The Novel - The Ozone Café, Short-Lived

Short-Lived (contd)

Winifred held a deadly look on her face as if a large snake had hissed at her from one of the cubicles. As quickly as she ran out, she ran back in, facing Joe and almost spitting in his face. 'Well I never thought you'd change anything,' she said, pacing and raising her voice. 'I have never seen anything so bad in all my life!'

'And since you got it wrong, the name's Pendlebury!' he yelled after her, as she ran her bicycle through the front gate.

'There's no need for me to come back here anymore. This place is a dump!'

Joe's foot began to tingle, and his heart seemed to be screaming, tick, tick, tick. He thumped his forehead, flicking his hand out at the Princess of the Esplanade. Snotty-nosed brat, he thought. He rattled his hands hard at his side and moved slowly inside. At the bottom of the stairs, he called up to Shirley, but no answer came. The last forty eight hours had been a tiresome ordeal and now only two bookings for the evening. He had other problems that he wanted to fight off in his head, but they kept on returning. The borders. Bastards. First stealing food from his fridge, now a month behind in the rent. He stared long and hard at the Red Snapper on the sink, while the scimitar hit a deep nerve inside his chest.

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