Chapter 2: In and Out

Angel and Jacob made their ways to various shops, one of which was locally owned and very popular. It sold a variety of foods from sandwiches all the way to ice cream. They came up to the shop and looked at the sign which read the words, "Taste of Vacation". Although the name wasn't too creative, the owner was really nice and the foods changed throughout the seasons to give the locals a break from their daily life as they were able to relax in the mid-sized joint and meet new people. As they entered, the sound of some popular hits played in the background and some idle chatter went around. It wasn't too busy but it certainly wasn't empty. They walked up to the counter and were greeted by a warm, familiar smile.

"What can I get for my favorite boys today?" The man was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt with a lei around his neck, some cargo shorts and some sandals. He wore a large grin that that kept you from noticing his thinning grey hair which barely supported his sunglasses. To most, he'd seem like a "go get 'em" worker, but to the locals, he was just Mr. Deriks, the owner.

Angel stared off for a bit before drawing his gaze away from a colorful cup to meet Mr. Deriks's eyes, "Sorry about that," He chuckled sheepishly as Mr. Deriks wasn't new to this happening on a regular basis.

"Got your head in the clouds again boy?" He laughed and put down a cup he was cleaning out, "You gotta stop daydreaming all the time man, otherwise before you know it, you'll end up like me," He pointed to his hair and bumped Angel's shoulder, "I'm kidding, just giving you a hard time. You guys are coming in like every other week, I assume you guys want the usual?"

"That would be much appreciated, but don't rush yourself we're taking our time today," Jacob leaned on the counter and looked at all the different equipment and bottles filled with different flavorful items.

"Coming right up," Mr. Deriks began working on their usual, one chocolate sundae and a strawberry mango shake. After a few moments he served them in some plastic containers and gave each of them a spoon and a straw.

"We come here so often, I can't believe I know how much it is by memory," Angel began fumbling through his wallet. At the same moment a man walked through the door sporting a nice black suit with a red shirt underneath. He wore slick black pants with black shoes and red laces. He had a fedora on that he kept tucked down obscuring his face. A card was tucked into the fedora on the side that seemed to be and Ace of Spades. As the man walked in, Mr. Deriks's smile disappeared and there was a look in his eye that Angel couldn't decrypt from him.

"Actually…it's on the house, go enjoy your day, summer won't last forever. Also you go on and take the day off alright?" Mr. Deriks turned to a boy who had been working behind the counter. He was thin and a little pasty white, like he'd never tanned before. His brown hair slicked back but not kept in with product to it kind of flurried around a little bit with the air conditioner right above him. He also wore underneath his apron, a formal t-shirt, with some quote about music or something relating to that, which was nicely outfitted with a pair of skinny jeans and tennis shoes.

"You sure?" The boy spoke, he seemed surprised that his shift was over with.

"Of course, it's such a beautiful day, don't waste it." His smile had returned but for some reason it seemed forced or strained.

"Alright, thanks dad!" The boy gave him a hug and took off his apron, "I'm going to the beach, I'll call you when I get out!"

"Alright, have fun, be careful!" Mr. Deriks squeezed his son tight more a moment before letting go of him, "Now go on you two, go enjoy your day."

"Alright, thank you again, we'll be back probably by the end of the week." Angel turned and the began to walk out with Jacob already by the door. The strange man that had entered walked to close to him and bumped into his shoulder but it didn't slow him down. In that moment when they connected, Angel felt shaken about the man. He kept walking and as Angel and Jacob left, Angel turned around and saw the man approach the counter and once again Mr. Deriks smile had faded as they rounded the corner.

As they continued to walk down the street, Angel couldn't help but remember what Mr. Deriks had said to him. As long as he could remember, he'd always spaced out easily. He was either fully invested in something of his mind was somewhere else, thinking about the infinite possibilities of life. In his mind he was either in or out when it came to any sort of activity. Usually he was always aware of what was going but if he ever got distracted by something, it was very hard to tear him away from it. He didn't know why it happened, it just did. So far, the only downfalls he had were missing out on instructions or a lecture during school, which he justified as in he'd always get the notes from Jacob later on. But right now, he was all in. His mind was focused on one simple question,

'Why did Mr. Deriks frown at that man? Out of all his years of working he's never frowned, not even after his wife passed away. So why now?' Angel pondered to himself.

It bugged him but he figured that it was no big deal. As he ate his sundae he smiled at the amazing flavor and he continued his day with his best friend down into the city…