Read Online Holding Their Own: A Story of Survival by Joe Nobody - Free Book Online
Authors: Joe Nobody
Ads: Link
big dude with a shaved head who kept looking around the room as if he were lost. Larry was simply fascinated with the dollar menu and paid no attention to anything else. At one point, Bishop caused Terri to laugh out loud when he whispered, “Watch out for the two finger eye poke and the double slap – they are experts you know.”
After their language drew a few dirty looks from other customers, Moe said, “We ain’t got time for this shit,” and proceeded to cut in line. Terri watched as Bishop tensed and noticed his hands had balled into tight fists. She was just about to suggest they eat somewhere else, when he reached out and touched Curley on the shoulder.
I n a nerdy, super whiney voice Bishop complained, “Excuse me. You are cutting in line. You probably don’t realize it, but it is extremely rude and makes the other customers uncomfortable.”
Curley didn’t say a word for a second. He half turned, sized Bishop up, and then undressed Terri with his eyes. Curley showed backbone, and threatened, “Mind your own business, Old School. Fuck off before me and my boys take your lady outside and have a l’il fun with her.”
Bishop turned, looked at her , and smiled. He nodded toward the exit door and made a motion with his hand indicating she should “go over there.” She hesitated at first, but he winked and repeated the signal. She thought they were going to leave and walked over to the door to wait on Bishop. Curley had turned his back to Bishop and was focusing his attention on the menu above the counter. As soon as Bishop saw Terri was clear, he took a deep breath and moved.
He grabbed Curley by the belt with one hand and the jacket collar with the other. Bishop lifted up and back on the belt, while pushing down and forward on Curley’s collar. Curley reacted as expected, throwing out his arms to maintain his balance. The moment Bishop felt the man’s weight shift, he pushed hard with both legs The helpless Curley was propelled head first into the cash register, sending it flying from the counter. Bishop did not even take the time to face Moe. Just as he released Curley, Bishop’s foot shot out and struck Moe right on the side of the knee with a savage kick. Terri heard a loud “yelp” and saw Bishop spin and hit Moe squarely in the solar plexus with the heel of his hand. Moe went down, unable to hold his knee and gasp for breath at the same time. Larry took all this in, but didn’t move. Bishop took one step toward him and said, “The manager is probably calling the cops right now. Do you want to hang around and talk to them?”
Larry started helping his friends up and out of the restaurant while Bishop stood over them and watched, even offering to assist a few times.
After they had left, Bishop walked toward Terri and said, “I’m really not that hungry, are you?” They left quickly as well.
For the first 15 minutes of the drive home, neither of them spoke. She finally could not handle the silence anymore and said, “What was that all about?”
“Terri, I think you are a wonderful girl and hope you have similar feelings for me. There is one thing you should know about me – I cannot handle personal injustice. It does something to me, and it always has. I think it started in elementary school with playground bullies, and it just has always been that way. It gets me into, um, well, uncomfortable situations now and then. I hope you can accept that about me.”
She had to laugh at the phrase “uncomfortable situations ,” and that broke the ice. The rest of the trip home, she tried to deal with the mixture of emotions going through her. Was he a danger to her? Was he a danger to others? Was he overly confident? Could she handle being with someone who did not have a healthy aversion to confrontation?
In the end, she decided to continue to see ing him and as she looked back, believed that was one of her best decisions ever.
Washington , D.C. - August 3, 2015
The Georgetown End
After their language drew a few dirty looks from other customers, Moe said, “We ain’t got time for this shit,” and proceeded to cut in line. Terri watched as Bishop tensed and noticed his hands had balled into tight fists. She was just about to suggest they eat somewhere else, when he reached out and touched Curley on the shoulder.
I n a nerdy, super whiney voice Bishop complained, “Excuse me. You are cutting in line. You probably don’t realize it, but it is extremely rude and makes the other customers uncomfortable.”
Curley didn’t say a word for a second. He half turned, sized Bishop up, and then undressed Terri with his eyes. Curley showed backbone, and threatened, “Mind your own business, Old School. Fuck off before me and my boys take your lady outside and have a l’il fun with her.”
Bishop turned, looked at her , and smiled. He nodded toward the exit door and made a motion with his hand indicating she should “go over there.” She hesitated at first, but he winked and repeated the signal. She thought they were going to leave and walked over to the door to wait on Bishop. Curley had turned his back to Bishop and was focusing his attention on the menu above the counter. As soon as Bishop saw Terri was clear, he took a deep breath and moved.
He grabbed Curley by the belt with one hand and the jacket collar with the other. Bishop lifted up and back on the belt, while pushing down and forward on Curley’s collar. Curley reacted as expected, throwing out his arms to maintain his balance. The moment Bishop felt the man’s weight shift, he pushed hard with both legs The helpless Curley was propelled head first into the cash register, sending it flying from the counter. Bishop did not even take the time to face Moe. Just as he released Curley, Bishop’s foot shot out and struck Moe right on the side of the knee with a savage kick. Terri heard a loud “yelp” and saw Bishop spin and hit Moe squarely in the solar plexus with the heel of his hand. Moe went down, unable to hold his knee and gasp for breath at the same time. Larry took all this in, but didn’t move. Bishop took one step toward him and said, “The manager is probably calling the cops right now. Do you want to hang around and talk to them?”
Larry started helping his friends up and out of the restaurant while Bishop stood over them and watched, even offering to assist a few times.
After they had left, Bishop walked toward Terri and said, “I’m really not that hungry, are you?” They left quickly as well.
For the first 15 minutes of the drive home, neither of them spoke. She finally could not handle the silence anymore and said, “What was that all about?”
“Terri, I think you are a wonderful girl and hope you have similar feelings for me. There is one thing you should know about me – I cannot handle personal injustice. It does something to me, and it always has. I think it started in elementary school with playground bullies, and it just has always been that way. It gets me into, um, well, uncomfortable situations now and then. I hope you can accept that about me.”
She had to laugh at the phrase “uncomfortable situations ,” and that broke the ice. The rest of the trip home, she tried to deal with the mixture of emotions going through her. Was he a danger to her? Was he a danger to others? Was he overly confident? Could she handle being with someone who did not have a healthy aversion to confrontation?
In the end, she decided to continue to see ing him and as she looked back, believed that was one of her best decisions ever.
Washington , D.C. - August 3, 2015
The Georgetown End
Similar Books
