4
"Here you are, sir," said Larry, handing a tray of Richard's order to him. "Have a nice day." He sounded bored and insincere, though his customer took no notice.
"Thank you," said Richard who, in contrast to Larry, was smiling. He grabbed the tray, took a few ketchup packets from the container near the napkins, and went to one of the many empty booths.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Larry whispered, "Stay away from me."
Larry and Richard weren't on the best terms, at least on Larry's side. Larry had multiple jobs around Elmore due to how destructive and invasive the Watterson family could be, particularly the boys and Richard. Whenever mayhem ensued, the only reason that the family seemed to go scot-free was because Larry paid for the damages out of his own wallet, and to continue to be able to do so, he had to work several jobs. A major setback to this was when the shenanigans indirectly got him fired at times. In fact, whenever a Watterson got near him, something bad happened, so some time ago, he filed a restraining order against the family, but by now, it had expired. So far, though, this seemed to be a rather good day for him. Maybe today, Larry was finally catching a break.
Richard sloppily wolfed down his food, getting salt, grease, ketchup, mustard, and maybe more on his fingers. He licked the stuff off and went to his drink, finishing it with that awfully annoying sound one hears when trying to suck up the last drops of a drink in a cup through a straw. Larry didn't mind it. He heard it all the time when working here, so he was used to it.
Once Richard was finished, he threw the contents of his tray into the garbage can, but his tray in a short stack of used ones, and left. Unfortunately, he had to go another three miles to get back home. He sighed, but then, he put on a brave face, sucked in his gut and marched home, getting tired after only fifty steps. He panted as he trudged away from Joyful Burger, taking an hour and fifteen minutes to get home. The sun beat down on him the whole time, making him sweat onto his shirt again and feel nasty.
As he stepped onto the sidewalk in front of his house, he smiled. At last, he could be home and relax the rest of the day. Slowly, he trudged to the porch, and he walked up to the door. As he reached toward his pocket to get his house key, Richard felt a twinge of pain. It wasn't in his bare foot; he didn't have a splinter that needed to be tweezed out. It was in his arm. Maybe a mosquito had bitten him, and he was now noticing the resulting bump.
This was no bite. Richard grabbed his arm and stared at it in confusion for only a second when all of a sudden, he felt irregularity in his chest, and he was no longer able to breathe.
A good mother prevents accidents…
Gasping, he clutched his chest with one hand and his throat with the other as he stepped back, losing his balance. Finally, he fell backwards, landing on his back in a bush next to his porch, convulsing and still trying to breathe, his face turning from light pink to dark purple, and his eyes rolling back into his head.
…before they happen.
Capital crime yields capital punishment. When he couldn't take the shortness of oxygen any longer, he passed out. He had just suffered a heart attack, followed by cardiac arrest, and he didn't have much time.