Whoo! Another chapter! I'm so proud of this story, it's going great and I'm having so much fun. Ahem, Zelink, to answer your question, yes, Malik will be along with us very shortly. He he he. All in do time...All in do time.
So! I hope you enjoy this new installment of my terribly titled fic.
"You're their last living relative. If you don't assume responsibility of them, I'll be forced to take them into foster care."
Altaïr sighed and leaned back, his back ached in response to being bend over for so long. His entire body and mind felt sore and weary, all he really wanted was to just fall into his bed and sleep. But he doubted he would be sleeping anytime soon.
The room he was in was unfamiliar. It was an office with a nice dark desk, a comfortable looking armchair, a stuffed bookcase, and a closed and shaded window, letting in little light. The only illumination came from a lamp in the corner. Leaning on the desk was the room's occupant, Abbas Sofian. The social worker had his lips pursed and his eyebrows held in a firm, slightly slanted line as he stared upon the young man before him. Altaïr himself sat in a chair that seemed far too uncomfortable, but that could be that nothing would seem comfortable to him at the time. His elbows perched on the armrests and his fingers knit together, covering his mouth. His face was long and drawn out from the hardships that he'd endured, and continued to endure, as of late.
"Well, Mr. Ibn-La'Ahad?" Mr. Sofian said impatiently.
Altaïr lifted his head that had drooped to look at the floor and dropped his arms to rest on his thighs. What choice did he have? He couldn't-wouldn't just abandon them.
"Okay." he finally spoke, his voice ragged and dry from not being used for many hours.
Mr. Sofian nodded, accepting his answer.
"You'll assume ownership of the house, the car, and be listed as the legal guardian of the four of them. I hope you know what you're doing." Mr. Sofian told him sternly, his hard eyes studying Altaïr's face closely.
"Me too." Altaïr agreed.
The first stop was the elementary school where Connor and Ezio were deposited. Their older brother offered them a brief goodbye before driving off. Next was the preschool where Altaïr all but hurled Clay and Desmond at the teacher before making his escape. The final stop was Altaïr's first job which was the pharmacy at the back of Walmart.
Altaïr pulled into the parking lot and near sprinted through the store to the pharmacy. Once behind the counter he grabbed one of the mandatory white aprons and barely had it tied around his waist before he heard a loud voice bark behind him.
"You're late, Ibn-La'Ahad." Altair's boss snapped harshly.
"Sorry, Rashid, I-"
"It's Mr. ad-Din Sinan to you, boy." Mr. ad-Din Sinan corrected him. "And I won't tolerate your excuses any longer. Keep this up and you'll be fired within the month. Understood?"
Altaïr sighed quietly before responding. "Yes."
"Yes...?"
"Yes, Mr. ad-Din Sinan."
Rashid narrowed his eyes at Altaïr, trying to detect sarcasm in his words, then, upon failing that, stalked off.
"Hello, Altair." a voice, vastly more pleasant than the last, spoke behind Altair.
Altaïr turned back around and found Rauf there on the other side of the counter. Rauf was a good friend of Altaïr's and worked at the small store. Currently he was stocking a shelf full of bandaids.
"Hey, Rauf." he returned the greeting.
"Rough day already, huh?" Rauf said sympathetically.
Altair shrugged. "It seems like they all are nowadays." he sighed.
Rauf offered him a cheerful smile. "Don't worry, things'll turn up soon." he promised.
"I really hope you're right."
Altair hated his job. True it probably wouldn't be half as bad if he had a better boss, but still, stocking and selling medicine was the most boring job Altaïr could fathom. The only reason he hadn't quit yet was because he couldn't afford to. As it was, Altaïr worked two jobs to support his family and he still struggled. Without the education to land a better job than those he had already, he had to deal with low wages and crappy work environments for the good of his brothers. The things he did for family.
By lunchtime Altaïr was so ready for a break. His feet ached from standing so long and he was bored as hell. He checked out and stepped outside into the fresh air of March. Spring was so close you could nearly taste it. The plants were beginning to regrow, new shoots popping up all over, and downpours of rain had begun, much to Altaïr distaste.
Altaïr was standing silently and thinking about where he wanted to eat when his phone rang.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Still a broke mofo?" Maria's voice came.
"Unless I won the lottery while my back was turned, yes. What do you want, Maria?" he answered dryly.
"I'm in a cafe not far from your work. You should be on lunch break by now, right? You should come by and eat."
"Okay, I'll be over in a couple minutes. What cafe is it?"
"Shark's bait."
"That's a crappy name."
"I didn't choose it. Anyway, you might want to come fast before I eat without you."
"Kay, bye." Altair hung up.
God bless Maria. Bless Maria and her beautiful precious soul that took pity on poor bums like Altaïr. How Maria managed to treat him to so many lunches with only a measly job at McDonald's, Altair couldn't fathom.
It was a short drive to the destined cafe and Altaïr hardly had to step inside before Maria was waving him over to a booth towards the back. Altair swiftly came over and took a seat with a sigh.
"God, I'm so hungry." he said.
"About time you got here." Maria greeted with a smirk.
"It took me like two minutes." Altair snorted with a roll of his eyes.
"I already ordered for you. Hope you like burgers."
"Oh, I love you." Altair sighed happily, slumping back in his seat.
Maria had been one of Altair's closest friends since high school, and certainly one of the few who'd stayed friends. The girl was a perfect balance for Altair's stubborn, arrogant personality. They had always been close but over the past few months with the death of Altaïr's parents, Maria had become a huge moral supporter for the new caretaker. Almost every day now she came by to babysit the boys while Altair attended his second job and was always ready to lend a hand. Altair relayed on her more than he cared to admit.
It wasn't much longer before a friendly waiter came by and gave them their meals. Altair hungrily pounced on the provided burger and groaned in pleasure at the magnificent taste. Having four little boys to take care of, Altair often ended up eating kids food and junk food for most meals so this, an actual meal from a restaurant, was like divine ambrosia. Altair felt like he was eating like a king.
A giggle from Maria brought Altair's gaze and mind away from the food at hand.
"Whut?" he asked through a mouthful of burger.
"You look like an animal." Maria said, bemused.
Altair wiped the ketchup and traces of lettuce from his face with the back of his hand.
"Shaddup, I'm 'eally hungry." Altair retorted in a muffled voice, a frown on his face.
Maria just chuckled again. "Don't you ever eat?"
"Sometimes," Altair took a second to swallow. "Nothing this good though."
"I guess that makes me your guardian angel." Maria grinned and held up her arms in a benevolent gesture.
"Ha, ha." Altair rolled his eyes. "There's no such thing."
The two went back to eating their meals. Altair finished much sooner than Maria and entertained himself by doodling on a napkin. When Maria finally finished she paid and walked him out to his car.
"Back to work then, huh?" she said unenthusiastically.
"Yeah. You still up for babysitting later?" Altair asked, opening the door to his ride.
"Aren't I always." she countered with a smirk.
"Heh, thanks. See ya later."
"Bye."
Maria went to her own car while Altair climbed in his. It didn't take long for him to return to Walmart and back to his job. Upon arrival he noticed that someone was waiting impatiently at the counter, tapping his fingers away on the counter. Altair quickly hurried behind the counter and slipped his apron on.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, what do you need?" he said rather hurriedly.
The man waiting didn't seem impressed by the meager apology. He had short brown hair that was held away from his face with a clip at the top of his head, illuminating his fantastic, jagged eyebrows and brown eyes. He silently handed over a prescription that he held. Altair took the paper, gave it a quick once over and went to go retrieve the desired medication.
"Do you always come to work with lunch on your face?" the man asked, his tone sore.
"Huh?" Altair reached up and wiped some sort of sauce from his face. He offered the waiting man an unashamed smile. "Just got back from break." he explained. The man rolled his eyes.
"Oh, come on, don't tell me you've never gotten a little messy eating." Altair demanded, casting the man a disbelieving glance.
"Of course not, I'm not a child. I know how to eat without getting food everywhere." he replied indignantly.
"Well okay, Mr. Perfect." Altair snorted.
The man narrowed his brown eyes at Altair, a motion he only caught out of the corner of his eye.
"How about you just get me my prescription." he snapped.
"No wonder you're grouchy." Altair noted, reading the paper again.
"That has nothing to do with why I'm grouchy and besides, it's none of your damn business why I'm grouchy anyway." the man huffed. Altair could clearly see he'd hit a nerve and backed off, deciding it was probably best to try and not tick off his customers.
Finally uncovered the requested medication, Altair snatched up a bottle and brought it back to the counter, slapping it down.
"There you are," he glanced to the prescription. "Mr. Al-Sayf." Altair practically sneered the name.
The man, Al-Sayf, narrowed his eyes at Altair as he snatched up the bottle, and then stormed off. Good riddance, Altair thought. He hated having to deal with customers like that.
