Evergreen Mall
Custom leather steel-toed boots rapped the ceramic floor of the Evergreen Mall, a sprawling 3-story beautiful glass building, filled to the top with all manner of department, jewelry, and electronic stores. In those fancy leather boots walked the arrogant trust fund fueled child of Mr. Papineau. Lewis had never known a day's work in his entire life, let alone a minute's work. By all means, Lewis Papineau was a prince to these peasants, a god among mortals.
But every god has some vulnerability, and Lewis’s kryptonite was currently sitting behind the dumpsters with a needle in his arm. His name was Josh Ricardo, and something deep within this drug addict ignited Lewis’s loins like no other man. Alas, Lewis was forced to keep his romance a secret, as his father would never support a homosexual son. This didn’t bother Lewis all too much, as sneaking into the men’s toilet was the most exhilarating thing he had ever done in his life.
As for Josh, it wasn’t nearly as romantic. He had just gotten a divorce from his wife, and he needed a little something to keep his spirits up. Ever since the divorce, he had been in incredibly deep debt to the local drug dealer, Big Dan Johnson. Big Dan was notorious for letting people buy their heroin on a credit, trapping them into drug fueled servitude.
Was it cruel? Yes. That’s why Josh had dedicated his last few years of healthy living to taking down the drug kingpin. It would be challenging, though, as Big Dan was a well respected member of the community. He owned the large sporting goods store JOHNSONS, and he was able to hide his more nefarious actions behind closed doors. He and his lead manufacturer, Dawn Puffer, worked in the mall’s old trash compacting room. As it was deemed too dangerous to operate, Big Dan and Puffer were able to build their small drug empire without any detection.
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Puffer was on her last straw, unbeknownst to Big Dan. She had recently found Jesus again on a spiritual trip to Sedona, and was beginning to regret her initial career choices. It wasn’t as simple as stepping away, as her skill in the lab is what Big Dan needed to match his customer’s demands. Leaving would almost mean certain death.
To make matters worse, an old friend had popped up at church on Sundays. Evergreen High’s 2005 class Salutatorian, Pete Dustin. This matters, as Puffer so happened to be Evergreen High’s 2005 class Valedictorian. They had been neck and neck all four years of high school, and it had all come down to their final chemistry lab. I think you can guess who got the A+.
After his devastating defeat, Dustin decided to go to his backup school, Evergreen Community College, where he earned his degree in accounting. After making a small fortune in the stock market, he decided to invest the majority of his wealth and raise a family. He married his highschool sweetheart, Debra, and had two children, Benson and Robert.
As it so happens, Dustin only ever hated one other person, the man who was so rich he was able to buy his way onto the varsity football team, kicking Dustin out in the process. Daddy’s boy Lewis Papineau. Lewis could show Dustin up at any turn, just because he had money. Well now Dustin has money, so maybe the celestial odds have been changed.
So as Lewis walks into Evergreen Mall’s central atrium, and as he locks eyes with his old high school rival, Dustin, buying toilet paper at CVS, the story has finally come full circle. Our heroes don’t know it yet, but they are now locked on a course that will change their lives forever. Some will finally find the light at the end of the tunnel, and others will die. Let’s see what happens, shall we?