Tyler's Perfect Balance

I waved to my boss as I left the bank. The heat was brutal, even though it was morning. I had been working for a couple of years now and I couldn't wait to quit. But then again, with no parents, who else was going to provide for me?

My stomach grumbled and I hurried along towards the shop where I worked part-time. My boss, Antonio, was kind enough to give me an early break so that I could run over to his shop and grab some hoagies before lunch time began. I was his best worker by far and I usually got the most customers. He'd give me extra whenever he could.

I arrived at the old brick building and pulled open the heavy door. The bell chimed as it swung on its hinges. Antonio turned back from the ovens when he heard the sound. "Tyler!" He grinned and walked over. "You're here early!"

"Yeah, Mr. Grindelwald wants me to work through lunch," I explained as he handed me a pair of long tongs so that I could take out some hot hoagies from the ovens.

"Ahh," he sighed, rubbing his chin with his sleeve covered hand. "That man must have your soul in his pocket."

I laughed and shrugged as I carefully picked up two of the large sandwiches and transferred them to a rack above where they would cool off before being served. After placing them on the rack, my eyes roamed around his small restaurant; a couple of tables were occupied by customers but mostly it was quiet since most people wanted their lunch made for them instead of making their own in this heat. "How are things today?"

He let out a deep sigh as he cleaned some utensils that were sitting in a tub of soapy water a few feet away from us. "Not good," he said softly, his eyes fixated on what he was doing instead of looking at me while he spoke.

"Oh?" This piqued my curiosity and I leaned forward as if motioning him to tell me more about what happened yesterday or something like that.

He looked up at me finally after putting down the rag that he had been using to clean with onto the counter next to him; his face looked tired and worn out; not just because of his age but also because of what had transpired recently in our city. A lot of people were scared; there were several cases of robberies, kidnappings, and murders that had taken place recently but not many people dared speak about it for fear that they may be targeted next simply because they spoke about it openly - an act which caused many people to keep quiet about whatever they may have seen or heard regarding these crimes. "It's nothing... Just slow business lately."

"Really?" I asked incredulously; we've never had slow business before! Ever since Antonio had opened this place years ago, we always manage to keep our small shop full of customers throughout the day! Where did all these people go? Why were we suddenly getting less customers? And how could Antonio not know about this if it really was true?

He sighed again as he continued cleaning up everything around him - including himself as bits and pieces of food kept falling onto his shoes, shirt and pants as he moved around wiping things down or rinsing them off with water from a nearby sink or bucket nearby him. "Yeah... People are afraid..." He mumbled vaguely under his breath as if thinking aloud instead of actually speaking directly to me like normal conversations usually went between two people talking in a room together where both parties acknowledged one anothers presence within that same room at any given point during the conversation being held between those two parties present in said room together at said time during said conversation being held between those two parties present in said room together at said time... you get what I mean right? Like when one person talks on their cell phone while driving or talking with someone not physically present in said room with them at anytime during said conversation while they are present in said room together with another party present in said room together with them during said conversation being held between those two parties present in said room together at said time during said conversation being held between those two parties present in said room together at said time? Yeah... well anyways...

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I stood there staring into space for a moment trying hard not to lose myself into my thoughts... but oh well... fuck it... where was I...? Oh yeah... Anyway... So apparently there were less customers than usual coming into our shop which was odd because we've never had slow business before! Ever since Antonio opened this place years ago, we always manage to keep our small shop full of customers throughout the day! Where did all these people go? Why were we suddenly getting less customers? And how could Antonio not know about this if it really was true? Cause he's been here ever since opening day! How could anyone forget something like this...? It's highly unlikely that case is true isn't it...? Well anyways...