Chapter 2
We moved to pretty much, the middle of nowhere, but they said the town was called Greenhill. I wonder if the blind man who gave it its name is still alive now. Greenhill was miles upon miles of desert, well except for the waterhole right beside the town. Anyone who you ever saw in Greenhill lived there, was a traveler, or was shipping supplies. Population, 300.
Greenhill wasn't exactly small enough to be a place where everybody knows everybody, but there were people who everybody knew. My mom soon became one of those people. I said before that my mom was pretty, but to be honest she was stop in your tracks do a double take and then follow home gorgeous. She was also single. Men were constantly asking her out and women wanted to be her, unless they were the ones who wanted to be with her.
We had only just moved to Greenhill a month ago and mom had gotten a job as a waitress. I, on the other hand, had nothing to do. School was closing in a week so there was no point in going and mom didn't much care what I did, so I would lurk around the town.
It was on one of these days that I, young and bored, was walking along the road kicking a rock absentmindedly. My eyes followed the rock, but my mind was focused on other things; namely my father and Gyoza. Kick rock. Muse. Kick rock. Sigh. Kick rock....boots?
There in front of me were two black, dusty boots. I looked up from the boots to the man they belonged to. Towering over me -at least six feet- this man wore loose fitting navy blue pants and an odd-looking tan shirt. One sleeve was full length and the other was like a t-shirt except not. On the t-shirt side you could see his shoulder. Tied around his waist was a bright red sash. His hair, which was long -just below his shoulders- and black, was pulled back in a ponytail. A bang fell down over his left eye, covering it completely. The eye I could see was black and there was a small hoop earring in his right ear. On the revealed arm I could see scars and in one hand he carried a bo, well sort of. It was rounder than a normal bow and shorter as well -maybe three feet. A portion at the top of it resembled a handle.
The man looked down at me and for a moment all we did was stare and take each other in, then he spoke "Want some ice cream?"
All those parental warnings about strangers flew out of my head as I nodded. I'm still not sure what to blame it on - my boredom, the heat of the day, the casual way he asked it. Whatever the fact I'm glad I went.
The two of us walked to the town�s ice cream store -he knew where we were going better than I did. I was too short to see over the counter, but I knew what I wanted, "Chocolate."
"Chocolate?" the man said, "Everyone and their mother likes chocolate."
"You'll be having a vanilla then?" asked the guy over the counter.
"Hell yeah." he replied as he took money out to pay the cashier with. "Double scoops in cones."
"I like cups." I said quickly
"Pussy." the man replied with a laugh. I wasn't sure if I should be insulted or happy about that. "Ok, a cone and a cup for the kid."
After we had our ice-cream, I grabbed some napkins and we walked out the door.
"So what's your name anyway kid." the man said then bit down into his ice-cream. I'd never seen anyone do that before.
"Yamcha." I replied and scooped my own ice-cream.
"Yamcha, huh?" He laughed "Ain't that a bitch."
I was old enough by then to know a few bad words, and the guy seemed to be going down the list pretty quick.
"I'm not a bitch." I said, fumbling over the last word.
"Hey, don't talk like that dumbass." the man said sharply, "Kids today. Where do they pick this shit up?" The only thing I could do was blink.
"Name's Riff." the guy said a few bites of his ice-cream later. "I'm a rouge."
"What's that?" I asked
"Forget the meaning; just listen to the way is sounds. Can you see the desert air blowing, the prizes and riches calling out to be claimed?"
"Well we are in the desert...." I began
"Oh forget it." Riff said and shoved the rest of his ice-cream cone into his mouth. �Let�s go."
"Where?" I asked and tossed my empty cup into a nearby trashcan.
"Where else!" he replied in an exasperated tone as if it was an everyday thing for him to go pick up random children, and of course they knew where they were going. That's when all my safety rules started coming back, one by one like a picture book. 'Look both ways before crossing the street, don't run with scissors...'
"You're not going to eat me are you?" I asked
"Eat you? I only ate a person once; gave me cramps for a week. Not an experience I'm looking forward to again." I nearly choked on my ice-cream. He continued, �We�re going to woo your mama."
"My mom?" I asked
"That sexy babe with the curly, shoulder length, black hair and eyes. 5' 7-ish, curvy figure...She is your mom right?"
"Uh...yes?" I said
"Yes!" he said followed by a gyrating pelvis motion.
"No?" I responded
"Oh, make up your mind!" He grabbed me and positioned my face towards a restaurant. There through the windows was my mother, serving some coffee to people. "Is that chicken strip -dip me in, out, in, out, in, out- your mom?" By now I was officially weirded out. �Yes" I said
"Good, now stand up straight and follow my lead. Don't make me look like a dumbass ok dumbass?" He didn't wait for my response and instead started walking towards the restaurant. I followed him. The bell rung when we walked through and my mom gave Riff a casual glance that actually lasted for about a minute. To him it was all strategy. Walk in. Stop. Turn head at 87.6 degree angle- slowly. Stop. Smile. Wink. Turn and walk... Bam!
We collided, thought it wasn't the collision that threw me to the ground. It was Riff. I wasn't sure how it happened, but he had pushed me to the ground without his hands and faked a stumble backwards. He then righted himself and helped me up.
"Sorry kid." He said then looked from me to mom and back to me again. "That pretty lady wouldn't happen to be your mother now would she?" I nodded, mom blushed.
"Lucky man." he said to me and picked up a map by the door. He gave me a twenty-dollar bill and a piece of paper. I opened it some and saw a number.
"The money's for the map and a tip to your mom." he whispered to me, "I think she'll be able to figure out the rest, but tell her just to call me after she gets off." At that he walked out the door and down the street. I wasn't sure where, because I stopped looking to give my mom the money and phone number.
After I had given it to her I dashed out the store and down the street. I looked all around, but couldn't see Riff anywhere. Disappointed, I went to lean up against a wall and stared at the ground. There were things I had wanted to ask him. I kicked up some dust and was about to walk home when a rock rolled over to where I was.
I looked up and there in front of me was Riff. "Good job kid." He said
"Yeah." I replied, "But how did you do that thing?"
"What thing?" he asked and fiddled with the handle of his bo.
"You pushed me, but didn't use your hands."
"Oh that." He said with a chuckle, �I did use my hands, I just moved really fast. You know, part of being a rouge is to know tricks like that."
"Can you teach me?" I asked excitedly
"There's really nothing to teach." he replied "It's just speed."
"Oh," I said. My face must have shown my disappointment because Riff said, "Don't be so bitchy. Check this out." He picked up the rock by my feet, threw it in the air and when it came level with his face, he pulled a sword out of his bo and sliced at the rock. It all happened so fast that I couldn't actually see the motions, but I could guess at what had happened when two halves of a rock fell to the ground."
"Cool!" I said
"Yup," Riff agreed, "I'm totally kick ass." He sheathed the sword, ruffled my hair some and walked away. Over his shoulder he said, "Got things to do for now. Stay cool and eat vanilla."
A tall, bad-mouthed, "rouge" with a cool sword and a funny shirt; I think that was my first impression of Riff.
The rest of the day went by quickly. I still had nothing to do and my mind was focused on Riff, his sword, his speed, everything about him. I must of tried for an hour to grab something without seeing my hands move, but gave up when I got hungry. Our home was an apartment on the third floor. The white paint was peeling and I could have sworn that I saw a mouse, but all in all it was ok. Nothing like the home we had moved from, but livable.
I fixed myself some peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, and then grabbed a cover, sat on the couch and turned on the TV. A few hours later I cut off the TV, took my dishes to the kitchen and walked back to the couch. It was about ten- o'clock by then. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I heard was a floor squeaking and a refrigerator opening.
I sat up and looked towards our kitchen where lo-and-behold, there was a shirtless Riff reaching in our fridge for a soda. He actually had his shirt with him, draped over his left shoulder. I noticed then that on the upper right of his back was a paw-print tattoo- a wolf's paw. Riff closed the refrigerator, opened his soda, turned around and saw me.
"Hey squirt!" he said as he walked over to me. He sat on the couch beside me and sipped his soda. One arm went back to rest on the couch, "You know that mom of yours..." he began then stopped as my head fell on him. It was only around one and I was still sleepy. I heard him utter a curse, but wasn't conscious enough to pick it up.
If sex had a fragrance then Riff would be its poster model. The smell suited. There, falling asleep again, with his scent on my senses and my head on his chest, I fell in love for the first time.