Chapter Text
"C'mooon, Kiri! We can literally hang out at your favorite café — AFTER — we buy my shoes."
Kiri was only teasing when she suddenly slowed down from behind Spider as they began walking towards the store. She finds it funny, maybe amusing, that Spider would practically beg her to do these things with him. It's not like she'll say no, he's her best friend, but she just likes seeing the boy struggle.
"Fine, fine..." Kiri faked a defeated sigh with a badly hidden smirk, one that Spider rolled his eyes to, but couldn't contain a chuckle to himself.
They finally arrived at a store called, 'SKIMWING', a sports store that Kiri's noticed a few times whenever she would walk down this street.
Spider's been meaning to get inside of this store ever since he passed by it weeks ago and fell in love with the soccer shoes they had on display. It was his favorite shade of blue with yellow and green accents, and not to mention that he's practically aching to replace his current pair of sports shoes.
He's grown them out, and because those shoes feel like only one more lap of running before it just deteriorates in the middle of practice, along with the unflattering chew marks of an unnamed culprit. (Bob of the Sully Family). And! He's sure as all hell he wouldn't let 'the old bastard' buy him a new pair.
So, these past few weeks, he's been saving up for at least 150$ for those new shoes.
. . .
The door chimed sweetly as they swung it open. Immediately, the two were greeted by a beaming, soft-faced individual. His greyish-blue eyes stared up at them widely, a welcoming smile on his face.
"Hello! Welcome to Skimwing! Do you need help looking for something?" The boy said, the wild curls standing almost upright on his head bouncing as he did.
Their eyes glanced at the name tag of this suspiciously young-looking employee, 'Rotxo', it read. The border of the tag lined with a cute seal pattern which made the two light up in quiet delight.
Spider shook his head 'yes', answering the employee's previous question. "Uh, yeah, I'd like to ask if you have that—" he points to the shoes on display at the front of the store. "In a size 8.5?"
There was a brief silence, as the gears in Rotxo's head started to work, trying to remember if they had any of those in stock still.
"Oh, for sure, man!" He smiled back at them, beckoning them to follow him to the seats that were placed across the huge wall of shoes, lining the right side of the store. Kiri grazed her eyes in silent awe at the decorations of this store.
She wonders if it was intentional that this sports store sort of looks like a water equipment-exclusive type of store at first glance, with how overpowering the amount of diving, swimming and all that kinds of things were just sitting snugly against the walls. Sure, there was the usual gym and other sports equipment, but the teal blue paint on the walls that looked like waves and the rattan looking floor (Kiri is amazed at how well it's painted) made it look like the people who own this store was definitely going for a vibe.
The two sat down as they watched Rotxo go inside the store's stock room, and coming back out a minute later, the box containing Spider's shoes in his hands.
The blonde boy was practically bouncing in his seat with excitement, maybe even an air of pride.
"Here you go, sir! Just see if it fits like a glove and I'll check it out for you." Rotxo chuckled, putting the box down by Spider's feet.
Spider gingerly opened the box, despite his poorly contained eagerness. He grabs the shoe filler and slips it on, letting out a noise of joy as it comfortably hugged his foot.
"Ha! It fits!" He exclaims, standing up and walked around the mirror placed underneath the shelves of shoes. Kiri cheered for him, and surprisingly, so did Rotxo. After looking down at his feet one last time, he sat back down with a smile and removed the shoes from his feet, placing them back down in the box.
"Thanks, man! Y'know, I'm really happy 'cuz this is the first time I've ever really bought anything for myself with my own money."
"That's very nice, sir! I get it, honestly." Rotxo replied, packing up the box and heading for the counter. Once again, he gestures for the pair to follow him so they can sort of continue this conversation they just started.
As the employee fiddled with the scanner on the counter, he continued, "I'm the youngest of my family, I have three older sisters and my family loves to spoil me, but I try not to give in to it these past few years. So, I was so happy when I finally saved enough of my hard-earned money to buy myself a cool pair of socks."
Kiri and Spider shared a fond smile, as they listened to the other's story.
"That's nice." Kiri says, "How old are you anyway, Rotxo? You look pretty young to have a job like this."
"Oh! I'm uh, 16, actually! This is a family business and I work here just because it's the summer and I need to help out somehow. I do work somewhere else where I actually get my own money from." He finishes, the scanner beeped and with a few taps from the keyboard, the cashier popped open, the coins jingling inside it.
Spider handed him the money, and grabbed the bag with the shoe box in it. Rotxo then placed his change on the counter, but proceeded to hand them two pieces of paper, a flyer of sorts.
"What's this?" Spider inquired, his eyes scanned over the flyer.
"It's where I work at during the weekends. But my cousins' family run the place, and they work there all week, all year round! They teach swimming to people of all ages." Rotxo answers, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.
Kiri looks at her own copy of the flyer, her eyebrows quirking in interest. "This is your cousin? That guy looks old enough to be my dad."
"Ah, no— that's- that's actually my uncle! He's the main teacher there, but my cousins also teach. They usually take younger clients and stuff."
"Oh, hey! Didn't Lo'ak wanna learn how to swim for the pool party he wanted to go to next month?" Spider chirped from beside Kiri.
A light bulb lit up in Kiri's brain, multiple opportunities flooding in.
"Yeahhh. He said that actually." She smiles and looks at Rotxo. "Hey, so, we actually know someone. Maybe, two, who might be interested in taking these classes?"
The curly haired boy gasped softly, his eyes lit up. "Really?! If you could get in contact with them, it'd be nice to have them around! My cousins hasn't had any students these past few months so we would really appreciate it!"
"We could easily do that! Kiri's brothers are pretty easy guys to talk too." The blonde said coolly.
They watched as Rotxo's smile became wider, his eyes cutely turning smaller and his nose flatter. Kiri and Spider mused at how happy this kid was at getting his cousins a job.
"Oh, but then," Rotxo suddenly paused, "I'll need those people to sign the form here. Is it okay if you can bring them in tomorrow?"
"Yeah, for sure! Tomorrow it is. And uh, you should bring your uncle too, if that's possible."
"Yeah! 'Course!" The smaller boy grinned again, holding his hand out for Kiri to shake, but then he held out another hand, this one being for Spider.
The three shared a laugh before firmly shaking Rotxo's hands, smiling back at him as the deal was made.