Ryan and his family were moving after his dad wanted them to grow up like he did in a smaller town. This place was nothing on Chicago which bummed 13 year old Ryan out when they drove in it felt like there wasn't another town for miles. In the car with Ryan were his mom and dad along with his sisters Laura and Jenny. Laura was 16 and like Ryan bummed they were leaving their friends to live out in the boonies. Jenny, age 8, felt a little more optimistic because she might see more animals. She almost jumped out of her booster seat when she saw a farm with cows and horses in the pasture in the last light of the day.
"Get used to that, Jenny, it's about the only entertainment out here." Laura looked up trying to text her friends but there wasn't much signal as Ryan could attest trying to play a game on his phone.
"Now kids! Give it a chance!" Their dad pleaded. Their mom turned around and talked to them.
"Think of everything we can do out here! Laura, you can learn how to drive much better on these country roads! And Ryan, I'll bet you'll be a basketball star here in no time!"
"Sure, mom" they both muttered and looked out the window as they arrived at the old farmhouse. They piled out of the car, Ryan looked around as he stretched his legs felt a squish beneath his feet. He had stepped in something's poop.
"Oh! Mom! These were my new Jordan's!!" he cringed as he tried to put his finger on the soiled sole but couldn't bring himself to do it. His dad put a hand on his shoulder.
"That's life in the country son, gotta watch your step!" Jenny followed behind her dad and looked down at the droppings Ryan had stepped in.
"Looks like dog poop!" she announced matter-of-factly.
"Thanks for that" Ryan said sarcastically but Jenny nodded and followed her mom and dad into the house. Ryan stopped at the door and wiped off his feet.
When they all got inside their mom turned to them "Ok kids, movers get here in the morning then we'll be all set for this new chapter!" She hopped around a little bit excited. Ryan got embarrassed watching his mom's breasts shaking with her and how much they reminded him of his favorite teacher, Mrs. Webster. Like her, his mom was about average height with brown hair; he was really going to miss her... and sneaking out of school at lunch... and looking up which sneakers were dropping that week...and playing basketball with his friends...
Ryan woke up the next morning and dutifully helped with moving in. After it was done he went up to his room and grabbed his basketball and walked out to the driveway and walked around the barn and saw a hoop with no net on it. "There might be hope for this place yet!" he said to no one in particular and started shooting around. He missed a shot that flew off to the side and when he chased it down he stopped when he stepped in another pile of something that smelled. Trying in vain to wipe off the stain in the grass Ryan ran back up to the house.
"DAAADD!" He yelled angrily. "One day here and my Jordan 8's are already ruined!"
"Ryan, buddy! Boys are supposed to run around and get dirty out here!". His mom stepped in and turned away at the smell.
"Oh honey, that's not mud. Ryan, take those off on the porch and I'll try to clean them up as best I can. Honey, see if there's some place in town he can get something for running around... this..." she pointed around and left to direct the movers with the last few things.
Ryan slipped on his worn out gym shoes and ran down to meet his dad. They drove into town as his dad reminisced about his hometown. Ryan wondered when this was going to end when they finally got to town and spotted a run down Main Street with some empty stores when his dad stopped.
"Here we are, Ray's Shoes!" The pace looked like a dump but Ryan went in not sure what he would find. They were greeted by a tall, older man with white hair and glasses. At first Ryan didn't see anything but then he saw a rack of all sorts of popular brands in colors and styles he hadn't seen for a while. He picked them up and looked at them in wonder. The man at the store crept up behind him as Ryan was turned to him.
"Before you ask, I don't have those in any other sizes. A lot of things here are odd sizes; we're kind of at the end of the line here so unless you're a size 18 or 20 you might be outta luck on shoes like this!" Ryan looked down disappointed but was still excited by the finds. His dad came up with a pair he begrudgingly said were ok. Ray saw his interest.
"If you want sometimes I can order things... usually takes a while out here but I could use a hand around here some days. If you do I can offer you a discount." Ryan got excited and asked his dad if he could do it.
"You're a chip off the ol' block! I'll tell your mom when we get home!"
At home Ryan's mom was excited for her son to be working. The next day he went in and went straight for the big rack of shoes that caught his eye the day before.
"You know, if we get these online you could make some fat stacks!" Ray stopped him right there.
"Internet!? All you need is good salesmanship and service!" They walked over to what looked like the women's section that had equally big and varied size and selection. "After they closed the distribution center up the road they let me take all the leftovers!" Ryan sighed and went about his task of organizing a big tub of women's shoes until it was time to go. His mom picked him up and asked how his first day was. He groaned and described the drudgery.
"Oh honey, it's not that bad!" She patted him on the arm. "Say, if you get a chance tomorrow would you get me a new pair of these? I think I stepped in the same thing you did." Ryan looked at his mom's worn but neat white Reebok Princess sneakers.
"Ugh, those are such mom shoes!" he huffed as his mom chuckled.
"Well I AM your mom! Besides, they make my feet feel dainty and small." Her voice was cloyingly cute making Ryan cringe.
"TMI, mom" Ryan shuddered a little.
The next day he woke up and went back into work. He walked in and looked up, the old man had gotten some ambition and started labeling the sections of shoes with a flimsy hanging sign. Ryan looked up at the dingy old signs hanging from the ceiling and walked the aisles toward Ray. He passed the cool but oversized shoes he spotted yesterday that were somehow in the women´s section. Ryan looked up and furrowed his brow.
¨The old man must be going senile... maybe I can get some kicks out of this!¨ Ryan thought deviously to himself as he walked up to the counter.
¨Hey Ray, I think you´ve got your sign hung over the wrong stuff.¨
The old man got up from leaning on the counter and squinted. ¨Öh, no mistake there boy-o!¨ Ryan looked around thoroughly confused but shrugged and put his bag lunch in the fridge. He came back out and snapped his finger remembering what his mom asked for and it almost scared Ray half to death.
¨Jeez kid! Ya almost gave me a heart attack!" Ryan looked down at his hand and knew this job was going to be anything but easy.
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