==Hi, everyone! I've officially graduated from high school and have a long summer ahead of me! Of course, that doesn't mean I can just write all day every day because there are things I also want to do for fun, but I am excited to be posting again every week. If you haven't seen that I have a new story that I've started, then I will go ahead and inform you that I want to update that story every Saturday morning if it all possible. I've spent the past two days working on this particular chapter while also having to do other things (including watching the new Ninjago episodes :P) and this is the final product. I hope you enjoy the character I added for just this time around. She is a special one that I thought would be fun to write about! Anyways, thank you for reading this story. I will try to post again by next week, but I have to get a chapter for Collateral Damage finished for Saturday, so until then, please enjoy and don't forget to review!==
Cheat Codes - "Feels Great (Anki Remix)" feat. Fetty Wap, CVBZ
Do you remember how it feels to be young? Do you remember? We could be anyone. Now I miss the view from the floor of your room. September came way too soon. Do you remember how it feels to be young? It feels great, motherfu...
Haunted: Collapse into Caliginosity
Chapter 70:
Kid-Friendly Gangster
I didn't even try to get up after chasing that laser pointer around. Trent hunkered over me with a candy cane sticking out of his mouth, and he threatened to poke me in the face with the slobbery end. "Ew, stop," I communicated to him, avoiding the red and white stick.
"Are you really that out of shape?" he asked, genuinely surprised by my panting.
"We lift weights, don't run. I never liked running, anyway."
He plopped down next to me with his legs crossed. "Macca, if you don't like to run, then why did you choose to play the sport that required the most amount of running?"
"You're right. I played soccer. But I played the position that required the least amount of running."
Trent chuckled and clapped. "Wow. Your logic is astonishing."
"What logic?" Linus asked, who had come down from the upper floor with his bulky toy in hand. "And why are you still on the dirty floor?"
"Well, maybe I just feel like being on the floor, Linus," I joking retorted, exaggerating a relaxed pose with my legs crossed and hands tucked under my head.
"Sucks for you." He suddenly turned on the laser pointer again to point it to my face.
"Oh look. A red light," Trent pretended to notice, hovering his shoe over my nose. "I must touch."
I shielded my face from the attack. "Fuck off," I voiced.
"Hey, we wore women's clothes for you! You can man up and take it," Linus reasoned, pressing his foot against my stomach.
"Ugh. Leave me alone. I have to go to the store," I insisted, hitting their feet away before they got me dirty.
Linus almost lost his balance because of the sudden force of my hand against his ankle. I took the opportunity to suddenly snatch my candy bag from Trent, roll away from them, and run for freedom. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" Linus called.
"The store!" I called back. "Bye!"
"You aren't getting away that easily, Macca Soxx!" Linus claimed, sprinting after me across the empty mall.
I held my goodie bag tightly in my fist as it swung around during my running fit. The squeaking from the bottoms of my shoes against the smooth tile floor resonated throughout the expansive areas. It was two men pursuing a woman, and I was winning.
"I have to go to the store!" I repeated.
"No, you don't! You have to hang out with us!" Trent argued.
"I have been!" I laughed, diverting from the straight path I had been taking. Our many pairs of feet slapped the floor without a rhythmic beat. It was almost obnoxious. But I was determined to break away from my annoying friends. Going shopping with them would be like being in charge of a monkey wagon. I seriously had to restock on some groceries, and since the mall had a store connected to one of its branches, I figured that it would be good to just get it done while I was here.
But it was clear that I was not being approved for departure.
"Go away!" I tried to tell them, throwing myself into one of the plants that was displayed in the middle of the walkway.
"You've been hanging out with that Zane guy too much. You ain't a ninja!" Trent exclaimed, reaching into the artificial mulch to grab me.
"You're right. I'm not a ninja," I replied, getting away from his extended hands by going deeper into the brush. "I am a midget, and I'm on a sugar high!" I suddenly busted out of the other side and got a headstart. Going just as fast as I was before, I made my way to the other side of the mall and climbed an immobile escalator to get to the entrance of the store. When I gazed over my shoulder, panting heavily, I saw that I was alone. There were no footsteps or yelling from either of them. They must've finally given up.
A sense of sheepish guilt filled my gut, so I pulled out my phone and texted both of them that I loved them just to make temporary peace. Tomorrow was our day in the gym, and I knew I wouldn't hear the end of it.
A guy leaning against his cash register was busy on his own phone when I walked in and pulled out a shopping cart. I pushed open the toddler seat and set my candy bag in it. The thing was basically my child, after all. That, and the fact that I was pregnant with a food baby from lunch, too.
Rolling my cart through the aisles, I grabbed packages and boxes and bottles of items ranging from food to soap to hair gel. The whole time, I sucked on pieces of candy one after the other and tried to organize the items in the cart so that it would be easy to sort it out at the register. While contemplating about remaining low supplies, I just stood with my arms supporting my weight against the cart's handle. The empty seat in front of me distracted me. I could already see myself interacting with a toddler sitting there. "Mommy! Mommy!" my mind voiced. The toddler would reach for my face and give me open-mouthed kisses. The thought made me smile. I wanted to be a mom so bad...
"IT'S YOU!" someone screamed, overjoyed.
Before I could look, arms locked around my body in a tight embrace. The unexpected addition of weight almost caused me to topple over, but when I saw it was a young girl with super light blonde hair, I gazed up at the ceiling.
I also want to be a wife! I internally chanted, taking my chances while the door was open. I almost regretted my prayer instantly, though. With my luck, Rollin would come around the corner. Then I would be screwed.
"Harumi, leave that woman alone!" her mother demanded, pulling the girl away from me. Doing so made me get a better look at them. The mother had tightly woven brown hair that stayed out of her round face and brown eyes. Meanwhile, her daughter had her loose hair, which almost appeared to be totally white, in twin braids that failed to hold shorter strands around her forehead.
"But, Momma, look! It's Macca Soxx!" she persisted, pointing directly at my face. "I listen to her music!"
I couldn't help but laugh. "How old are you?" I asked her.
"Nine!"
"And you listen to my music? I would think it was a little inappropriate for kids your age."
The mother raised her eyebrows, giving her daughter a distrustful look.
"Uh...Clean versions!" she quickly defended.
"Fair enough," I laughed again. "So did you just randomly find me or did you come looking for me?"
"We just came to do some clothes shopping," her mother explained. "Anyway, we'll get out of your hair. Sorry to bother you."
Just when the girl was about to be pulled away, she fought to be released. "But Momma! I don't want to go!" She then broke free and returned to me with another squeezing hug. "I wanna stay with Macca."
"She's busy, Sweetie. Look. She's got a cart full of groceries and everything."
"No, it's okay," I assured her. "I'm actually pretty much done. If she doesn't want to go with you, I can keep her with me for a while. Who needs an autograph when you can just goof off with your favorite celebrity?"
The girl lifted her head from my chest with a surprised glimmer in her blue eyes. Her hesitant mother wondered why I was being so generous but was also wondering if someone who looked like me could even be remotely trusted. I didn't blame her, either. For one, I was a stranger. Second of all, gangsters were criminals, but I was a weird outlandish kind of gangster. As far as I knew, I was the only woman in Ninjago who dressed the way I did. I was pretty, but my clothes masked the rest of my femininity. It threw the older generation off. But this girl was determined to get at least an hour with her favorite recording artist.
"Please, please, please! We won't do anything bad!" she promised.
Her mother narrowed her eyes at me. "If she gives me her phone number so I can check on you, I'll let you stay," she clearly stated.
"REALLY?"
"For an hour, and nothing more."
She enthusiastically switched her hug to her mother, incessantly jumping up and down. "Thanks, Mom!"
Without relinquishing her stone-cold stare, her mother pulled out her cell phone and saved the number that I verbally withdrew for her to use for the next hour. "Okay, I'll be picking your clothes out for you," her mother disclosed, walking away. "Don't be doing anything bad."
"I won't!"
As soon as she rounded the corner and disappeared, we were both left alone. "Hop on," I beckoned, motioning to the cart. "I just need to get a few more things and then we can go have fun."
She immediately stepped onto the front of the cart and held on so that I could push her around wherever I wanted. "What all are we gonna do?"
"Oh, I don't know. There's a bedding department toward the back, a toy section, and even a small food area. Whatever you wanna do."
"I want to do whatever you want to do."
"Really now? Well, alright then. We can have some Macca Soxx fun. Here, have some candy," I offered, tossing my candy bag to the front of the metal basket. She happily picked up the bag and took a piece as I went down to an aisle that had frozen foods in multiple freezers. "What's your name?" I asked, opening a door to pull out a box.
"Harumi."
"Ah, that's pretty. Why aren't you in school right now?"
"I'm homeschooled, but I finished early so Mom wanted to take me get new clothes. My old ones don't fit much anymore."
"That sucks. But you wanted to hang out with me instead?"
"Of course I did. Trying on clothes is boring."
I pushed the cart out of the cold aisle to go somewhere else. "I feel ya. Well, sorry we aren't having much fun yet. I just need to get one more thing and then we can go goof off somewhere."
"That's okay. Being with you is just so cool! My dad says I'm too little to go to your concerts."
"He's right. You're way too young. But don't worry. Maybe in ten years or so, you'll be able to go to one. They're a lot of fun, but not fun for kids. The music is too loud and the people are too crazy."
"Ten years? But that'll take forever!"
"No, it won't," I laughed. "Trust me, it'll fly by quick, especially when you get out of elementary school."
"I'm homeschooled."
"Right, right," I corrected myself, shaking my head and taking my last item from a shelf.
"Need any help, ma'am?" an employee questioned from behind me.
"No, but thanks anyway-" I turned around to see the employee only to find a familiar face. At first, I couldn't put a name to his face, but I could've sworn that I'd met him before. He had scruff on his face and the sides of his head shaved. His front teeth were crooked from lack of braces as a teenager, but the obvious stupid look on his face was what rung a bell. "Oh my god. Evan?"
"Yeah, what? I knew it was you the whole time, Macca."
"It's just...I haven't seen you since like junior year. You're not in jail anymore?"
"No. I got out in like January."
"Wow, that surprises me. So tell me, how many times did you drop the soap while you were in there?"
He showed offense, but I just laughed in his face. "You shut the fuck up," he cursed.
I gasped. "Don't use language like that! I have a nine-year-old with me."
"Well, fine. If I dropped the soap, then you became a teen mom."
"Not true. Harumi here is one of my biggest fans," I deflected, resting my hands on her shoulders since she decided to step right in front of me. "I'm spending a whole hour with her."
"That's cool. You know, little girl, Macca and I used to be like best friends when we were in school together," Evan lied.
"Hmm, lovely," I sarcastically replied. "Harumi, you see how stupid Evan looks?"
She laughed. "Yeah."
"This is the perfect example of what not to become when you get older. Evan's been in jail like ten times, has done drugs, and now he works at the grocery store."
"Ew," she grimaced.
"Hey, I've been clean for like two weeks now."
"Well, how long have you been working here?"
"Like two weeks."
"Explains why," I laughed. "Say, if we make a mess or something like that, you have to clean it up, right?"
"Sure, why?"
I gave him a mischievous look before picking up Harumi from under the armpits and taking her over to an open container full of bouncy balls. She laughed the whole time as I lunged her on top of it all. Then like magic, the balls underneath her were forced out from the spread restraints and bounced in every direction on the floor. Evan stressfully covered his face, but I just pulled Harumi out and told her to run away like her life depended on it. Then I jumped onto my shopping cart and let it roll me away from the scene.
At the end of the aisle, Harumi found me and quickly hopped back on so I could have us escape to the very back of the store: the bedding department. It wasn't hard to find. There was a big sign mounted on the back wall with a big picture of a mattress on it. Then it was like a wonderland of display beds covered in thick comforters with fancy matching pillows to go with them. "We gotta hide," I quickly panted, jumping off and pushing the cart away until it bumped into something. Harumi and I made our way to a corner where a brand new nightstand was trapped by the bottom corners of the mattresses touching each other, creating an empty space that was shaped like a kite.
We both jumped into the space and laid on our bellies to hide from Evan. He could've been looking for us or cleaning up the fun mess we left for him. Either way, we were now on Ninjago's most wanted list. Fight or flight, things were heating up for my play date with Harumi. It was spectacular.
The only sound we could hear was our breath coming out. Other than that, there were no footsteps or anything. Very carefully, I pulled back the bed skirt to see for myself if there was anyone at all. "What are we gonna do if he finds us?" Harumi whispered.
"We shall attack," I responded, lifting up to start grabbing pillows. "Let's build a pillow fort to defend ourselves."
"But we don't have enough on these two beds."
"Then go get some from the others. Be sneaky, though. We don't want Evan to see us or hear us."
She nodded and squeezed between the bed to get more pillows. Meanwhile, I put the two beds in disarray by stripping them of their comforters. Evan wouldn't have to fix them; I would take responsibility by restoring them to their original setup myself. When Harumi brought back a ton of big ones, I showed her how to line them up and stack them against the sides of the beds. "Once we get a good wall going for us, we have to tuck the blankets underneath the first row and pull them over so that we have a ceiling," I explained, demonstrating as I talked.
"Won't he notice that we've made a pillow fort?"
"Yep, but that's why we're gonna be armed."
"With what?"
"Toy guns." I pulled the blanket over us and laid on my back and I secured the other side of the ceiling.
"But how can we shoot them if we're closed up?"
"Watch this." I grabbed the nightstand by wrapping my arms around the base of it and pulled it underneath the pillow fort so it could prop up the center. Then I was able to add two more pillows on top of the corners of the mattresses so that the blanket would be lifted. What was left was a convenient peephole, perfect for the barrel of a dart gun to stick out of for aiming. "Stay here while I get us a nifty weapon," I told her, crawling out from underneath the fort and doing a not-so-graceful roll across one of the beds.
"Don't get caught!" Harumi cautioned in a hushed voice.
Alright, Zane. Channel me for a second. I have to be a ninja for once, I thought, bending over as I searched for an aisle full of toys.
Listening for any footsteps was harder than I anticipated. And trying to secretly peer around corners was nerve-wracking. I was so glad the store was more of a ghost town than anything right now. Getting weird looks was a normal part of my day, but not getting them was okay, too. Hey, just because I was a celebrity didn't mean everything I did was deemed normal. But what wasn't normal was there were no employees...anywhere. This store must've sucked when the time of day was odd. Nobody even tried to work when no customers were present. Luckily I was here to enjoy the solitude.
One aisle had Evan on the opposite end. He was still cleaning up the bouncy balls, not paying attention to his surroundings much. I was able to sneak past him easily, only to run into the shelves covered in plastic goods that were intended for use by little kids. A whole shelf held a variety of guns that were supposed to shoot foam darts. The problem I came across was how the guns were in boxes. I wasn't willing to buy one just to shoot Evan in his stupid face one time.
Trying not to make much noise, I rummaged through the boxes to see if there was just a rogue gun laying around where I couldn't immediately see it, but there was nothing meaningful. My next best bet would be a large open box full of them lying somewhere random like the bouncy balls were.
"Hey! Found you!" Evan suddenly shouted from the end of the aisle.
Aw, fuck it.
I just grabbed a box that had the gun out in the open from a side view and ran away again. Evan was too lazy to chase after me, so I took the time to make it back to the undiscovered pillow fort. Harumi was quietly laying down inside, but she sat up when I reappeared. "I got caught," I admitted to her, sliding the box between us.
"Aw, man!"
"Don't worry. He's too stupid to run."
"Why did you get a box?"
"Because there wasn't one that didn't come in a box. We got this, though. It can still work."
"What about bullets?"
"They were in boxes, too. I didn't grab any."
"Then what are we using instead?"
"Hmm..." I immediately thought of my bag of candy that I left in the shopping cart. There were some pieces that were hard and shaped like small cylinders. They could definitely fit through the barrel and everything. "You think you could sneak back out and grab my bag of candy from the shopping cart?" I asked her.
Without replying, she rolled over and rolled back over to reveal the exact bag I was talking about. "Already got it."
"Sweet. Good job, kiddo," I praised, opening the bag and pulling out the designated candies. Harumi helped me load the gun by lodging in the colored candies into the slots. We softly high-fived to commence the waiting game. The moment Evan entered our vicinity, we would get the gun in place and take our shot. But until that time came, we were forced to keep our heads low.
I checked the time to see how much longer we had together. I didn't want to finish the mission single-handedly. Not having a young comrade with me took the fun away from it all.
"Your mom will be coming back in about twenty minutes," I informed her, laying down.
"Ugh. She's no fun," she complained, also laying down.
"It's okay. She let us hang out together. We've had fun, right?"
"Yeah. A lot of fun."
"Good. I like hanging out with kids like you. It reminds me of when I was a kid."
"Why?"
"Because my childhood was short and sweet. When I was nine, I had to do adult things."
"Like what?"
"Like take care of the babies and clean and stuff. It was fun while it lasted, but when it was over, I had to grow up fast. So enjoy it while it lasts, Rumi. It won't be long before you're a busy teenager trying to finish school."
"Hmm, okay," she quickly agreed. "Wait, hear that?"
"What?"
"Footsteps."
We both got back on our bellies and pushed back the bed skirts. When nothing came into view, I switched to the gun peephole.
Suddenly, my phone started ringing. Both Harumi and I grabbed for the phone so fast that it got bumped and slid underneath one of the beds. "No!" Harumi voiced, reaching for it as far as she could. Just when the distraction happened, Evan, the idiot, came into view. I put the gun into position, squinted one eye to precisely aim, and pulled the trigger.
"Hi, Momma!" Harumi answered the phone.
The candy bullet shot out and hit Evan right between the eyes. "OW!" he yelled, making me want to bust out laughing.
"I got him, Rumi!"
"Got who?" the phone, which was on speaker, asked.
"Oh, hi, Harumi's mom," I greeted. "We ran into an old friend of mine."
"Well, I got done early. I assume you two are still in the store?"
"Yep. We're in the bedding department."
"Macca and I made a pillow fort!" Harumi excitedly shared.
"Sounds like you've had fun."
"What the fuck was that for?" Evan asked, lifting the blanket from above our heads.
"Shut up, Evan!" I firmly insisted, discarding a pillow from the wall and throwing it at him.
"I'm coming to get you, Harumi," her mother said. "Clean up your pillow fort."
"Aw..."
Her mother hung up the phone.
"Do you expect me to clean your shit up again?" Evan wondered.
"Evan! Nine-year-old!"
"I don't give a fuck."
"Go away! We'll clean it up!"
"Fine." He walked away, beginning the ticking clock.
"Alright, Rumi, don't cuss. It's not cool. But more importantly, let's see how fast we can fix the beds."
"Hurry, hurry!" I encouraged Harumi, watching her crawl to the front of the bed to arrange the pillows in a fashionable manner.
"Harumi?" her mother's voice sounded from a little way out.
"All done!" she concluded, throwing her arms in the air.
"Yay! We did it!" I cheered just as her mother approached with arms full of plastic bags.
"Is your pillow fort all cleaned up?" she asked.
"Yeah, but it was cool. You should've seen it," Harumi goaded.
"I'm sure it was. Did you have fun with Macca?"
"A lot. I don't wanna leave yet."
"Well, I'm sorry but I have to get home and start making dinner for tonight. Thanks for watching her," she departed in my direction, taking her daughter under her arm.
"No problem. But, hey, Rumi, before you go-" I reached into the shopping cart and pulled out a little stuffed elephant "-I got you this."
"Why?"
"Because I'm nice."
She took it from my hand and hugged me for the last time. "Thank you," she whispered.
"You're welcome," I said as I hugged her back. "It's already paid for, so take care of it."
"I will."
Almost full of remorse, I watched little Harumi walk away with her mother. I loved kids, but I especially loved it when I got to spend time with them. Even if I looked intimidating, kids like Rumi never judged a book by its cover, unless they looked like Evan, of course.
Just for the record, Evan IS NOT an actual person I know XD Sorry it took so long to write. It's so long! But I'm happy with the length it turned out to be. Thank you RandomDragon2.0, It'sYourGirl, PixelatedNinjas, and The Mayor Of Ninjago City for reviewing since I last updated. Hopefully the updates can keep coming throughout the summer like I plan :)