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A Rought Day at Work
A Rough Day at Work
“God is it hot in this damned city. What a man has to do nowadays to put food on the table” said Possum to himself as he walked beside the highway from McAllen to Brownsville. Of course his name was not really Possum, but nobody knew his actual name, not even him. Possum just seemed adequate for him.
“I’m getting too old for this. Way too old” he muttered under his breath. He heard a car engine behind him so he stuck out his hand towards the road with his fist closed and his thumb pointing up into the air, the universal sign for hitchhiking. This was Possum’s way to earn a living, and he had been doing it for as long as he could remember.
The car flew past him without slowing down and he cursed and flipped it the finger. “God damn people don’t give a ride to anybody these days. Damn Texans. Man if I were in Canada I’d be rich, everybody is so nice up there”. Possum liked talking to himself. He trusted himself.
He heard another car engine, smoother yet louder than most cars. He stuck out his hand, and to his great pleasure, he heard the engine quiet down and the pavement crunch behind him under the car’s weight. Possum turned around and his eyes widened in shock. In all his years in this drudgery, this was the most luxurious car he got to work with. It was a jet black Lamborghini, worth at least a couple hundred thousand dollars. He wet his lips and walked towards the car. The driver, a gray-haired man around his age, lowered the window. “Need a ride to Brownsville?” he asked.
“Yes, yes. I’m so terribly tired and I need to get there by today!” Possum pleaded.
“Hop on in!”
Possum couldn’t believe his luck as the Lambo’s doors unlocked and he adjusted himself on the expensive leather seat. The car lurched forward. The air conditioning was at maximum capacity and Possum soon stopped sweating.
“So…” the gray-haired man started, “what takes you to Brownsville?”
Possum knew exactly what to say. He had recounted this story hundreds of times in the past. “Well you see, my dear, dear niece has yellow fever and she is near death. The healthcare sent me to Brownsville for her medicine but I don’t own a car or the money to get a cab, so my plan was to walk all the way there.” He liked making his victims vulnerable before striking.
“I am terribly sorry to hear that,” replied the man genuinely. “I’ll drive you to wherever you need to go, don’t worry”.
All of a sudden, with a swift and practiced movement, Possum drew out a knife from his sleeve and held it to the man’s throat. “Give me all the money you have on you! And your cellphone too! And that ring!” In a split second, Possum had transformed from a docile, loving old man to a bloodthirsty psychopath.
The gray-haired man yawned. “Oh put the knife away, can’t you see I’m driving?” Possum was perplexed. In his many years mugging people, he had seen about every possible reaction. Faints, cries, shouts, temporary paralysis; but never had he seen someone lacking fear.
“So, you don’t have a niece huh? Had me fooled there eh!” The man chuckled. Possum nodded slowly, but then came back to himself.
“Are you stupid or what? I am mugging you! I am a violent thief and you are in danger of losing your life if I choose!”
“Go ahead. What is the point of life if you live afraid? Besides, you won’t do it. You gain nothing by killing me, except having the police chase you. Also, I am driving quite fast and if I die, we might just crash. We don’t want that right?”
Possum was at a loss for words. This wasn’t how things were supposed to happen! Hesitantly, he put his knife away.
“There we go! Now, where should I take you, I have a meeting in a bit but I can be late.”
Possum shyly pointed back towards McAllen.
“All righty then, you just guide me the rest of the way. Hey, are you hungry? There is this great steak place on 10th street you will adore! Come on! I won’t take no for an answer. My treat! But only because I like you. Hey by the way, nice knife. Where you get it?”
