[HEADING=1]
Welcome to Billboardsville!
[/HEADING]crrrshBADOOM! A sound of glass shattering was followed by the sounds of a wall shaking explosion. Someone blew into a store on Main St. A store just three numbers down from our store, the world famous Soul Food Restaurant and Bakery, Sinclaire Sweets. Seemingly, it was just another crime ridden day in the city of Billboardsville. The restaurant's main proprietor and owner, Granny Sinclaire, reclined in a rocking chair tucked away in a corner of her office. The explosion rocked her a bit too hard, and jolted her from her scheduled nap. "What the-" She shot up, slipping into her slippers before shuffling out her office, through the kitchen, beyond the counter, through the dining room, and out the front door.
Already outside was the younger Sinclaire sibling, Sonia, a hand across across her mouth. Shirley met with her daughter, and could only scowl as she watched smoke and flame billow from the building. On the street, a car parked across from the burning building sped off, flying right past the two. "Did you see who did it?" The elder asked her child. "A collection of individuals ran into that car. I saw yellow scarves, bandanas, du-rags." She replied. Granny scowled even harder.
"Conquistadors." She spat out maliciously. With a huff she stormed back into her establishment, Sonia following close behind. "Did you call the Fire Department?" Granny asked. "Yes ma'am. Called right before you woke up." The elder nodded in confirmation. "Very good. That was the Davison store, the meat market. Kind folk. I hope no one was home." She say down at the nearest table, and sighed. "What does it mean?" Sonia asked.
"It means those assholes are overstepping their damn boundaries! Cocky little shits. Just as I feared. People can't have a piece of the cake, they always want the whole damn thing." She scoffed. "Tell ya what...they ain't taking my cake." Sonia checked her phone briefly before sitting down at her mother's side. "I got some replies from our job posting. I set the interview date for sometime next week." Granny nodded again. "Very good baby. And your siblings?" "I left messages on their phones. Haven't got a reply from one of them yet." "What's today's date?" Sonia checked her phone again. "May 6th. Kids should be out of school by then."
"Wonderful. Take some helpers with you. Prep the upper floors for guests. I'm going to clean up the basement." She slowly rose to her feet once more. "I've stood by for too damn long. I'll be damned if they think I'm just gonna let this slide. I ain't the one to be trifled with. New kids on the block, tryna be the big dogs in the yard. Tryna forget about Granny Sinclaire." She stood at the storefront window, hands clasped behind her back. "Consider it a declaration of war. I'm taking my damn city back."
[HEADING=2]Chapter One: When The World Ends at The End of Your Block[/HEADING]
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That Following Week...
A beat down, old jalopy of a car sped into town. The driver looked to be teen, a smile stretched across his face as he swerved through the light morning traffic. Some sort of hip-hop blared through his speakers. Windows down, his purple shirt and rosary fluttered across him, like a flag flapping in the wind. SCREEE! he turned a corner. "I'm not late am I? Nahh, I'm not late." This is Deegan, one of the many offsprings of the surviving Sinclaire siblings. And no, he wasn't late to his "interview", in fact, as he pulled into a open parking spot right in front of his destination, he?d come to realize that he was fairly early. "Huh." He collected a duffel bag from his back seat before walking into the restaurant, the bell above the door ring-ding-a-linging to indicate a customer had entered.
At the counter stood Sonia, looking up from her busy work to see one of her nephews entering their store. "Ohmigawsh Deegaaaan~!" She squealed, rushing in up to hug him. "Auntie Sonia!" He returned the hug. "It's been so long! You got so tall!" She gushed, sizing him up and coddling him. He chuckled along with his aunt. "Where's Grandma? She sleeping?" He asked. "Nope, here I am!" From even further into the restaurant, he could hear a elderly voice call out. In time, she entered the dining room, showing a small smile.
"Deegan. Hey child!" She addressed her grandchild. "Where's your mother? Did you come here with her?" She asked as she got her own hugs in. "Nah, I drove here myself. She doesn't really want anything to do with this place after what happened to Benji..." Just the mere thought of it made him visibly distraught. "It wasn't your fault, Deegan, you know that. And it's one of the reasons why I sent out my message." He raised an eyebrow at that. "Huh? I thought I was just gonna be a busboy for the summer or something. What else am I doing? Community service or something?"
"Sorta. But, you're gonna have co-workers to help you. They should be all coming in today. When they all get here, then i'll tell what kind of job I got in mind." She smiled a bit, before leading him towards the back of the building. "In the meantime, take your stuff upstairs. Use one of the rooms and make yourself comfortable. You'll be put to work by the end of the day!" She called out as he made his way up.
