The Sale

[best_guard_dog]

 "Neil, I have just one question..."

"Yeah?"

 

Neil doesn't even spare him a sideways glance as Izumi stops walking. Not even as his friend turns to him and holds out a random dalmatian-shaped umbrella stand. It seems a strange thing for a teenage boy to be carting around with him, walking down the street. He hadn't had it when their walk began.

 

"How did I end up with this piece of garbage?"

 

"You bought it." Neil shrugs. "Did you suddenly develop short term memory loss?"

He waits for the storm. Neil loves it. He lives for it. Just like clockwork, Izumi's face twists into an expression of irritation. Neil catches it out of the corner of his eye as he pretends to read a street sign. Feigns disinterest in the conversation, expression blank. Inside, he's jumping for joy.

 

"That's not what I mean!" Izumi shakes the stand at him. "I just spent fifty bucks on something random I don't even need!!"

 

"That guy was very convincing."

 

"You helped him sell it to me!!" Izumi is now waving it even more frantically. Neil finally turns to regard his best friend, patiently watching the way Izumi wields it like a weapon.

 

"You're going to break it if you keep swinging it."

 

"I'm going to break it when I hit you with it!"