Two Alive, стр. 85
“What the heck you doin’?” Brandon asked with a chuckle.
“What? I’m just feelin’ my swag. I’m lit Mr. Brandon!” Antonio stopped to dance in true Oakland fashion; dipping low and popping his collar with a “thizz face.”
Brandon put a hand over his face and laughed. Lincoln watched the teenager dance with a big smile on his face. It was fun to watch even if the big man wasn’t sure what kind of moves Antonio was performing. Slowly more onlookers started to trickle out and Antonio got more animated with his movements until he fell backwards into the stack of toilet paper.
“Oh shit!” Antonio shouted.
Brandon went to help the young man up, trying not to laugh when the small woman lashed out. “Oh my Lord! Watch--watch where the hell you’re going!” The woman jumped out from under the shelf where she lived.
“Sorry about that. You ok man?” Brandon was lifting Antonio to his feet.
“Yeah… sorry.” Antonio offered the small woman his apologies, but she didn’t seem very accepting.
“Maybe we should just get going to the electronics aisle, you over here trippin’ people out with that Oak town shit!” Brandon took the boy under his arm and pulled him.
Antonio’s hands were slow, and he felt his heart stop when Lincoln looked his way, but the big man hadn’t seen the pack of Charmin Antonio had shoved up the back of his shirt. The teen quickly tucked in his shirt and tightened his backpack while Brandon tried calming down the upset woman. Eventually the three men just started backing away and the woman started to rebuild her fort. Antonio would’ve taken another pack if the opportunity presented itself.
They turned a corner, went down an aisle past more squatters, and Antonio slipped sweaters from hanging lines only to cause a disturbance so that he could snatch other clothes items when no one was looking. Brandon dealt with the disgruntled people bothered by Antonio and his actions and even Lincoln had to step in a few times to quell the people’s anger. Antonio used the distractions to take more clothes to stuff into his backpack when no one was looking. His hands were faster, and it was like he was back to his days of shoplifting through the mall when he was younger. It somehow seemed easier now.
The people in the store were upset about Jenga games being knocked over or stacks of books being bothered. They weren’t even aware that Antonio was robbing them blind with each odd question used to enter their space, though he was quick to turn and run when he saw he had angered someone. They’d complain and Brandon would try clearing it up with Lincoln’s help. These people were too relaxed in their makeshift living quarters and tents erected liked mansions in the center of the aisle. The attitude was more, “get off my lawn” rather than “give me back my stuff you took.” Antonio was frustrated with their lack of inventory with their own belongings but was thankful they weren’t so observant.
The guys turned a corner again to the electronics aisle and Antonio was blown away by the still lined up and on display, cameras, televisions, radio speakers and household appliances as far as the eye could see. It was a paradise of riches.
“This is crazy! Do any of this stuff still work?” Antonio asked, spinning around a few times to take in everything.
“Yeah man. All this stuff still works.” Brandon grabbed the cord of a nearby tall lamp and pulled it to turn the light on. “But we only use what we need. All these display items are still plugged in, but we can only use them at certain hours.” He pulled the cord again and turned off the light.
“Ok, ok. Y’all out here winnin’ though. I see you.” Antonio started rubbing his hands, curious about what he could grab when his two companions weren’t looking.
“We doin’ aite. It’s crazy man. This store has everything. Literally.” Brandon took a minute to look around the aisle, he was still in awe of the boat loads of goods still in their packaging on the high shelves.
“Yeah, this was gonna be like a super Costco.” Lincoln was bobbing as he nodded. “Like, it was gonna have a food court with McDonald’s and Subway. And like, you could buy anything in the store.” The big man’s eyes started to wander.
Antonio unscrewed the lightbulb from the lamp and tucked it in his backpack. Then he swung the bag back on his back before Brandon grabbed him again and pulled him along.
“C’mon man, you gotta see this TV!” Brandon was full of glee.
Antonio fixed his clothes and nodded his head, excited again about the eighty-inch TV, but nervous that he might’ve been caught. “Yeah, let’s see this thing.”
They continued down the huge aisle of microwaves, toasters, stoves, and refrigerators. Antonio opened doors, looked inside devices, and distracted the two men while he looked for more things to take. It was as easy as asking, “What’s inside here?” or “Does this still work too?” and they let him have free range through everything. Big appliances would be useless outside the store. The boys didn’t even have power back at the treehouse. But it didn’t hurt to look. Besides, Antonio’s escorts were being careless with how much freedom the teen had. Brandon was too caught up in seeing the kid again and Lincoln was just having fun in the reverie along with them. Antonio used that to his advantage.
But when they finally reached the mock family living room with surround sound speakers