“Okay, so I have an order of the universal nuggies with alien glurp sauce and a chicken saucer salad with French dressing. A large diet root beer and a sparkling stardust delight. Anything else?” Pepper asked into his headset.
“Nope, that sounds just about right.”
“Super-D-duper. I’ll have the total for you at the first window.” Pepper bumped his head against the wall and moaned in agonized boredom. He rolled his head at an awkward angle and finally rested it at a point where he could watch the vehicle slowly roll up to his window.
“Pepper!” He turned to see KT making an exaggerated hand gesture. “Super-D-duper? Really? Come on now. You know better than that!” She shook her head and walked off.
He rolled his eyes and sighed, turning his attention to the vehicle. He was startled to see Mr. Stephens looking up at him. The retractable window slid open and Pepper grabbed hold of his payment card. “Hey, Pepper, how have you been?”
“Hey, Mr. Stephens. Well… I’m sure you’ve heard by now,” he replied and swiped the payment card through the cash register.
A sorrowful expression came over the principal’s face. “I did. I’m sorry, Pepper. I heard you put up one heck of a good effort, though. Has your week gotten any better since the loss?”
He shrugged. “Not really… I have to rebuild my golem, and that will probably take me months of working here every spare hour I can.”
“Have you thought about the junkyard?”
“Why would I work at a junkyard, Mr. Stephens? I already have this job,” Pepper replied, handing his payment card back to him.
Mr. Stephens let out a sigh and pressed his glasses back into position. “I don’t mean you should work at the junkyard, but maybe you should go check it out. See if Kyle has any spare parts.”
“Kyle?”
Mr. Stephens lifted his hand for emphasis. “Yeah, Kyle … Kyle Wilkinson. He served in the military. I think he might have actually served with your brother for a while. Either way, he got out like a year ago. He bought the junkyard off of Division Street. I ran into him a month or two back and he mentioned how he was selling used golem parts online. Maybe swing by and see what he has. He might be able to give you a good deal.”
Pepper’s eyes darted from side to side and he reached up and massaged the back of his neck. That actually isn’t that bad of an idea, he thought. “Thanks, Mr. S. I will be sure to think about that.”
“Sounds good, Pepper. I’ll see you next week when you come back to school.”
The vehicle slowly pulled forward, and Pepper couldn’t help but watch it as it went. He was curious when the vehicle paused and he watched KT lean out the window and strike up a conversation. His ears began to itch regarding the topic of discussion. The temptation grew even more when he saw Mr. Stephens appear to point back towards him. KT’s head tilted towards him as well, confirming his suspicion that he was their focus.
A chime in his earpiece warned him of the next customer in line. He ignored them for what he could have sworn was only five seconds. But that time was too long.
“Hello? Hell-oooh… I would like to order.”
Pepper grabbed his headset and pulled it away from his ear. The harsh, screeching voice pierced straight into the depths of his mind and made him almost go cross-eyed. “I can hear you just fine. You don’t need to speak so loud.”
“Oh, you need me to speak louder? How’s this?” Her voice amplified to an even more ear-splitting volume.
“Stop! Just… You know what? We’re having technical difficulties. Just pull forward and I’ll take your order at the window.” The vehicle chime dinged yet again in his ear. “Welcome to Rocket Burger, where our meals will take you straight into orbit. I’ll get you all set for mission launch in just a moment.”
Pepper leaned out the window, but quickly reared back inside as the woman’s volume of her voice assaulted him. “Just give me two number 4s super grande size or whatever you call it. But give me diet Colas, because we’re watching our weight.”
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Pepper shook his head and tried to rattle his brain back into functioning order. His finger punched away on the screen while he heard KT call for Harper, his crew member, to help her clean the deep frier oil drainage bins.
“Okay, that will be 12.50 Flex.”
The woman paid for her meal and Pepper was nothing but elated to pass her on to his coworker at the next window. He turned to look at the next vehicle at the order sign but watched as the vehicle kept rolling slowly forward and finally stopped at his window.
“Well, well, well, Peepers… Are you getting used to it?” Tamin said with a beaming smile.
“Getting used to what?”
“To this!” Tamin waved his arm and pointed to the restaurant. “Your future. Being stuck here in the crap hole of this town. Forever trying to climb up out of the muck and be amongst us—the winners. The only problem is, you’ll be nothing but worm waste at the bottom of the dumpster.”
Pepper’s jaw clenched tight, and he wanted to reach through the drive through window and rip Tamin right out of his car. His hands were already white knuckled and ready to dish out another beating. He mentally told himself, Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it.
“Pepper,” KT called out behind him. “Pepper, can you help me with this bag of syrup? There seems to be something wrong with the…” Pepper felt a slight nudge that moved him off to the side. KT had a large bag of soda syrup in her hands and acted as if she tripped. A quick flick of her hands and Pepper watched as the bag surged out like a wave and splashed all over Tamin.
“What the heck! You’ve got to be freaking kidding me!” Tamin screamed and started to jostle around uncontrollably.
“Oh no! I’m sorry, love. I was working on the fryer drain pans… My hands are not able to grip the bags like I thought I could.”
“My dad is going to hear about this!”
“Oh good. Please remind him the ice cream machine is still broken and he still hasn’t approved my request to purchase a new one.” Tamin sped off out of the drive through, and KT turned and looked at Pepper. “I don’t think we’ll need to worry about seeing him any time soon, now, do we?” She winked and gave him a slight nudge of her elbow.
The rest of Pepper’s shift was normal to say the least. Counting down the minutes until he could leave was the common game he played every day. The unique scent of oil frier grease, raw meat, and cleaning solution was embedded into his pores.
The cool breeze greeted him as he made is way out the door and was a welcome relief on his skin. He had already downed a burger and fries for dinner. He slurped up his strawberry milkshake while he walked down the dimly lit sidewalk.
He headed for home but stopped at the intersection when he remembered what Principal Stephens had said about the junkyard. His fingers rolled along the desert cup and a tingling of curiosity came over him. It’s not like I have to go to school tomorrow. My shift doesn’t even start until 10:30 in the morning. Screw it! Let’s go!
A quick pivot of his feet and he started to walk down the dark street. He wasn’t quite sure how far he had actually traveled, but soon he arrived at Division St. An eerie mist was beginning to filter through the wooded area, but Pepper could just make out some soft warm lights tucked back behind a slight bend in the road.
There was a small access road which turned into gravel and dirt. Pepper heard the gravel shift under his feet as he slowed his pace. The closer he got to the source of the light, the more clearly the shape of the compound appeared—a chain link fence and gate with a sign mounted off to the side. Kyle’s Collectables.
A vast array of old vehicles and other mechanical items were scattered around inside. Pepper could see that the gate was chained shut with a large padlock in the center. He shuffled up to the lock and gave it a tug. The only result was the metal clanking under the strain. His eyes scanned the fence, and he could see it was worn and weathered. There’s got to be a way in…
Pepper’s fingers ran over the rungs of one of the sections as he walked down the far-left side. His body faded into the shadows of the trees. He tapped on his holodex and activated the flashlight function. The tiny beam provided enough light for him to continue his investigation.
It was on the far side of the compounds barrier that he discovered a depression in the soil—a place where the water had slowly eroded the ground and now left a gap at the bottom of the fence. He licked his lips and began to crawl underneath. It was only a second or two before he was back on his feet and inside the scrapyard.
Pepper slowly walked through the piles of junk until he finally found an area where a multitude of golems lay. Heaps of limbs, heads, and materials lay scattered about. Then he spotted a small area under a makeshift wooden overhang. His eyes could just make out the distinct shape and coloration of some rune cards that had been left on a table.
The ones Pepper looked at had all been damaged by the elements. However, he couldn’t help but notice a large pile of golem torsos off to one side. Those appeared to have been saved and were waiting to be worked on.
He knelt down and began to inspect the remains. A loose chest piece—which he pried open with his fingers with just enough force to glance inside. That’s a controller rune! he thought, and his eyes widened, a spark of hope igniting in his chest. He immediately began to search around for a tool he could utilize to open the plate further.
A bright beam of light swept over the area. Pepper heard the distinct sound of a car coming to a stop and then what sounded like a car door opening. The distinct rattling of the gates chain warned him. He was sure it was the gate being opened. His heart raced and fear latched onto him. He didn’t waste another second and bolted back to the fence and quickly shimmied underneath.