Gators – Chapter Six
Gary Giggles lead David down another dingy, gloomy street where they reached a small bakery. The building was a bit of an oddity. It was a round building made of brick and stone with and very tall and wonky chimney. It was a wonder how it managed to stay up.
They entered the bakery and David Copperfield was startled to discover that the bakery was thriving with energy. The crowds were loud and cheerful, dancing around in celebration of having very tasty bread. David was in love. He had never seen a place just like this one. He wanted to obtain this bakery for his own.
Gary and David sat themselves down at a table in the back corner of the room so they could keep an eye out for Mr Giggles. Gary had a suspicion that his father might be following them around.
David inhaled the sweet smell of the delicious baker's delights. He felt compelled to stroll into that kitchen at the other end of the room and devour very single loaf of bread and every single sweet, even if he had to reach into the hot ovens and grab it with his bare hands.
He wasn't even hungry.
Gary ordered them both a hot dog each.
"You eat it," said Gary.
David hesitated. He wasn't sure whether this extraordinary food was safe, and he also wasn't sure whether to trust the man sitting across from him either. He looked down at the bright red, sausage shaped substance encased in a long white roll, and his hands trembled as he brought it towards his mouth and bit down.
Gary watched apprehensively as David chewed and then swallowed.
"Do forgive me for this," David said, licking his lips, "but that was... bloody delicious, that was." He proceeded to stuff the rest of the hot dog down his throat. Gary looked on with pride.
"I'm glad you like it," he smiled, and waved over a waitress.
"Oh hey Gary, who's your friend?" the waitress gushed brightly, fluttering her eyelids at the two of them.
"My name is David, miss, and may I have another couple of the canines?" said David.
"He... he means hot dogs, Stella," Gary explained.
"Sure thing, hun," she smiled and walked towards the kitchen, but turned back to call to Gary. "You're on tomorrow, yeah? I washed your apron for you; it's in your locker." Gary nodded and waved her away, rolling his eyes.
"She gets on my nerves. I think she's in love with me."
David nodded sympathetically. "That would be troublesome. With her last comment... well, do you work here?"
"Part time, yes," Gary said. "I also – nevermind."
David shrugged and began wolfing down the hot dogs that had just been placed in front of him.
"Do you want another bucket full?" Gary asked sarcastically.
"Oh yes, it would do me nicely to have some more."
"I was joking," explained Gary dully. "You're not getting anymore. You've practically eaten every last hotdog in the kitchen." Gary wondered how a fictional character from the 1850's could eat so much of something he knew nothing about.
"My stars! Have I really eaten them all? They mustn't have very many employees here," said David.
Gary shrugged again. His new companion seemed to be quite dense.
"If I..." David swallowed, "If I really am stuck here, so far away from my home, then would it be possible that in order to support myself I could help out in these kitchens?" He gazed dreamily around the bakery.
"Ummm, sure. I fact, you can have my job," smiled Gary. It was about time he dumped this job. He's a spy for crying out loud. Who needs a part time job in a lousy bakery when you are a level one agent for the OSS.
David's heart leapt up in his chest and he beamed at Gary. "Oh sir, thank you very much! That's so kind of you," he said, but then his face fell. "But now you have no job! How will you support yourself?"
Gary swallowed. "I ah... I have another job somewhere else. I'd rather not discuss it," he replied and the look in his eyes warned David that the subject was closed. He decided not to ask any more questions and he sat and rejoiced in the fact that he was now an employee of this joyous establishment. He was now one step closer to taking over this bakery.
-A few days later-
David Copperfield was settling in to his new life just great. He was not only replacing Gary part time, but he was now working full time. Sometimes he even worked the night shift.
Of course, being a bakery, there wasn't a lot to do in the middle of the night. Regardless, David stayed without pay and triple cleaned the whole establishment before curling up to sleep among the sacks of flour and sugar. The head baker would arrive a few hours before opening time to begin baking and at first was very confused as to why the new kid was snoring and cuddling up to the ingredients, but he was glad to have the boy help out so eagerly. What was best was that David had little understanding of the currency and value of money, so he was ecstatic with his minimum wage pay. He never even asked to be paid for his "night shifts". If only all the baker's employees were so enthusiastic.
Meanwhile, Gary had been spending more time at the OSS, but he still checked in at the bakery twice a day. For some strange reason he found it very difficult to stay away from David yet he often found himself tongue tied when he went to see him. It turned out the David had quite the gift of the gab once you got him started, so Gary was content to listen to him ramble on in his strange manner while he sipped at his coffee.
On Gary's sixth and a half day of visiting David in the bakery, he was lounging in his rental limo listening to his MP3 player. His mind was off somewhere else in fairy land fantasizing about David and him on a - wait a moment! Fantasizing? Gary didn't know why he was thinking such silly things. Perhaps he had been drugged by a a double agent spy back at the OSS. He made a mental note to dob on this double agent hooligan before his mind goes corrupt of the unthinkables.
As Gary eased back into reality he realized what song was playing through his ear phones.
*It's only just a crush, it'll go away
It's just like all the others it'll go away
Or maybe this is danger and you just don't know
You pray it all away but it continues to grow*
Gary yanked the earphones out of his ears and hurled the MP3 player straight out the windows. He was now convinced somebody was messing with him, because he was sure that song was definitely not a song he owned. What was going on with his life? Ever since David appeared, everything had been so strange. Gary's father had lost his mind and Gary's own mind seemed to be heading the same way. Meanwhile, David worked innocently in the bakery all day and night. Only it wasn't innocent - he was still planning on overthrowing the bakery.
-
Mr Giggles was busy readjusting his earpiece when he felt a painful jab into his skull. He looked up angrily and saw a limo tear away before it came to a stop in front of his darling David's future bakery. He stuck his hand behind his head and pulled out his son's MP3 player, growling menacingly. He received a growl in response from the homeless dog he had befriended while he had been spying on his love. This was the six-and-a-half-th visit to the bakery that his son had made, and he had heard their relationship growing through the microphones he had placed around the bakery. This MP3 player was a symbol of what had broken between them. It was a symbol of war.
To be continued!
By aurorstorm and zeillusionofthenight