor Tuminski ) defiantly with Trevor's eyes, I couldn't find a good pic but you kinda get the jist on the site! I was originally aiming for a 20 part series but it looks like it's going to be more then that… I'm hoping to have a part about Anika, and Rube will probably finally get a break. I made an illusion to an ep I haven't seen something about Rube liking the messenger, I hope I didn't fuck up!
I wanted to get this one out before work this evening, but 42 (my comp) had other ideas, but it think he's okay now so on with the story
"I don't want to get out of bed ever again," I sobbed.
"Peanut, I know you're hurting, but you have to at least try to just collect a few souls," he begged me.
"Rube, I don't know if I can, especially when you tell me that you want the new guy to come and shadow me today!"
"His name is Colt, and I know that you're mad that he was Mason's last soul, but you can't hold that against him."
"I'm not mad at him, honestly, it's just I would rather be alone right now."
"I really don't think that would be best right now."
"What am I going to do kill myself? Oh, yeah, I forgot, I can't do anything rash like that because, I'm UNDEAD! I can't do anything but wallow in my misery until I'm lucky enough to reap my last soul!!" I was getting really frustrated.
"It could be worse."
"How so?"
"You could be doomed to be a leader who has to collect more souls, but gets to take souls less often," he explained.
"How do you know that you need to collect more souls?" I asked.
"It's one of the things that you're told when you become a group leader."
I shrugged. "Is there any reason people are chosen as group leaders."
"Usually it has something to do with them needing to learn something, at least that's what I've been told. It's also usually because the powers that be think that the person deserves to live a long life, even if it's not exactly happy."
"I had no idea."
"I don't tell a lot of people this. I've been a reaper for longer then I'd care to admit, I've seen changes in the world that I would not have been able to even dream about when I was kid."
"I know you mean well, Rube, but you cannot possibly know how I feel right now."
"I don't think I'll ever know how you feel, but I think I may have some sort of idea."
I glared at him. "Who have you lost?"
"Here name was Celia, she was the group leader when I became a reaper. She was an amazing woman, way before her time. She took me under her wing immediately, and being a man I was very attracted her. She was a classic beauty. She must have been attracted to me as well, because about a year later. I think we reapers are always ahead of the times, because neither of us thought there was anything wrong with having a physical relationship at a time barley past prudes fainting over table legs. I thought that we would be together forever, but fate likes to fuck with all of us."
I tried to smile, but it didn't work. "And here I thought I was fate's only bitch."
"About ten years later I found out that she had been grooming me to replace her as team leader. She told me that she couldn't tell me where she was going, but promised me that one day we'd be together again. I don't exactly know what happened to her. Some people told me that she had received a promotion, and would be undead for at least two hundred years. They told me that she had done something really bad, and was being punished. Some people said that she had simply collected her last soul and moved on."
"What do believe Rube?"
"To be perfectly honest I don't believe she moved on. I'm not sure if I believe the two hundred years thing, but I'm almost certain that she didn't move on. For one thing no one ever replaced her. The group didn't need the extra reaper, so I suppose that maybe whoever was her replacement was sent elsewhere, but I've never heard of that happening. I find it more believable that she got a promotion, and I don't think it was one she wanted."
"Why do you say that?"
"If she was moving on she would have been able to tell me. If she got a promotion I could have tracked her down by now. I think that somehow she was taken from my life as punishment to both of us."
"How so?"
"You know about the reapers not having babies rule, of course, but back then it was pretty hard to prevent Now there are all kinds of methods of birth control, but then there was not. At that time because of it reapers were really not supposed to date. Sure, some did, but everyone said that it was a huge risk. We were careful, but counting days is not remotely fool proof."
"Are you saying-"
"Yeah, I think she got pregnant and was taken away because of that. I don't know what happened to her, and by now it's all together possible that she has done her final transition, and whenever mine comes I will see her again. It's also possible that she is being stuck right under my nose, and I can't even see her, and I never will again."
"Oh."
"I tried straight out asking, once right after she disappeared, but it wasn't a good idea. Trying to ask again is out of the question because it's like begging for an ass kicking you know you're going to regret. I still think about her a lot, and I miss her, and I think that that is my punishment for my role in the whole ordeal. I have had to deal with the pain of it all for so long I've forgotten how to feel, and I wonder if I ever even loved her." A tear rolled down his cheek. "So I can understand how losing Mason is affecting you, but unfortunately the higher ups don't give two shits about our feelings, all they care about is that the souls get collected, and everything runs smoothly. I'd take Colt myself, but I don't have another soul for another week."
I nodded. "I understand what you're saying, but it hurts so much."
"Just think, one day you will be reunited."
"How are you so sure?"
"After all this time, and all this agony I have to whole heartedly believe that there is something better lying ahead for us."
I nodded. "I guess you're right." I got out of bed. "Rube, thank you, honestly, you've helped me a lot, but could you please leave, I need to get dressed."
He smiled, and hugged be before he left. "If you need to talk, I'm there for you Peanut."
I got out of bed and got dressed. Mason had left the house before I woke up, and when I went into the bathroom there was a not, and a rose on the counter.
Georgie, you are my world, and I don't know what I'm going to do without you, I wish you could be there with me for the next step, but when you make yours know that I'll be there waiting for you. Love always Mason.
I put the note in my pocket, and I admit that after that day that note always stayed with me. Whenever I was upset or thought that the world was crashing down, I would take out that note, and remember that there was someone who loved me, waiting for me, and that somehow we would be together again. I went out the door, and Colt was sitting on my lawn.
"Uh, hi," he said. "You must be George."
I nodded. "Yeah, and you're my shadow today."
"Do you hate me?"
I looked him right in the eyes, and discovered that he had the most amazing eyes I had ever seen. They were blue, cat eyes, he also had hair that hung down around his neck, dark, and he was tall. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to hate the guy, if my heart hadn't already been taken I could have even fallen for the guy. I'm started to see why girls liked rockstar boys.
"I don't hate you, I'm just going through a rough time right now."
He nodded. "So how did you die?"
"I was hit with a toilet seat from the space shuttle."
"That's why that little prep said something along the lines of toilet seat girl meets toothbrush boy."
"Colvin? He's an ass. Toothbrush boy?"
"Yeah, the old guitarist from Purple Mist was a little jealous, although he was the one that quit, I can't help that we started getting places. Anyway, I've been living at the rehearsal space, and all of a sudden when I'm brushing my teeth yesterday morning, and he came in, and saw me. I guess he got really pissed, and he proceeded, to shove the toothbrush down my throat. I don't know how but the little bastard actually managed to kill me with my own tooth brush. And here I am, a grim reaper!"
"Wow, that's almost worse then getting hit in the head by a toilet seat hurtling from space!"
He laughed. "I would have to agree that the toilet seat thing is worse, but the toothbrush thing is way more baffling. I mean honesty, how the fuck do you actually kill a guy with a fucking toothbrush!?"
"Trust me you see some pretty fucked up things in this line of work."
"I'd imagine. So how long have you been doing this for?"
"About thirty five years."
He looked at me, kind of baffled. "But you don't look a day over twenty."
"Reaper metabolism, you heal quickly, and you don't age."
"You mean I'm going to look like this forever?" I nodded. "Damn! I picked a good time to die!"
I smiled. "We have places to get to."
"I saw you smile, I'll make you laugh yet!"
"One day I'll laugh, just not today, I'm kind of down, and I don't want to work today!"
"What's a beautiful girl like you doing sad?"
"The guy I've been dating thirty five years was replaced by you yesterday."
"Harsh. Though I wouldn't know what it feels like to be in love. It's all part of the rockstar life style."
"But you're not a rockstar."
"I was going to be if that little prick hadn't shoved my fucking toothbrush down my throat."
"Everyone thinks that they're going to be famous, and very few people make it."
"You were there at my last show, I had everything it took to be a rockstar."
"Unfortunately, things change."
"Can't I still be a rockstar?"
"I somehow think it's against the reaper rules."
"I hate rules! They're meant to be broken."
"Trust me on this one, you don't want to be breaking rules and pissing off Rube."
"So how do we get paid for this gig?"
"You, uh, don't, you take what you can from the dead."
"I'm no thief!"
"It's a victimless crime, they don't need the money, you do. Who's to know?"
He shrugged. "And if I don't want to do that?"
"You get a day job, but trust me that sucks a lot, you have to lie to get time off, and it's quiet the annoying hassle, but it took me a while to be okay with taking from the dead."
He nodded. "I see, so where are we going anyway?"
"A mall, where D. Burn is going to die today."
"How will you know which he is?"
"Watch and you'll see."
We got to the mall, and apparently D. Burn was going to die somewhere in the food court. I looked around, and there weren't all that many people there, except for the food court employees.
"What we want to do is be like a fly on the wall, and look for risk factors," I explained.
"We're in a mall food court that has ten different fryers, and eight hot irons, I somehow think the whole place is one big risk factor. Not to mention the possibility of food poisoning."
"Not our department, we don't deal with health shit, we deal with accidents, murders, suicides excreta," I explained. "Didn't Rube tell you this already?"
"Probably, but I wasn't paying attention."
I rolled my eyes. "You're right about the risk factors you know, there are way too many here. I say we look around at nametags, and see if we get lucky."
"Nametags, what are we looking for?"
"People who's names start with the letter "D.""
"Right."
He followed me around the food court, while I looked for nametags of people who's names started with "D" we were in luck, and there were only two, one was "Donna" and the other was "Douglas." Donna worked at a salad place, and there didn't seem to be anything behind her counter that could hurt her. To be honest the salads looked like they came pre-made and there was nothing that could hurt here, accept maybe a paper cut. Douglas on the other hand worked at one of those quick pizza and pasta places, and I could see a pizza oven in the back. I went over to him.
"You're Dougie Burn aren't you?" I asked the still pimply faced twenty five year old.
"I sure am!" he exclaimed proudly, with a southern accent.
"Well I'll be! Dougie Burn I never woulda thought I'd see you out here!" I exclaimed with a fake southern accent. "It's so nice to not have to hide this darn accent thing!"
He grinned. "Who might you be little lady?"
"I bet you don't remember me do 'ya? I'm little Millie Jones, from school!"
"Millie Jones?"
"You probably don't much remember me, I ain't bothered none! I was the little thing at the front of the class with them silly pig tails, and glasses. My mama used to make me were these silly Catholic school girl things to school!"
"Why, Millie Jones, I do remember you! You was so quiet back then! You sure have changed some since then."
"Yeah, everyone tells me that! You wouldn't happen to be able to wressle me up a little something to eat would 'ya seeing as I don't get paid until tommora!"
"I can't see why not, I am the assistant manager here!"
"Well, I'll be, I never woulda thought you would do that, I'll just have to tell my mama and papa about this! They'll probably come visit you right soon!"
He passed a few pieces of cheese pizza over the counter, and as he did I took his soul. "Now don't you go be telling everyone that I gave you free food cause I'll get in trouble."
"I promise I won't, thank you so much Dougie, I'll be seeing you 'round I'm sure!"
I walked away, and sat down with Colt.
"And that is what we call blending in," I told him. "Do want this?"
"I'll eat anything right about now! Thanks!"
I looked over at the pizza place, poor Dougie was so dumbfounded by the way little Millie Jones had grown up he didn't notice the broom had fallen on the floor, and he fell into the open pizza oven. I made sure I shielded Colt's view until he had finished wolfing down the pizza.
"What happened to him?" he asked.
"Fell in the oven, and it looks like, and it looks like someone's already called the police. We better split, I saw him move on," I replied.
"Why are we leaving."
"Well I was the last person who saw him alive, and I really don't want to talk to the police with a crappy accent, they'll catch on, and we don't want that."
He nodded, and we left the mall. "So where am I supposed to crash anyway?"
"Most of us just squat at various places."
"I don't think I could do that."
"Didn't you say you lived in your rehearsal space?"
He shrugged. "Well yeah, but that's different then squatting at some dead guy's place."
"Look, I have a room downstairs at my place, I don't think I could manage without a roommate. The place is paid for, but I you need to get your own food, and help pay the utilities. I'll give you a month to figure out your money situation, but after that I don't care if you starve or live on the streets, I need a roommate that's not a leach."
He nodded. "You've got yourself a deal." He held out his hand, and shook mine.
So Colt followed me home, and I showed him to his room, which had been Daisy's. We hadn't used it in a while, but I did vacuum the bed pretty often, and there were a shitload of sheets, that he could use. I got them for him, and he made the bed himself. He then went upstairs, and sat across from me at the table.
"So what do I need to know?"
"Upstairs, is our- I mean my place, don't come in when the door's closed, I'll follow the same rule. Your bathroom's downstairs, it's also the guest one, so keep it clean. Rube comes over in the morning sometimes, so if you hear the door try and answer it."
"So who's room was it before mine?"
"Her name was Daisy Adire, you two wouldn't have gotten along she was an aspiring film star when she died. She was a good roommate, I sill miss her."
"There are a lot of things I'm going to have to learn doing this."
I nodded. "Yeah, and if you ever want to know if you can get around something, ask me I tried it all when I started. Trust me it is not a good thing to get Rube pissed off."
"What about Anika?"
"What about her?"
"Should I watch out for her.'
I shrugged. "She's been a reaper for twenty years, we've never had any problems with each other."
"She just seems really authoritative."
"I wouldn't class her as that, she was quiet the punk when she first started."
"Really, I have trouble picturing that."
"Whatever, look, I'm kind of sick of talking right now, I feel like wallowing."
I went to my room, and I knew that I should email Reggie, and tell her something about what had happened with Mason, but I just couldn't think of a lie. I had hardly slept since I found out that Mason would be leaving, and that was two days ago. I laid down in my big empty bed, and cried myself to sleep.
End
End notes: see as much as you wanna you just can't hate Colt hehe… he's like my dream guy haha… only a drummer… mmm drummers… any-way! Up next, or soon George is going to get Anika's niece's post it, how will she take it, will George and Anika bond a little bit more? And what about that little prep Colvin? WHAT ABOUT GEORGE AND MASON!?!?!?!?!?!?!! All will be revealed in due time kiddies, stay tuned… hugz and kissez trista aka the dustytiger