Larry (standard:other, 1733 words)
Author: Pitter Pat	Added: Jun 26 2003	Views/Reads: 3443/2128	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
An edit - The story of a young man who tries to do right, but doesn't go about it in a socially acceptable way. Comments and edits are welcome

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

water fountain, sticking it into his jacket pocket as he leaned out of 
sight of the surveillance mirror. Wiping his mouth he slowly walked to 
the boxed food section. He had noticed a sign in the store window 
saying today's special is macaroni and cheese twenty-five cents a box. 
He took two boxes off the shelf and walked over to the Community 
Bulletin Board pretending to read the ads as he stuck the boxes into 
his other jacket pocket. 

He saw Mr. Walker coming down the aisle toward him and feared he had
been caught taking the food, but Mr. Walker smiled and went on by.  
Larry quickly exited through the back room's delivery door. 

The cold breeze again briskly blew through his thin jacket.  Larry
quickly walked across the street, crossed the town square, and walked 
down Locust Street toward home.  Home, a word that no longer meant the 
smell of his mother's delicious meals waiting for him. Never again 
would he see his dad's worn steel-toed boots sitting on the porch where 
he had taken them off after a hard day's work at the factory.  He 
missed seeing Johnny's motorcycle in the driveway.  Johnny wasn't a bad 
brother; he had gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd and turned to 
drugs and alcohol.  Who could blame him? He was so angry to have his 
dreams erased when his parents died. 

Larry walked into the kitchen and frowned as he picked up a stale loaf
of bread he had found yesterday in the dumpster behind the bakery.  
Maybe Mr. Walker was right, he should leave town and never come back.  
There had to be something better than lunchmeat sandwiches made with 
stale bread and macaroni and cheese. 

As the stale sandwiches filled his hollow stomach, hope was once again
restored.  ‘The factory down the road is laying off people, but Mr. 
Fellows said there is a chance they would get a new work order soon.  
If that happens, he has promised to hire me,' thought Larry.  ‘Winter 
is quickly approaching, I'm not sure if I can survive in this house 
with no heat...' 

Leaving the house, Larry walked to back to the business district.  He
stopped at Huston's Hardware, Lindner's Gas, and Mac's Farm & Home 
Store asking for a job, but all quickly replied they had no job 
openings.  He went into Mrs. Callie's Diner hoping she would offer him 
a cup of coffee, but she didn't. 

Across the street from Callie's Diner was Samson's Clothiers.  In the
window was a sign, NEW STYLES OF WINTER COATS JUST IN.  FROM WORK COATS 
TO FORMAL COATS, WE CAN FILL ALL OF YOUR WINTER NEEDS. Larry slowly 
walked into the store and went to the coat rack marked WORK COATS.  
Looking through the coats, he found the cheapest work coat in his size 
cost thirty-five dollars. 

Larry's mind began to buzz. ‘What can I do for Mr. Samson that is worth
thirty-five dollars? He will never let me work for him, but he doesn't 
need to know.' 

Larry slowly walked home, deep in thought. There had to be something he
could do to earn the coat. 

While cooking the macaroni and cheese an idea came to him.  He
remembered overhearing Mr. Samson's comment of needing someone to clear 
the dead branches from his backfield.  He had said it would be an all 
day job to cut the branches and burn them, surely that would be worth 
thirty-five dollars.  Larry finished eating and went to bed early so he 
could get up at dawn and earn a coat. 

At six a.m. Larry fixed himself two sandwiches, eating one for breakfast
and putting the other into his jacket pocket for lunch.  It was about a 
mile to Mr. Samson's backfield. The frosty morning sent shivers through 
Larry, but anticipating the warmth of a new coat lead him down the 
blacktop road. 

He worked hard for eight hours, only stopping once to eat the stale
sandwich he had stored in his jacket pocket. When the job was 
completed, Larry hurried to Samson's Clothiers.  Mr. Samson would never 
know, but he had earned the precious coat he was about to take. 

Mr. Samson's store was much like Mr. Walker's store.  There were
security rails by the front door to prevent shoplifters, but the 
stockroom door was unguarded.  He would take the coat to the back 
mirror, try it on, and then slip out the back door.  No one would ever 
know. 

As he entered the store, Larry saw Mr. Ellis talking to a clerk about a
four hundred dollar leather coat.  Larry went to the rack of work coats 
and quickly took the brown coat he had chosen yesterday from the rack.  
He laid it over his arm and casually walked to the back mirror to try 
it on.  Keeping his eye on the clerk, Larry didn't notice Officer 
Miller had walked into the store.  Officer Miller was watching his 
every move.  When Larry saw the clerk was paying no attention to him 
and silently slipped out the back door.  Officer Miller quickly ran out 
the front door. 

Larry walked down the alley running his fingers over the deep brown
threads that highlighted the coat. A flash caught Larry's eyes and he 
looked up and saw Officer Miller standing at the end of the alley with 
his gun pointed at Larry.  Knowing he was caught, Larry shifted the 
coat to hand it to Officer Miller.  A shiny new button caught a  
glimmer of the late afternoon sunshine and Officer Miller quickly fired 
his gun. Larry dropped to the ground, killed instantly.  His new coat 
slowly drifted in the breeze landing across his cold bloody chest. 

Inside the store, Mr. Ellis handed the clerk the free coat voucher he
had gotten from the Church of Christ and slid his arms into his new 
four hundred dollar leather coat.  He smiled, “It sounds like Officer 
Miller has taken out the rest of the Logan trash.” 


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