Monster tricks 4 (Change in the house of fries)

Josh woke up the next day in a bad mood, a very bad mood. He and his friends had been enjoying themselves the other day, met someone new and interesting in Elmia, had some laughs (a particular highlight for him being explaining the whole "say uncle" thing to the confused mermaid while still having Rat's head imprisoned by his arm), got to be the first people to skate a new spot and agreed to come back and show Elmia what passed for the points of interest in their home town at some point.

So why wasn't he happy? Simple, he had a crappy summer job and today was his first day.

After quickly throwing on some jeans and a random shirt that looked mostly clean, he made his way downstairs and tried to quickly make himself some breakfast.

"there he is." A voice behind the teen exclaimed as Josh fought not to groan out loud. "My main man, making the money"

"Dad, I'm just working at a fast-food place"

"it's still something mi hijo, let me be proud of you."

"Hector, give our son some breathing room" his mom said as she made her way in as well, a squeak emitting from her novelty bunny slippers with each step.

Josh's father shrugged and moved to sit down at the kitchen table, reaching for a nearby book. He had always been a book worm and was usually working his way through a couple of paperbacks and hard covers at any single time.

"Are you going to need a ride to your job sweetie?" his mom asked as she clicked on the kettle and began to rummage in the cupboards for tea bags.

"Nah, I've got my board and if push come's to shove I can always get spike to give me a lift".

"Good, good" his father added without looking up, earning an eye roll from his wife. Once he got invested in his reading nothing could get his attention.

"In other news, I'm thinking of also selling cocaine to make some extra money"

"that's great son"

"Then I'm going to light some houses on fire because the voice in my head told me to."

"Sound's fun."

"And then I'm going to finally get that eyebrow piecing you didn't let me get when I was 15."

"Not if you value your personal freedom, you won't"

Josh looked up from his toast in surprise at his dad's smug smile.

"I'm not as unaware as you think I am young man, try to remember that."

Josh nervously laughed, trying to maintain what little dignity he had left with this conversation and in lack of a decent response, chose instead to shove his piece of toast into his mouth.

"Anyway, did you hear about that new building the inter-species exchange set up?" his mother asked.

"Yeah, in the old part of town they've been talking about fixing up"

"Well, it turns out that-

Josh tuned out at that point, Elmia had already filled him and the others in on the important stuff when it came to her new home and he didn't want to join in on his parent conversation in case he said to much and figured out he had snuck in there.

Breakfast continued as normal till the alarm on josh's phone went, he groaned as he turned it off and grabbed his backpack and skateboard.

"Alright, I'm heading off"

"Enjoy yourself dear" his mom said as he rushed out the door. "You think he'll be, okay?"

"Of course, he will. Don't work yourself up into a tizzy Maryellen."

"I wasn't. anyway, your one to talk, remember when he went to summer camp."

At this her husband blushed and a buried his nose further in his book. "A man should no shame in crying about his son being away from home for the first time in his life".

At this his wife chuckled and kissed him on the head. "of course, dear, still think rushing to make sure he had that first aid kit you gave him was a bit much".

Elmia hummed to herself as she stirred brown sugar into her oatmeal and looked around the communal eating area. The apartments in the building did have built in kitchens so people could eat in private but since everyone hadn't been there that long and hadn't stocked them yet, most residents opted to get there meals here. She raised a spoon full to her mouth as she watched two near identical looking girls with cat ears and tails quietly talking to each other, an occasional giggle coming from one or both of them.

"I still don't know how they can talk to each other all day".

Elmia looked up to see Tana smiling at her with a big plate of eggs and bacon in her hands.

"Mind if I Join you?"

"Not at all."

With that the Minotaur plopped down next to her friends and began attacking the pile of food in front of her.

"so" she asked in between bites, "you got any plans?"

"Not really, just going to look around here a bit more."

"Elmia, I speak as a person whose species is known for inhabiting large, confusing areas that looks the same throughout. You've seen all that there is to see."

"Well, are we allowed to leave?"

"Not without an exchange agent or a member of the public whose signed a form, once more people show up, they're planning to ask people around town to volunteer".

"But anyone can do that right now?"

"Yeah, I guess." Tana replied as she reached for her orange juice. "You got someone in mind?"

"I believe I do"

A few minutes later Elmia was by the phone in the hallway. That boy, Rat (which she was hoping wasn't his real name), had given her his number before they left and after Tana walked her through using the phone. She was all set.

Patiently she waited, holding the receiver to her mouth and ear.

"HELLO?" came a rather shrill and elderly sounding voice from the phone that caught the two women completely off guard. "WHO IS THIS"

"Hello there" Elmia tentatively replied "I'm sorry I think I might have called the wrong number; I'm looking for a man named Rat".

"YES, THAT'S MY GRANDSON" she shrieked, making Elmia hold the phone further and further away from he head. "I'LL GET HIM, HE'S JUST GETTING OUT OF THE SHOWER".

Tana couldn't help but smirk at her new friend blushing furiously at what she just heard. Just how sheltered was she growing up.

"HORACE" the voice on the other end yelled, "GET DOWN HERE, THERE'S A GIRL CALLING YOU"

"TELL SPIKE I'LL CALL HER BACK"

"IT'S NOT SASHA, IT'S-. There was a brief pause before the voice went back to address the two in a much softer tone.

"I'm so sorry dearie but I didn't catch your name"

"Elmia"

"IT'S SOMEONE NAMED ELMIA"

"OH FUCK"

Rat rushed down the stairs as fast as he could while cursing himself for leaving his phone out in the open, his grandmother was many great things but an avid respecter of privacy was not one of them.

"Here you go Horace" she said sweetly as she handed him the device, "and remember to treat her nicely, she seems like a pleasant girl"

Rat nodded at her request before putting the phone to his ear, "hey Elmia, what's up?"

"Oh, um, well you see, I just heard about this thing they have at my new place of living and I was wondering if"

"Yeah, wondering what?"

"I-I was wondering if"

Rat waited for another few seconds as he heard shuffling on other end before hearing a new voice, this one deeper and steadier.

"she's wondering if you'd come over and show us the sights since we need someone to sign off on chaperoning us when we leave this place"

"oh" Rat replied "sure I'd be happy to, also who are you"

"My name's Tana, looking forward to meeting you in person Horace"

"Uh, it's Rat, only my gran call's me Horace. Does 1:30 work for you guys"

"sound's great, see you then" she responded before hanging up.

"Huh, not exactly sure what happened just now"

"Then let me give you two pieces of advice" his grandmother said as she went back to her crossword. "First, figure out whether you like the girl by the end of the date"

"This isn't a date granny"

"And number two" she continued, "get dried and put on some clothes first"

At that point rat took a peek down at his sopping wet form and bolted back up to his room. His grandmother reached over to her teacup, raising it to her lips before pausing.

"She really did seem like a nice girl".

Tana calmly put the phone back down and looked over to the now pouting mermaid to her side.

"What, you were struggling so much with your words, I thought I'd help"

"Could you please ask next time before doing that" Elmia responded in a huff.

"sure Elmia, no problem" Tana said with a chuckle, "now we got about 3 hours before this guy get's here, tell me all you can about Horace/Rat"

Spike sighed as she sat at the counter toying with a random pen. After she graduated high school she got a job at Contact, the town's resident record shop, mostly because she could wear her own clothes and listen to Mastodon during her work hours but unfortunately it also meant she spent said hours sitting at a counter waiting for someone to show up and even then, they usually found what they were after and then left within a couple of minutes.

"Blame the internet" her boss told her when she asked about it. "Most people look up the records they what they want online and come here looking for them specifically".

She sighed and grabbed the issue of Thrasher to her left and began leafing through it, she had read it a dozen times by now but sheer boredom had convinced her to scan though it for any last morsels of entertainment.

The door to the shop opened with a chime and she looked up to see Garret, her co worker, walking in.

"Hey Spike" he said with a smile.

"Hey, your shift starting."

"Not for another half hour but I didn't have anything else to do so I came here to chat, that okay"

"Thank fuck" she exclaimed as she tossed the magazine to one side "I could feel my brain cell's screaming from boredom"

Garret laughed at his friend's comment, his long black hair tousling with his head movements. He had been a metal head since he was 11 and his look reflected that with an all black get up and a jacket covered in band patches, plus the pentagram he got tattooed on his shoulder, the night he, Spike and Rat graduated.

"So, you heard about that new place the exchange is building?" he asked after the laughing had died down.

"Yeah, Rat showed me it yesterday"

"Seriously. Anything interesting happen?"

Spike pondered the question for a few moments. "Not really, we only went there to skate the pools before they were filled, it was fun"

"You're killing me here Spike" he replied as he leaned on the counter.

"Well, we did meet this one girl there, Elmia"

"Cool, what she like?"

"Nice, but really nervous at first. Like she hadn't been able to talk to someone casually for a long time."

"Huh, neat. Maybe you could introduce me sometime, you know if you think it's a good idea and she's okay with it and-

"Garret." Spike said in an attempt to interrupt his train of thought. "Just because we used to date doesn't mean I'm going to be sensitive about you going near other women"

"Just trying to be a gentleman"

"Sure man, whatever you say"

"By the way, your shift should be done by now"

"Thanks man" She said as she grabbed her stuff, "if any cute girls happen to stay at that place, I'll let you know"

"Please don't toy with me for shits and giggles" he pleaded.

"What if their fans of Lamb of God, though"

Garret blushed as he entertained that specific thought, earning yet another laugh from his ex.

"See ya" she yelled as she left the shop and began making her way through town on her board before a tell tale chirp from her phone got her attention. Quickly, she pulled it out of her pocket and smiled at the text she'd gotten.

"going to show Elmia and one of her friends around town, want it?"