Troublemaker

He didn't do anything too bad. Except for the time he broke into old Farmer Houston's garage and dumped paint on his car. Houston had it coming, though. He was a dick, especially to kids and black people, and Rob was both a kid and black, so Houston often targeted him with nasty comments and slurs while Rob worked at the local gas station. Chris figured that repaying Houston for hurting Rob was the least he could do for his friend. He sniggered every time Houston's old chevy drove by, with specks of red paint all over where he couldn't get it off.

And now that he was fifteen and had a job, he didn't bother breaking into the vending machines, especially not since the workers at the Dakota Express started following him every time he came around.

If anything, he was boring. It wasn't like he could rob the bank or anything, and he wasn't interested in breaking into old people's houses. He really just wanted out of this tiny little town, to go someplace he and his friends could live a little without getting judged by the old farmers and church ladies.

Once he figured out how to open something, it wasn't really fun anymore. Once you'd opened a few random sheds, they were pretty much all the same. The only things in town he hadn't opened with his knack at this point were the places that might actually cause him trouble if he got caught, like the courthouse, the jail and the bank.

He'd even knacked his way into the liquor store once and helped himself to a few beers. They tasted terrible, and he'd never bothered going back.

Life was humdrum, and his knack was cool, but it didn't change that.

But change was coming. He had just a few months till he could start driving, and then he'd finally be able to start getting away from this town that bored him so much. Maybe he could find a place with halfway decent internet for a change.

The thought was the one thing that kept him working, mowing lawns with Jim, his dad's friend that lives off his military retirement and had a lawn care company on the side. Jim only paid a quarter above minimum wage, but Chris figured an extra ten bucks a paycheck brought him that much closer to buying a car and finally getting some freedom. It was the only thing he could think of as he absentmindedly mowed Phyllis's yard, waiting till he could rendezvous with Adam and Rob later that night.