The next day, Snug got up early and snuck to the Sarb market. Using the spare change he had managed to gather, he bought a mango. A mango for Amira. Reparations would start today.
All morning, the mango burned like a hot coal in his pocket, a reminder of the daunting task ahead. Snug was not deterred. He knew what Justice Man would have wanted. He knew what he wanted.
Finally, lunch came and he found himself nervously approaching Amira once more, mango in hand.
She looked up as he approached, annoyance clear on her face.
“What do you want now?” she questioned, exasperation clear in her voice.
Snug steeled his nerves and replied,
“I thought about what you said yesterday, and…”
“And what?”
“And… And I want to help!” he found himself blurting.
Amira looked at him like he’d grown a third eye.
“With what?” a touch of something in her voice warned him to tread lightly.
“Well… you were talking about how Eureks made it hard for you guys. I want to help.”
Now she was looking at him like he’d grown a fourth eye,
“How?”
“Umm… I don't know?”
“Th…”
He quickly forestalled her response,
“But I have a mango!”
For a second she was silent, looking at the offered mango, then back at his face, then back at the mango.
Then she burst out laughing. Snug tried not to feel offended as the laughter continued to grow, drawing the attention of the whole schoolyard. He was beginning to lose patience when he needed to intervene after she started to choke.
After she had hacked all the food out she fixed him with an angry amber gaze.
“What? I saved you from choking!” He defended himself against the unspoken accusation.
“You made me choke in the first place!”
“I just offered you a mango!”
That started another round of laughter.
When she finally calmed down her face took on a more thoughtful expression.
“Are you serious about helping?”
“Yes” Snug replied without hesitation.
“Why?”
Snug did hesitate on that question, taking his time to think before finally formulating a answer,
“I just… I just don't want to be the type of person that leaves something like this. My people have wronged yours. I want to make it right.”
She fixed him with a considering gaze, amber eyes drilling deep into him until it got uncomfortable.
“Well… If you're serious I guess we could use a bit of help around the store.“
“Really?”
Only because you made me laugh so hard”
The look on his face made her laugh again.
“Meet at the gates 10 minutes after the last bell.”
“Got it.”
For a second he continued to stand there before Amira spoke,
“Sooo… are you just going to stand there…?”
Her voice snapped him back to reality.
“Oh. Sorry.” the remembering the mango in his hand he stretched it out again,
“Do you want it?”
She looked at the mango, then back at him. And she smiled. A radiant expression that set her amber eyes alight.
“Thank you.’ she said, taking the mango from him.
—---------------------
For the rest of the day Snug could hardly focus, drawing the ire of his teachers.
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He was going to fix his people's mistakes! He was going to be like Justice Man!
The final bell found Snug bolting out of his seat and frantically sprinting to the meeting spot.
Where he was forced to wait for 10 minutes,
“How long have you been waiting?” Amira questioned.
“Umm… 10 minutes?”
“You do know the meeting was planned for 10 minutes after the bell” she replied with a raised brow.
“I knew that! I…” he sheepishly ran a hand through his brown hair, “I just didn't want to accidentally miss it.”
Amira surveyed him.
“Why are you so eager to help?”
Snug sighed,
“Well, I’ve always seen myself as a good person, you know? The type of guy that helps old ladies find their cats and steps in to save someone from a beating. It's who I am, and who I want to be.”
He looked down and toed the dirt,
“When you told me about the things my people have been doing… it damaged the image. It damaged me. How could I be a good person if I just stood by and watched? I made a mistake, my people made a mistake.”
He looked back up at her, words gaining intensity,
“When you make a mistake you must fix it!”
Then, as if realizing the volume of his voice, he once more looked down and continued toeing the dirt,
“A least that's what Justice Man says”
He only realized his mistake when Amira’s questioning words made him raise his head,
“Justice Man?”
“Nothing! Nothing important!”
She smiled at that, the glint in her eyes teaching Snug the meaning of terror. She hooked her arm in his and started to drag him off.
“Why don't you tell me about this ‘Justice Man’”
The laughter in her voice dunked Snug in the ice cold winds of fear.
This was going to be a long walk.
—-------------------------------------
“...and then he flattened his warship in a single blow!”
“Really?”
“Yeah, It was so cool!”
“I need to see this comic.”
“I’ll bring it tomorrow.”
“Oh, look,” Amira pointed at a small drugstore, “There it is.”
Snug entered with a heavy sense of trepidation. This was the moment that would decide if it was even possible to atone. The bell on the door chimed with their entry, sending a tinkling melody through the small store. It was cramped but clean, with rows of shelves stuffed to the bursting with all sorts of essential wares. Food, drink, candy, and small toys all graced the shelves with their presence. It reminded him of his grandmother's apartment. Old, but well-loved.
His contemplation was interrupted by heavy footsteps,
“Ami? Is that you?”
“Ami?” Snug mouthed at Amira.
She flushed red and glared at him, and without breaking eye contact replied,
“Yes. Abba. And I brought a friend.” The glare accompanying her last word sent cold sweat rolling down Snug’s back. “He wants to help around the store.”
“Sure, help’s always appreciated. What’s their name…”
He froze as he saw Snug.
He was a tall man, well muscled despite his apparent profession. With Amira’s amber eyes and tawny complexion. He was the type of man that could break Snug over one knee.
Snug swallowed.
“What is this… Eurek doing in my store?” He questioned, malice dripping from his every word.
His tone struck Snug as further proof of Amira’s words. That type of hatred was not nurtured over nothing. It was an odd reflection of his father and for a second he saw his father overlapped with Amira’s and himself with Amira.
A familiar argument.
“He wants to help.” Amira replied defiantly.
“A Eurek. In my store.” he enunciated, as if tasting the words.
“He’s not like the others. He really does want to help.”
Her father put a hand over his forehead,
“You always did like the strays, didnt you? Where’d you find this one? The steel factories?”
“He's from school.”
“And?”
“He…He…He gave me a mango!” Amira sputtered.
Snug now understood why she’d been laughing earlier. It was such an absurd thing to say.
Forcing down laughter, he focused on the task on hand. He could see where this was going. Amira was going to fail, and his chance at redemption would go away.
He wouldn't let that happen.
Alone they fell short, but perhaps together…
Snug found himself taking a step forward, words tumbling from his mouth,
“Sir… Mr. Farash. I truly do want to help.”
Amira shot him a look of alarm as her fathers attention shifted to him, like the gaze of a man on a bug.
“Why?” he drawled.
Snug drew himself up, praying that just this one time he would be listened to,
“Your daughter has shown me the way in which I have failed your community, and I want to fix that, atone for my failure.”
“And how have you failed us?”
Snug was momentarily surprised by the question before gathering himself,
“I was unaware of the difficulties your people have faced from mine. And because of that unawareness I did nothing to stop it.”
“And why would you want to stop it?”
It seemed so obvious to Snug,
“Because that’s the right thing to do.”
He barely stopped himself from talking more about Justice Man.
Amira took that chance to jump in,
“He really is sincere. Please Abba, give him a chance.”
Mr. Farash looked between them before letting out a sigh.
“Fine. But I ain't paying no Eurek. If you want to work, work. But you’re not getting anything for it. Start by unpacking those boxes in the corner” he said, pointing.
And with those last words he stomped out of the room.
Amira tuned to face Snug,
“Happy no…”
Snug’s tackle hug interrupted her.
“Thank you” he whispered.
After a moment of frozen shook she clumsily patted him on the back,
“You’re welcome? Why is this such a big deal to you?”
He pulled back and looked at her with watery eyes,
“Because it gives me a chance to become who i ve always wanted to be.”
“Justice Man?” Amira guessed.
“No. Well I mean yes. But a man that is good. And this is a start to achieving that.”
“Well” Amira replied awkwardly, “You’re welcome. And thank you for helping me against Abba.”
Snug chuckled,
“My dad’s just like that.”
“Really? Because one time…”
The stories continued to flow with the stacking of boxes.