The three boys crouched in an alley, stomachs rumbling loud enough to sound like thunder. Dust from the street swirled with the dry wind, stinging their eyes. Kiro licked his cracked lips. "Today we eat like kings. I swear." His voice carried both pride and desperation.
Arjun snorted, "Eat like kings? More like dogs who stole a king's bone."
Ravi pointed at a bakery sign swinging in the distance. "Not bakery. Real job. We'll prove to everyone we're not useless."
They straightened their backs, wiped grime from their faces, and marched toward the wooden shop with clumsy confidence. Inside, the owner, a burly man with scars across his arms, eyed them suspiciously. "You three want work? Hah. Fine. Clean the storeroom. Don't touch anything or you'll regret it."
The boys nodded like saints, but within moments they were fooling around. Ravi swung a broom like a spear, stabbing empty air. Kiro balanced a sack of rice on his head like a crown. Arjun tried flexing with a mop handle, pretending to be a warrior general.
The work barely started when the door creaked. A girl stepped in—young, bright eyes, her presence almost glowing. All three froze. Their jaws slackened. Their stomachs forgot hunger.
Kiro whispered, "She's… she's an angel."
Ravi elbowed him. "No, she's mine. Watch me charm her." He tossed the broom aside, fixed his filthy shirt, and swaggered toward her. "Hey beautiful, how about dinner with me? I don't eat much, just your smile will fill me up."
Arjun and Kiro gasped, covering their mouths like children watching someone jump into fire.
Before the girl could reply, a shadow loomed. The shop owner. The angel's father? No… his lips curled into a cruel grin. "Dinner? With my wife!?"
Ravi blinked. His legs went weak. He whispered back at his friends, "W-wife?!"
The owner grabbed a thick stick from the counter and with a single swing—CRACK!—smacked Ravi so hard his vision spun. The sound echoed through the shop. Kiro burst out laughing but immediately ducked as the stick chased him too. Arjun tried to escape but slipped on spilled flour, sliding face-first into the door.
The next few minutes were pure chaos. The man swung like a demon. The boys yelped, dodging, bumping into shelves, knocking jars over. Glass shattered, dust exploded, flour covered their hair until they looked like ghosts.
Finally, they were thrown out into the street, beaten red and breathless. Ravi clutched his back, groaning, "She… kissed me with her eyes, I swear."
Kiro wheezed, "She'll kiss your grave next."
Arjun spat out flour, coughing. "At least we worked one day."
Ravi lifted the pouch at his side, smiling weakly. "Not empty-handed… I found something."
But when he opened it, coins slipped through a hole at the bottom. A trail of gold dusted the road behind them like breadcrumbs. People on the street laughed.
Arjun fell to his knees. "The gods mock us!"
Kiro slapped his forehead. "No… life mocks us."
The three sat in the dirt, covered in flour, beaten, broke, and hopelessly stupid—but together, laughing through pain as the sun set red across the Lower Quarter.