SELINA AND DANTE
The girl turned to Dante and said, "Yeah, I'm English." And then Dante started thinking, *English? Where was that again…?* But he knew it would be embarrassing to ask something like that, so he didn't. Maybe that was the right call…
At that moment, the girl asked, "So, Dante, are you from here?"
Dante replied, "Yeah, I was born here, never even stepped outside…"
But while saying this, his face and mood darkened. It was obvious from his expression and vibe that he was sad, tired, and in pain.
The girl simply said, "I see." and went silent.
After sitting quietly for a while, it started to rain. Dante suddenly remembered a moment from his childhood. He was playing on the slide in this very same park while his mom and dad sat on the bench. It was near the end of the year, close to sunset, and suddenly it had started to rain. They didn't have an umbrella, and little Dante, getting soaked, had immediately run to his parents and hugged his mom, crying. His mom smiled and patted his head, using her own jacket to cover him from the rain. Just a few seconds later, she kicked her husband's foot, saying, "Give him your jacket, you blockhead!" in an annoyed but funny tone. Dante's dad had just smiled and said, "Oops, here you go, honey," handing over his jacket.
While Dante was lost in these memories, the girl, Selina, was already getting wet. She started pulling out a small umbrella, but just as she was doing that, Dante snapped back to reality. *Shit, what am I gonna do now?!*
He wasn't wearing a jacket, and the girl had on a thin coat with no hood.
Dante panicked, didn't know what to do, and quickly took off his sweater, placing it over Selina's head like a hood. In his panic, he didn't even notice the umbrella Selina was holding.
Selina just quietly watched Dante as he did all this without reaching for the umbrella.
But the moment he took off his sweater, Selina was just as shocked, What the hell is this guy on?!
Selina started laughing loudly, and Dante basically went through his third shock of the day, almost dying of embarrassment. He hadn't even realized he was freezing.
Dante was about to apologize when Selina said, "Hey, chill Dante, I have an umbrella," and pushed his sweater back toward him. Dante quickly put it back on without saying anything.
"Sorry about that," he said, taking a deep breath and continuing, "Can we meet again?"
Selina replied, "Don't you have a phone?"
They were silent for a few seconds, and Selina quickly realized Dante didn't have one.
She smiled and said, "Okay, then. Saturday, around this time, I'll be waiting for you at the nearby burger place… Dante." And with that, she turned around and left.
Dante didn't say anything but then turned back and shouted, "SEE YOU!" before walking home. Selina smiled softly.
CONVERSATIONS IN THE MYSTERIOUS TRUCK
"Hey yo, how many baldies did y'all catch, homie?" said a dark-skinned man sitting in the driver's seat. It was obvious he was American.
The man in the passenger seat with a shirt on replied, "Nine, Jamal, let's go."
The driver, Jamal, started the truck and drove off. The man in the shirt made a phone call. After a few seconds, it was answered.
"Nine people, sir," he reported.
The person on the other end was a middle-aged man, you could tell by his voice.
"Good, bring them… LET'S PLANT SOME HAIR!" the man shouted, laughing hysterically before hanging up. The man in the shirt sighed and kept watching the road.
They were driving through an abandoned industrial area.
Suddenly, Jamal said, "Hey, my boy Kizze, how much the boss paying you?"
The man in the shirt replied, "None of your business, Jamal."
Jamal's face twisted into a mocking grin. It wasn't pleasant at all.
After about six or seven minutes, they arrived at an abandoned factory and stopped. Two men came over and asked, "Password?"
"Shiny Heads," the man in the shirt answered. One of the men pressed a button on a remote, and the large entrance gate started opening.
From the outside, the factory seemed completely deserted, but inside…
Once the gate opened, they drove the truck inside and parked. About fifteen to twenty men came and started unloading the nine bald guys from the truck.
After everyone was unloaded, a voice echoed from inside the brightly lit factory. It was the man with the gun.
"LET'S PLANT SOME OF OUR SUPER-EFFECTIVE HAIR!" he shouted and started laughing loudly.
That laugh sounded familiar. It was the same man the guy in the shirt had talked to on the phone.