The receptionist behind the counter wasn’t paying attention. She; she was a young teenage girl, her feet propped up on the counter, and preoccupied with an and preoccupied with some AstroGirl magazine. Michael noticed she had an earbud tucked in and hidden behind her hair.
“Excuse me,” LaNiya asked, stepping up to the counter.
No response.
“Hello? We’re looking for–”
The receptionist still didn’t notice them. Zuriya tried waving her hands, but nothing. She continued flipping through her magazine magazine, chewing her gum, and humming softly to her music. Michael rolled his eyes, and; he noticed the service bell on the counter.
DING. DING. DING.
“Hey!” he called.
“What?” the girl shouted, pulling out her earbud and squinting down at the trio. “Are you guys waiting for your parents or something?”
“Do you know where our friends are?”
The girl rolled her eyes and blew a bubble.
“This isn’t a playground. How would I know where your friends are?”
“Well, they came in here a little while ago,” Zuriya said.
“Their names are David and Asante,” LaNiya added.
“Look,” the receptionist said, “Unless you see any kids up here, there’s not any in the back…oh, wait, did you say David? The kid who stacks tires in the back? Yeah, he came through here. With another kid with glasses.”
Now, it was Michael’s turn to roll his eyes. LaNiya just stared back at the girl with a dumbfounded expression that Michael had to cover his mouth to keep from chuckling. Zuriya managed a nod, answering the girl’s question.
“Oh, why didn’t you just say so? He should be in the garage. Through the glass doors,” she said, pointing to a glass door labeled “GARAGE” in red letters.
The receptionist went back to her magazine, and the group made their way towards the door. The girls pinched their noses as they stepped into the garage. The sound of a bell rang as the door opened, but no one would have heard it anyway.
The second they stepped inside, they heard the chaotic noise of clanging tools, loud rock music blaring over the radio, and mechanics yelling to one another from across the room. Many of the employees were ducked under the hoods of cars; some were working on half-finished vehicles raised up on lifts. All the while, there was a strong smell of metal, oil, and rubber.
“Urgh,” Zuriya moaned, “Maybe we should’ve just waited for them back in the lobby.”
“She said they were back here,” LaNiya said.
“Sure, but where?”
Michael looked around the garage, but he couldn’t see anything over the numerous vehicles being worked on. He started walking around, hoping to spot David or Asante.
“Are you lost?” a voice called out.
Michael snapped his head around, trying to find the voice. He only saw LaNiya and Zuriya trailing behind him,; but their confused expressions told him that they heard it too.
“Who said that?” LaNiya asked.
“I did,” the voice answered.
The group turned around to find a little girl standing behind Zuriya. She couldn’t have been any older than seven; she was holding a dirty rag, as though she had been helping out in the shop. Her hair was pulled into two messy pigtails. Her white shirt and jeans had smudges of grease. But she approached the group with a smile. What was this kid doing in an auto shop?
“Hi…who are you?” LaNiya asked.
“My name is Jess,” the girl answered, tilting her head, “Who are you?”
“Hello, Jess,” Zuriya said, bending down to the girl’s level, “Do you work here?”
“Seriously, Zuriya?” Michael snorted, “She’s like five. What kind of question is that?” Michael asked.
The little girl immediately changed her stance. She glared straight at Michael, put her hands on her hips, and pointed at him.
“I’m actually SIX years old. And I actually do work here,” she retorted.
LaNiya and Zuriya tried to hide their giggles.
“Is that so? And what do you do around here?” Michael challenged.
Jess puffed out her chest proudly. She started counting on her fingers.
“I help Uncle Al out with lots of stuff. Like holding the flashlight. And handing him his tools. And I even clean the cars sometimes.”
“Do you clean them all by yourself?” Michael asked.
“Well, no,” Jess said,frowning. frowning, “I try to, but the soap bucket is too heavy. I’m really good at wiping, though. I’m the fastest in the shop.
“Oh yeah? Guess you are the real deal then,” Michael joked.
“You got any business cards?” Zuriya asked, “I hate washing my parent’s’ car.”
“No,” Jess said. A smile quickly returned to her face as she reached into her jeansjean pockets. “But I have a pink screwdriver. And I know how to use it all by myself.”
Zuriya and LaNiya kneeled down to Jess and smiled.
“Wow. You sound like a really hard worker, Jess,” LaNiya praised.
“I bet this whole place would fall apart without you,” Zuriya chimed in.
“Yep. Uncle Al said I’m his Number One Assistant.”
“Okay, Ms. Number One Assistant, would you happen to know where David and Asante are?” Michael asked.
“You’re here for Davy?! Are you Davy’s friends?” Jess asked.
“Yeah. We’re his classmates,” Zuriya said.
“Okay. I know where he is. Follow me.”
Jess tossed her dirty rag on a nearby workbench before dashing off towards the back of the garage. As she stumbled over something, LaNiya caught her by the arm before she fell.
“Are you okay?” LaNiya asked.
“You shouldn’t run with all these tools and cars around,” Zuriya added.
“I know. That wrench wasn’t supposed to be there,” Jess said.
“Sure. Because it was clearly the wrench’s fault,” Michael muttered under his breath.
But his comment wasn’t low enough to remain undetected, and he received a quick elbow jab from LaNiya as they followed Jess to a storage room.
Upon opening the door, they saw David and Asante sifting through drawers and drawers of tools.
“Ta-da! I told you I knew where he was.” Jess shouted, spreading her arms out.
“Jess?” David asked, “What are you doing outside the apartment?”
“Carmen didn’t come in today, so I came down to ask if I could help. Mom said I could if Uncle Al said it was okay.”
“And did he say it was okay?”
“Well…Buckeye said it was okay. And then, I saw your friends looking for you. So I brought them here.”
Michael wasn’t sure what to call the look David gave to Jess. It was a mixture of happiness and concern. Perhaps that just came with being an elder sibling. Jess did seem to be the type of kid to possibly get into trouble if no one kept an eye on her. But David looked as though he was scared of something else.
“Thank you for bringing them to me,” David said, “But I need you to go back upstairs, okay?”
“But I wanted to help. Did I do something wrong?”
“No, no, no. But you just can’t be downstairs right now. It’s important. Uncle Al will let you know when you can come down to help.”
“But it’s boring upstairs.”
“I know. Just hold out for a little while longer. You can have some of my animal crackers if you want.”
“Ooo! The iced ones? Okay.”
Jess turned on her heels and dashed out of the storage room. She was gone in nearly an instant. But shortly after, she popped her head back in.
“Nice to meet you guys!”
“You too, Jess,” Zuriya said.
Michael and LaNiya just waved. And then she was gone again.
“Why can’t she be down here?” LaNiya asked.
“It’s just…better if she’s not around. Let’s just leave it at that.”
With Jess gone, David turned his attention back to the trio. Although, he still focused on Jess through the glass window, peering back into the garage. He didn’t take his eyes off of her until she disappeared up a flight of stairs and through a door. Michael guessed that led to their home.
“What happened? I thought you guys were checking out the tech store,” David asked.
“Long story,” LaNiya said, “Let’s just say it didn’t go well.”
The trio spent the next few minutes catching the two up on what had happened.
“You led them here?” David shouted in concern.
“They shouldn’t have followed us here. We lost them in the alleyway,” Michael clarified.
“How has your search gone?” Zuriya asked.
“We’re trying to find a better micro-welder,” Asante said.
“The first one we found was okay but old. He wasn’t sure if it would hold up,” David added.
“But it might just have to,” Asante sighed.
“Everything alright?” a loud voice came from behind them.
The group turned to find a tall, muscular man towering above them. He wore jeans and a white T-shirt, similar to Jess. He also sported a blue hat and a thick beard. He looked down at the trio with a confused look.
“You kids need something?”
“They’re with me, Uncle Al,” David quickly clarified.
Michael, LaNiya, and Zuriya all waved back at Uncle Al. His face seemed to relax.
“Alright. Did you find everything you needed?” he asked.
“Yep. Found one,” David said.
“Although, if you happen to have another one with less rust, possibly even some spare tips, and a not-so-frayed adapter, that’d be great,” Asante asked.
Uncle Al narrowed his brows at Asante.
“And…uh, what exactly was this for, again?”
“Uh…just something for school,” David answered.
“This looks a bit advanced to be ‘just something for school’. What’re you up to, David?”
David’s posture straightened up, although his face still looked sheepish as he tried to keep his uncle’s eye contact. Uncle Al seemed to notice, but Michael spoke up before he could ask another question.
“Just a little project for our STEM Club. Nothing too crazy. Just getting into a bit of engineering and robotics.”
Uncle Al raised an eyebrow at Michael, before looking back towards David. He seemed unconvinced.
“Uh-hu. Well, just don’t break my–-?”
“Al! Hey, Al!” someone shouted as they ran into the storage room.
Another tall, gruff-looking guy appeared. He was dressed in the same outfit as Uncle Al and Jess, but he had bright orange suspenders holding up his pants. He seemed out of breath, like he had been running around looking for Uncle Al.
“Calm down, Buckeye. What’s going on?” Uncle Al asked.
There’s some guy at the front causing a scene. Says he has to speak to the owner.”
Uncle Al’s face became serious. His posture stiffened, as though he had become hyper-alert becoming hyper alert. David seemed to mirror his uncle. His own face seemed to pale slightly as he exchanged a nervous glance with his uncle.
“What kind of guy?” Uncle Al asked.
“Not sure. But he’s not alone. Don’t look like customers.”
“Is it…” David asked.
“Where’s Jess?”
“I sent her upstairs.”
“Good. You kids stay here. I’ll go check it out.”
Uncle Al followed Buckeye, closing the storage room door behind him. After a few seconds, the group turned to David.
“What was that all about?” LaNiya asked.
“Are you okay, David?” Zuriya asked, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I’m fine,” David answered, closing the blinds over the window.
“That didn’t seem like nothing,” Michael continued.
“Yeah, it seemed like you had an idea about who was causing trouble.”
“Just drop it, okay?” David snapped.
“Sorry. Fine, we’ll drop it,” Michael said, holding his hands up.
“Is that everything, Asante?” David asked.
“I think so. Guess this one rusted over one will have to do.”
Asante continued talking, but Michaeal was distracted by David. He moved away from the group, pacing in front of the window. His shoulders hunched slightly, and his hands were now shoved deep into his pockets. His casual demeanor seemed forced. There was still a stiffness to his movements, like he was holding back or bracing himself. Whatever was bothering David wasn’t something small. His jaw clenched with each pace, and his eyes flicked between the floor, the door, and the window.
All Michael could think about was ‘Who could be on the other side of that glass door?”