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"God-damned stupid money-sucking piece of shit heap of scrap-metal!" Thunk "OWW! God-damn it!"
Dom walked to the door of the cafe at the sound of a male voice yelling outside. He found a young man, kid really, hopping around on one foot next to a '57 Chevy Bel Air Convertible with smoke pouring out from under the hood. As he watched the kid stopped hopping around, shook his head then placed one hand on the rear panel and bowed his head as if in prayer. After a moment he lifted his head, smacked the car again before leaning over to pull a duffle bag out of the backseat. He then started walking towards the cafe. The kid paused a second when he saw Dom in the doorway but continued forward.
"Car trouble?" Dom asked when he got within talking distance. The kid shook his head.
"More like car funeral. I just spent two months washing dishes in a dive about 20 miles outside of the city to replace the transmission. I'm not a mechanic but even I can tell that smoke and grinding noises are so not of the good for an engine to be making. There a payphone inside? I guess I better call a tow truck to take it to the nearest junk yard." The kid sighed and rubbed a weary hand over his face. "Guess I'm gonna have to find the nearest Greyhound station too so I can get a ride home."
"Yeah, we got a phone. Mia will let you use the one behind the counter. She'll give you the number for Matt's yard."
"Thanks, man. Name's Xander Harris. Actually Alexander but only my parents call me that." Xander held out his hand.
"Dom," he replied shaking it. Then he gestured to the smiling young woman standing behind the counter. "That's my sister Mia."
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am." Xander said bobbing his head.
"Please just call me Mia. I'm too young to be a ma'am." She pulled out an address book, flipping through a few pages until she found the one she wanted. "Here's Matt's number. You want anything to eat while you wait?"
Xander's rumbling stomach was answer enough. He blushed while Mia and Dom chuckled. "Just a coke for the moment would be great. I need to make sure I've got the money to get home first."
"Coke it is."
Putting the duffle bag on the seat, Xander started going through it. Dom watched in amusement as the kid pulled change or singles out of just about every piece of clothing in the bag. By the time he was done he had a little pile going. Dom caught Mia's look and shrugged. She gave him a slightly more adamant look. He rolled his eyes but nodded.
"Where you headed?" Dom asked.
"Home I guess. I just survived High School graduation this year and I've been planning this See America/Jack Kerouac style road trip for like forever. Only I've never been able to get better than shit jobs and most of my money goes to pay for my parent's alcohol. Then couple months before graduation my Dad made me buy Uncle Rory's car, the hunk of scrap that just died outside. So starting out I didn't have much in the way of cash. Coming down 101 I got to Oxnard where the tranny just fell out. So I spent 2 months washing dishes at this dive of a club to pay for the repairs. Got back on the road. Got mugged at the rest area just outside the city and now here I am with," Xander paused to finish counting out his money, "with $14.39. That's so not going to be enough to get me home is it?"
"Probably not. How far north do you live?"
"Uhm, close to six hours I think? I'm from Sunnydale."
"Yeah, that's not gonna get you home." Dom glanced at Mia who was now smirking at him. "I know you said you're not a mechanic but do you know anything about cars?"
Xander stared at him for a moment, his eyes taking on a slightly glazed look for a second before he seemed to come back to himself. "A little, I guess. I had...an uncle who used to tinker with them. He'd show me stuff on occasion. I didn't get to spend much time with him before he uh, died."
"Fair enough. These shit jobs of yours, they ever involve stocking shelves, running a cash register?"
"Uh, yeah. What's with the twenty questions?"
"Let's just say Mia here is a sucker for strays. I figure if you're willing to help out here, maybe a little at our garage, you can crash at our place wherever you can find the space, and we'll get you home."
Xander eyed him suspiciously for a long moment. His gaze went to both their necks then back to Dom's face. "You're not going to try and kill me are you? You're not some weird serial killer brother and sister duo who lures in unsuspecting kids and then rips out there intestines and makes balloon animals with them, are you?"
Dom and Mia stared at him slack-jawed for a long moment before Dom burst out into great guffaws of laughter. When he could breathe again, Dom slapped him on the back. "I like you, kid. You're gonna do just fine. Let Mia make you a sandwich while I have Matt tow the Bel Air."
"Thanks. I really appreciate this."
"Yeah, wait until after I've had you working for a week," Dom chuckled as he sauntered into the backroom.
Mia smiled at him. "So what would you like to eat?"
"Whatever's good," Xander returned with his own smile. "I'm 18. I'll eat pretty much anything as long as it's not still moving."
"Alright," Mia laughed. "How does Roast Beef with Lettuce and Tomato sound?"
"Add a little salt and it sounds great."
"You got it."
The end. Maybe.