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V IOLET WOKE UP to the smell of bacon. The morning
sunlight warmed her face so she stretched out like a
cat and let the rays wash over her body. Her elbow
landed on the laptop’s keyboard, waking it up. The
article she’d been reading — “What Guys Really Look
For in a Girlfriend” — sprang onto the screen.
Embarrassed to let anyone see what she was up to,
Violet quickly closed the browser window and
approached the bedroom door.
She cracked the door open, careful to be quiet. Hey
eyes scanned the empty living room before falling on
Levi, who was sitting at the kitchen table. Jenny was
already dressed, but Levi was still in last night’s
clothes. She set an omelet and a glass of juice in front
of him. Serving herself, she sat down next to him.
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A mixture of emotions hit the teen, especially when
Jenny moved her face closer to Levi’s to tell him
something in a low voice, probably trying to keep from
waking her. Violet admired Jenny. She was pretty,
smart and looked great with her black purse and high
heels. She certainly got Levi’s attention. Violet secretly
wondered if the stuff she’d read online was all crap, or
if guys really are into the educated, girlie type —
everything that she wasn’t. Violet knew the streets,
knew how to stay alive. She was also a world-class
pickpocket with an honors degree in the bait-and-
switch.
Something inside of her revolted at the idea of Jenny
and Levi’s growing friendship. It wasn’t jealousy
exactly; she’d just liked it better when Levi was a loner
like her. Now he was in the kitchen, eating breakfast
and making eyes at Jenny.
Violet quietly shut the door and faced the mirror,
taking in her appearance. She turned sideways and
saw a girl in a t-shirt that was meant for someone
bigger. She tightened the front by pulling it snugly
under her chest. Now she saw an attractive girl in the
mirror, with decent curves for someone who weighed a
hundred pounds. She fluttered her eyelids, practicing
the art of being girlie.
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• • •
Violet showed up at Taco House twenty minutes
early, wearing her yellow, collared uniform shirt.
Edward, the twenty-year-old manager, gave her a
plastic name clip, which she pinned under the left
collar. After two hours of painful orientation, Violet
began her career as a cashier at the newest fast food
establishment on the block — and she was proud of it.
It was the first legitimate job she’d ever had. No more
picking pockets. It was a promise she’d made to
Johnny. So with great enthusiasm, she gave it her all
and welcomed her first string of customers.
Three hours later, Violet sat down in the back for her
lunch break. Edward brought over a tray of tacos for
them to share. He sat down in the plastic chair across
the table from her. Violet found him physically
adorable and was flattered to see that he’d chosen to
sit with her, even if there were no other people in the
room. She even secretly hoped he was getting a crush
on her — a real guy that found her pretty. Girlie even.
She batted her eyes, as practiced, and said, “Starting
to get busy out there, huh?”
Edward nodded. “I guess.”
“How long you been working here?” she asked.
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“I was at the other location for a year before
transferring to open this one.”
“Wow,” she said. “One year and you made it to
management already. You must work really hard.”
He made a dismissive sound with his mouth. “You
think I want to be a manager at Taco House? For
crying out loud, I’m only here long enough to get
through school.”
“Oh,” she said in a peppy voice. “You’re in college?
Wow.”
Edward mentally rolled his eyes. “What’s so amazing
about that?” he said. “Everybody goes to college.”
Violet nodded, trying to understand what planet this
boy was from. She just chalked it up to her inability to
understand the male brain.
“Only retards and poor people can’t get into college,”
he added.
Violet perceived that Edward might be having a bad
day and had already decided to pour on the full charm.
“Hey,” she said. “What time is it?”
“Why?” he asked.
“Just wondering how long I have left on my break.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Find a clock.”
Violet sighed, scratched her eyebrow. “Weren’t you
wearing a watch earlier, Edward?”
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Edward looked at his wrist to oblige her with the
time but found the watch missing from his wrist.
“What the hell?” he said.
He looked up and saw Violet dangling it like a
magician.
“Give me that,” he said, snatching it back from her.
“Don’t get mad… it’s just a trick. Do you want me to
show you how I did it?”
“I’m good,” he said, finishing his food early. Edward
then stood up and left her eating alone.
“I need to read more articles,” she told herself.
• • •
It was an hour before closing and Violet had tried to
avoid making eye contact with Edward all day. If he
could play hard to get, she could do it even better. A
group of teenage girls approached the counter, giggling
and playing with their glamour phones.
“Welcome to Taco House,” Violet said. “May I take
your order?”
“Shhhh…” said the blonde in front, head down to
read a text message. Her friends giggled.
Violet smiled back politely, noticing that a line was
forming behind the group of girls in front of her. After a
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long, uncomfortable wait, some of those in line began
to look impatient.
“Are you girls ready to order?” she asked. “What can
I get for you?”
“I like your shirt,” one of them sarcastically
mentioned.
“Thanks. May I take your order, please?” Violet
responded.
“Yeah, order yourself a boob job,” the blond said,
rousing a few snickers from her pals. It was clear they
were intent to one-up each other at Violet’s expense.
“I’m a C-cup,” Violet said, “but thanks. May I take
your order?”
“Don’t get all bitchy, okay?” one of the blonde’s
friends peeped, sounding like a pretentiously angry
Valley Girl.
Violet saw one person in line grow tired of waiting
and walk out. Those who remained were clearly
annoyed. Violet turned to Edward for help and found
him looking in their direction. He was watching, but for
whatever reason, had decided not to intervene. It
appeared to her that he was enjoying the show.
“I’m sorry,” Violet said to the girl. “It’s just… there’s a
long line. Maybe you can step aside and let someone go
ahead of you. Or I can go over our specials if you
want.”
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The group of girls gave her a snotty, offended glare —
almost synchronized with one another.
“You ever heard that the customer is always right?”
the blonde barked. “Maybe you’re slow… is that it?
Dropped out of school and that’s why you ended up
working at the Taco House? Dumb bitch.”
“May I take your order?” Violet asked, still trying to
be pleasant.
The girl slammed her hand down on the counter,
making a scene. Her friends were loving this. One of
them began recording the whole conversation with her
cell phone.
“I think I’ve lost my appetite,” the blonde notified her.
“I don’t want your dirty, whory hands touching my
food.”
“My hands are clean,” Violet said in a soft voice. “And
I don’t touch the food, that’s what the…”
The girl slapped a serving tray, which smashed into
Violet’s stomach and then fell to the floor loudly.
“All right,” Edward said calmly, walking over. “That’s
enough.”
“Teach your girl some manners,” the blonde said
before walking out with her trail of friends, happy to
have caused some on-camera mischief.
“Violet,” Edward half-yelled when she zoned out.
“Hey!”
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Violet turned her face toward him and he saw that
she was in tears. Her ego now crushed, and publicly at
that, she had no choice but to let him see the emotion
on her face, hoping for a sympathetic word of
encouragement.
Instead, Edward just pointed behind the counter.
“Violet… the customers are waiting. Just, I don’t know,
get over it.”
She sniffled, turned to the customer in front of her.
Her voice was still shaky and she had trouble getting
the words out, so Edward nudged her aside.
“Never mind, go take a break,” he said. Turning to
the next person in line, he said, “Sorry for the drama.
She’s new. May I take your order?”
Violet walked into the break room and found her
insides completely inflamed. It felt like her stomach
was being torn open all over again. She struggled to
the back door and pushed it open, spilling out into the
narrow alley behind the restaurant. She curled up into
a ball against the dumpster and tried to imagine
Johnny talking to her. Just hang in there Violet… it’ll
pass. Don’t worry, you can do this. I’m here with you.
The pain racked her entire body this time. She
grabbed her right fist with her left hand and squeezed
it hard, trying to bear the intense pain. “It’ll pass,” she
told herself over and over. It’ll pass. A few excruciating
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minutes passed and Violet began to feel the pain
weaken a bit. After a moment, she was able to extend
out of the tight ball pose and eventually get back to her
feet. Then she saw tiny drops of red dotting her yellow
work shirt. She wiped the trickle of blood from her
mouth and wanted only to run away, as far away as
she could get. Instead, she rinsed her mouth in the
bathroom, changed shirts, and finished her shift.
• • •
Levi reflected on Dev’s silent departure from his life
as he walked home from work. The damage he’d
inflicted on their lives was now over but Dev’s sudden
retreat made him feel both triumphant and uneasy at
the same time. Levi’s eyes drifted down to the lamp,
slumbering in his bag. He’d often thought about the
ancient lamp, its frightening power, and its odd quirks
and reactions to different situations — almost like it
had a personality. Sure, it sounded crazy to him but
after all he’d seen, labeling something improbable as
crazy was no longer an option. At this point, Levi had
simply witnessed too much to discount anything. The
world, in fact, seemed so much larger now.
There was a time when Levi thought that he had
pretty much figured everything out. He had strong
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opinions about human nature, how the world worked
and how to glean meaning out of circumstances. But
the lamp had blown all that open and he was now a
student again, starting over from the very beginning,
knowing little and certain of nothing. The more the
world expanded before his eyes, the more he leaned on
a special kind of trust in K.S. A stack of benevolent
letters, an underground comic by someone who knew
something, and an unpredictable antique lamp were all
he had.
Levi took a shortcut through the park and was
surprised to find it completely empty of protestors. He
hadn’t seen it this deserted in all the weeks he’d been
out of Hinnom Valley. “Maybe they’re just tired of
getting nowhere and decided to pack it in,” he thought.
It sure made for an easy stroll to the other side. Once
home, he felt as though the emptiness of the park had
followed him there. The place was too cold and quiet.
He needed Jenny. Then his eyes found the note.
Approaching the sacred table, he read the message
with great apprehension.
5th and Grover. Wear a tie. Your watchful ally, K.S.
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