Vigilante Slimming Scanner – Chapter 4

REGISTERS

The door swooshes open the following morning at eight, and Toro walks in, his work messenger bag slung over his chest crosswise. He waits in line behind two other people before approaching the counter.

“Morning!” I say, making the cashier jump. She’s new and hasn’t worked here long. I had the other woman from yesterday leave her a note. “Toro, how are you today?”

“Fine,” he grumbles. He makes eye contact with the cashier and they warily bow to each other. “Now, what am I supposed to do?”

“Grab two cartons of whole milk and a bag, and take them around the corner to Kamiko Mitsuwaka. Make a left out the door, walk two blocks, make another left, and then take the second right alley, up the stairs, and she’s the first door on the right.”

Toro blinks his eyes and nods his head as he takes the directions and repeats them back to me.

“Do I need to buy the milk?” he asks the clerk.

“No,” she replies. “For some reason, the register seems to even everything out. Even the boss has special privileges.”

“That’s right,” I say, settling Toro back on his heels. “You don’t need to worry about this. Come here every weekday, take the milk, and bring it to Kamiko. You don’t have to go on the weekends.”

Toro inhales slowly and closes his eyes. This is his “If you were a real person, I would deck you” face. “Okay. And my food buying privileges will be restored?”

I hesitate because once he leaves for Kamiko’s place, he may return with a baseball bat and do me in. “Yes, but!” I interrupt as he deflates into a happy lump. “You will have to make better food choices. More protein and whole foods. Less junk.”

Toro turns without acknowledging my stipulations, grabs two cartons of whole milk, a bag from the clerk, and walks out the door. A man passing him on the way in jerks out of the way, stumbling over the threshold.

“Why can’t you leave that poor guy alone?” the clerk hisses at me.

“Because he has a lot to learn. Hold tight. He may be back soon and ready to kill us both.”