Vani Strip Mall AU: The Second Part
Let's be real here, Stephan kinda hated his life. He had no idea how he even got into this situation in the first place. Well, it wasnt anything too horrible. He just worked in a stupid candy store, because what else is a broke art student to do? Normally, things like this wouldn't be so bad. It was a rather quiet store in a rather quiet strip mall. Who would complain, right?
He would. He would complain so much, and with good reasoning too. I mean, who in the world would ever want to work for Morzogo of all vanis? No one. That's who. The milk obsessed mad man drove fear into the hearts of any lactose intolerant person in a 250 mile radius, again, for good reason.
He would never stop with the milk. Those who surrounded the area began to affectionately refer to him as “The Milkman.” Everyone who had taken even one taste of his dairy products claimed them to be the most delicious they have ever experienced, like taking a glimpse into the pearly gates of heaven. Too bad Stephan could never feel that joy, if he could still feel most of anything at all that is. It’s a hard world for our youth, and only one constant rang through the young man’s brain as he stood brooding at the cash register for the nth time, “I should have just applied to Taco Bell.”
It seemed that things were constantly getting more and more hectic around the quiaint little storefronts, especially with that girl Xel had recently taken in. She would occassionally crash the shop, presumably for her own ammusement. Stephan didn’t care anymore, if such a word still existed in his vocabulary. If anything, he had taken a very small, begrudging liking to the little dirt-eating squirt. At least she was better than the boss.
“STEVEN! YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THE COMBINATION I JUST CAME UP WITH!” right on cue, as always. The icy voice of Morzogo rang from the back end of the store. Stephan’s stomach dropped when he heard, the void it left filling with nothing but dread. He didn’t want to go through another taste testing session. He had tried to explain to the beast many times about his condition, but he was met with the same response every time, “Lactose intolerance is a myth, my boy.” This would never be worth his miniscule paycheck, that was for certain.
“I wonder if I could just get fired instead,” he muttered to himself as he made his way to face his boss. No amount of mental preparation could prepare him for what was to come. Behind those cold doors that housed the candy creation center, he saw the most aw inspiring horror human eyes had ever gazed upon. His eyes glazed, tears began flowing down his cheeks. He stood there, emotionless, motionless, for what felt like an eternity. The young man looked as if he were a statue.
Morzogo was in a milk bath. Where did he even get the bathtub? How did he get it inside when the doors are way too small to fit it in? Why was he even questioning things? “STEVE MY BOY! You must try this! My weary bones have not felt this good in ages.”
Before he could utter a single word, in one swift moment Morzogo had thrown the lad into the milk bath. It was warm. It was so very warm. His clothes were now soaked in milk. It may have been his imagination, a placebo, but he could swear he was beginning to break out into hives. There was only one thing he could ask in that moment. “Why? Why would you do this?”
The only reply he received, “Milk baths. Drinkable milk baths. They’re gonna be big.”
Yeah, he was about to apply to Taco Bell.
