Describing the way Gary currently felt as annoyed would be a vast understatement. He was jogging his way back to the parts of Chavley. Fortunately, running wasn’t really a problem for Gary due to his stamina and improved body, and he had a lot of time until it was evening in Burnham, so there were a few things he could do before then.
He wouldn’t have minded it at all, but after seeing those three nice cars with so many empty seats in them, he thought the others could have at least offered him a lift back home. Of course, there was also the option to get the bus, but that would cost him a bit of money. The bus fares in Slough seemed like a rip-off, no matter how much money he had, so he preferred the free method.
‘I think I might just run to Burnham at this rate. Hmmm, I wonder what that look was on Xin’s face when she got in the car. Maybe she’s still shaken up by everything that happened.’
Soon enough, the high school boy’s frown turned upside down as he thought about the progress he had made in his relationship with Xin. A date, a house visit, and he had managed to rescue her, which surely would win him some brownie points.
On his way back, Gary quickly stopped by the convenience store where he picked up two sets of dye, as well as some food as he was getting ready to head home first. As usual, Gary intended to eat some raw meat in an alleyway to quickly restore his Energy on the way back.
“Is that everything for you, kid? You sure do eat a lot of meat, but looking at your body, I can see where all that protein is going.” The clerk joked behind the counter. His name tag read Tyler. The bespectacled university student was the hard-working type.
He also seemed to always be on duty whenever Gary would come in. Ever since he had become a Werewolf the teenager had come here and given how much he would spend, he and Tyler would enjoy the occasional small talk, especially when the store was as empty as it was now.
“Ah yeah, do you have the bag that I gave you from before?” Gary asked.
Going behind the desk, Tyler handed Gary a sports bag, and he quickly changed out from his gang uniform and replaced his clothes. There was no one else in the shop, and honestly it was just putting his blazer away and putting on a hoodie instead. Due to his home being in Chavley and the area it was in, Gary would always change into a hoodie around his area.
However, he couldn’t exactly always carry a bag around him while fighting. That would only make things harder. As such, he decided to leave certain clothes and bags at certain spots. Tyler had happily agreed to it, once Gary had offered him twenty notes. As much as Gary needed to save his money, he regarded this as an investment. It pained him to do so and was something that had taken him a long time to decide.
The school and this convenience store, was one of the many places that Gary would leave a bag with a change of clothes. However, now that Kai had gotten him clothes that were able to stretch, perhaps he wouldn’t have to go through so many…
‘Do I have to worry that once our Howlers gang becomes famous, people will start noticing our uniform? Will it be a problem that I go around in these colours? At least, I don’t think Tyler knows I’m in a gang yet.’ Gary suddenly pondered.
Just then, the electric door made a sound to inform them that a new customer had entered. It was a man in a suit who looked to be… quite drunk, as he could barely keep his balance.
‘It’s not even 5PM yet… Did he just finish work and start drinking straight away? Or maybe weekend midday drinking.’
Gary didn’t need Werewolf senses to smell the alcohol off of him. However, having them meant that his poor nose was practically being assaulted by the stench. The high schooler just wanted to get out of the place as soon as possible. He made sure to get out of the man’s way, he actually managed to make it to the counter.
Gary was getting ready to leave to enjoy his nice meal. He was getting used to the taste of Raw meat, and was actually looking forward to eating it before heading home.
“Hey, get me some leaf blacks!” The drunk man yelled.
“Here you go sir, that will be 15.20!” Tyler smiled politely, placing the cigarette pack on the counter.
The man then pulled out his card, sticking it into the reader, but he started to slap his head all of a sudden.
“Damn it, what was the pin?” The man grumbled loudly, before he proceeded to push some buttons. Unsurprisingly, there appeared an error message on the screen. The man tried this two more times, until the machine informed him that his card was now blocked.
“SH*T! YOUR DAMN MACHINE IS BROKEN!!!” The man accused Tyler in his drunken tone and started to almost pull apart the machine. “Just give me my damn leaf blacks.” The drunk man reached over and looked like he was about to snatch the cigarettes away, when the university student quickly pulled them back and placed them away.
“I’m sorry, sir, but your card has been declined. If you happen to have some cash, I would be happy to give them to you.” Tyler nervously smiled.
“Why the hell do you care? You’re just a poor sod working for this shop. You don’t own them, so might as well give them to me!” The man demanded as he stretched out his arm and opened his palm. However, when he noticed that nothing happened, he became even angrier.
“Do you think I won’t do anything because this place is meant to be protected by the Underdogs? You think I’m scared of those guys?!”
The man then leaned over the counter and pulled on Tyler’s shirt. He was pulled over the counter and The university student could smell his alcoholic breath coming off from him, and the next second, he spat on his head.
“Sir, what are you doing!?” Tyler shouted as he could feel something land on his head.
“You think I’m stupid, huh? That I didn’t notice the way you looked at me?! Screw you, and my superiors. All of you look at me like I’m scum. Where are your gang members to help you out now, huh!” The man continued to shout, and it looked like he was about to spit on his head once again, but before it reached his head, a hand was shoved in front grabbing the spit.
“What is wrong with you, old man? How is it his fault that your superiors treat you badly? I’m pretty sure if a gang member was in this shop right now, you would be shaking in your boots.” Gary, having heard the commotion outside, had come back in.
Perhaps it was because of the events that had happened today so far, with his teacher being hurt, Xin taken away and more, but today was a day that Gary just couldn’t look the other way at these things.