They Know The End

Matt

11:10 am

While we walked to the mall,  I couldn't stop thinking about Russell and his family. The fact that he came from a prestigious family, with a promising future, only to fall from grace and end up in slums only made me sad. And angry, for the people who used and abused his mom. 

The story was the stuff of fiction, and it was best that those kinds of tales stay that way. 

The guy walking in front of me was supposed to be an aspiring chef, playing around in his family's backyard with a dog, while his parents watched him, joy exuding from their faces. He would've been a kid who made the kitchen his second home, school his third, and his soulmate his fourth. He would've been a gentleman, a good husband, and an even better dad.

But the prospect of a great future was stolen from them, and he became this. And soon, his life would be taken away from him too. 

The lump in my throat only grew. I tried to suppress the ball of grief. I could cry for him, but since he didn't say anything about his life story, he probably would not appreciate the tears. 

When we entered the mall, I noticed the guard raising his expression. I gave him a slight nod, hoping he would catch the message, but maybe it wasn't clear enough.  

Anyway, Russell looked like a baby there. He kept looking up, left, and right. Shock and awe were written all over his face. I smiled. I was glad that he was glad. At least, as his Last Friend, he got to be happy for a while. 

For him, that was my only job. I was only reduced to a Last Friend. He practically forgot the "Friend" part. I was a babysitter to him and that felt a bit sad to me. I thought that there was something more there, but I guess I was wrong. 

But then he brought up, "I have always wanted to try dresses." Wow. I certainly did not expect that. 

And that unlocked a certain part of me. 

"Why?" I asked. 

He shrugged. "I don't know. I just want to. What's wrong with that?"

"Are you sure? No history there?"

Russell sighed. "I just want to see how it fits on me."

"All right."

His eyes twinkled. "Really? Are you sure you're not. . .grossed out or something?"

I shrugged back. "I mean, you've always wanted to do it. Go ahead." 

For a split second, emotions displayed on his face. "Cool. Now. . ." He looked around. "where can I find the dress store?"

I scratched my head, remembering the places where Sasha would usually go when he hung out together. And by "hanging out", she also meant "choosing new boy clothes with a side of frilly dresses". I remembered her mom complaining about how expensive it was. "Ka-mahal ana oi!" She looked like she was about to die on the spot. But there was nothing she could do about it, because Sasha already bought them. 

I smiled at the memory, only to wonder where Russell went. I looked around frantically until I saw him approaching two people idly chatting against the glass railing. 

I managed to grab him in time. "What are you doing?" I hissed.

The two people stopped and looked at us. 

"Uh, sorry," I told them. And then I pulled Russell away. 

"Don't grab me like that!" He pulled his arm away. "I was gonna ask them where the dress shops were."

"Are you crazy?!" I whisper-shouted. "You'll look like a fool. We can find those stores on our own. There's a lot of them here!"

"Whatever you say, as long as I can get me dresses."

-

It took us only half an hour to find a store Russell liked. 

While walking around, I saw some teenagers laughing to themselves, dressed in school uniforms. Maybe they escaped school, I thought. 

As usual, Russell was a chaotic bundle of energy. Whenever something intrigued him, he would ask me, ask someone else, or find out for himself. All the time I had to drag him out of the mess. I had several employees and customers stare at us like we were monsters. 

"You better stop doing that," I had scolded him. "Or we'll get kicked out!"

If he was like this for regular stuff, imagine him at the arcade on the top floor of the mall. 

Finally, we passed by some clothes shops. Some of them had dresses on display. Russell was looking at the window, staring at the dresses. I wondered what was going through his head. 

Without telling me, he went in one shop and began perusing the women's aisle. The small store was pretty quiet, and there was no one there except for us and a sales clerk on the cashier counter. She lowered down her phone when she saw us walk in. 

"Do you think this looks good on me?" Russell asked me and I turned to see him pull out a dress that I could see him wearing on any easy sunny day. The light sky blue color and the light pink, think straps was a stark contrast from his dark skin. 

"Yeah." I replied. "You can try it in the fitting room."

"'Kay," he replied as he made his way to the corridor beside the counter, where the fitting rooms were. I followed him. 

"Excuse me?" the cashier interjected. She stepped out of the counter and smiled threateningly at Russell. "I'm afraid you have the wrong kind of clothing. Would you like me to help you pick a. . .better outfit for you?"

Russell only stood there, frozen. 

I felt a surge of confidence and stepped forward. "He wants it," I announced loudly. "He's going to wear it. Now, back off."

She turned to me. "Ahhhh so bayot diay mo duha?" 

I clenched my fist and gritted my teeth. How dare she call us a gay slur. "Ahhhh so you're a bitch diay," I replied with so much scorn and conviction that I never possessed before. I grabbed the dress and threw it to the clerk's face. "You can have your stupid dress back. We don't want to buy anything from whatever you touch anyway." 

I took Russell's arm and marched out of the store. I turned to the stunned clerk. "Oh, also? I hope you die and rot on the earth."

-

After a bunch of aimless walking, the anger in me subsided. We were both silent the entire time I tried to calm down. 

"I'm sorry about what happened," Russell spoke softly. 

I placed a hand on his shoulder. Him looking like this made me look like an older brother to him. "It's fine. I just can't stand people like her."

"Yeah, me too." He looked down. "I should've known."

I didn't speak for a while. "You know, we can still buy a dress from another store."

He considered it. "Yeah. I won't leave until I get a dress."

I grinned. "Good." I looked at the stores ahead of us. "Now the hard part is choosing which one. . ."