"Lil vegas," I muttered, still staring at his name tag.

He chuckled and shook his head, he picked up a bottle of Heinz's ketchup and put it under the red light from the scanner.

After the buzz, he looked at me. "It's not actually my name you know?"

I shrugged.

"So what's your real name?" I asked him.

"I don't usually tell people that," he said and reached for a bag of potatoes.

"Why not," I said. "Do people call you Lil vegas all the time?"

Lil vegas sighs. "Yeah, it's dope isn't it?"

"Yeah." I say. It was really a cool name, maybe I should get my own. I'd call myself Lil Chad.

No that doesn't sound dope or cool at all.

"So. . . you're in love with the Pines girl," Lil Vegas says.

"What?" I gasp. "No, I'm not."

Lil vegas gives me a look, "Kid, I've been in this town for six months and I've learnt that half of the boys in high school are falling for her."

"Yeah," I say turning my head to see if mom was coming. No sign of her.

"I guess I'm part of those boys, am I right?"

Lil vegas nods his head. "Just graduated from college two years ago, still looking for a cool job and a girlfriend."

"I guess we're somehow in the same circumstances." I say to which he nods.

"So have you tried asking her out?" Lil vegas asks me.

"What?!" I cry. "No,"

"I mean, there's lots of cool guys out there wishing for her to be their girlfriend, handsome dudes, jocks. . ." I tell Lil vegas. "Me, I'm just a nerd. I'll never get to be with her."

"You never know," Lil vegas tells me. He had finished scanning all the stuff mom had bought and was waiting for mom to come back with the eggs.

"I watched when you and her were talking." Lil vegas said. "Man, she smiled at you, you were just nervous as hell."

I laugh. "Hell isn't nervous,"

"You know what I mean,"

"Yeah," I run my hand through my hair. "Plus, she's one of the nicest persons in town, she doesn't have a grudge on anyone."

"And if you ask her out and she declines, she can still ask you to be friends. So the two of us we're just friends."

Lil vegas smiles at me. "Well she reminds me of the first girl I asked out."

"Who was she?" I ask.

"Her name was Joy," He replied. "We were just about in eleventh grade when I asked her out."

"Hey man!" A staff member called out to Lil vegas.

"Hey!" He replied.

"So," Lil vegas continued. "Like eight years ago, I always had this thing for her. Back then, most of my friends already had girlfriends.

"And when we were hanging out, they always talked about their girlfriends and I was the odd one out, that's when I decided to ask Joy out.

"What did she say?" I inquired.

He laughed. "Well she was shocked, she gave me the usual. . .told me she'll think about it. When I told my friends they were happy for me.

"Wow,"I chuckled. I just wondered what would happen if I asked Madison out.

I'll never know until I asked her, and it was going to take a tank full of courage to do that.

"A few weeks later she said that she would only date me if I would change," Lil vegas said.

"Change? How?"

Lil vegas smirked. "During my high school days, everyone knew me as the class clown. I never ever took anything serious. She said that she didn't want to date a guy like me,"

"Well that's close to a no," I say.

"Not exactly," said Lil vegas. "She gave me a condition, remember?"

"Yeah, to stop being who you are."

He nods his head. "And that's why I never dated her."

"Wait, so you decided not to change your ways?" I say. "Man you could have dated the girl of your dreams!"

"If there's one thing I learnt from my experience with her," Lil vegas said. "It's to love someone for who they are, not what they aren't."

"Right,"

"So are you gonna ask the girl out?" Lil vegas asks me. "You never know what might happen."

"Yeah," I say. "I'll try,"

"Great, tell me what happens later." He said. "Here comes your mom!"

I turned around and saw mom hurrying over to us, she was carrying a crate of eggs.

"Hey mom," I say once she gets to the check in counter." What took you so long?"

"I ran into one of my students and his dad back there," she said. "The man was trying to tell me how to do my job."

Lil vegas laughs.

I just pull out my phone and check the time.

6:24.

Lil vegas scans the eggs and adds it with the total cost.

"That'll be. . . Twenty six dollars and sixty cents."

Mom paid up and I said goodbye to Lil vegas.

"See you next time!" He waves at us.

As we step out of the supermarket, a huge gist of cold wind slaps us.

Mom shrieked and tried to maintain her grip on the groceries.

I looked at the sky and saw black clouds looming over us, threatening rain.

"Well shit," I say.

"Chad!" Mom cries. "Watch your language."

"Sorry mom," I say.

She sighs and walks to the sienna. "I don't know what's wrong with today's youth."

I followed her and opened the trunk and stashed the groceries in there.

"It's going to rain isn't it?" I ask mom.

"Yeah,"

I walked to the side of the sienna to the passenger door and I gasped.

Beside a small car, Dad was leaning on it, his face was visible under the light that came from a streetlight.

He wore a hoodie but he had pulled back the hood.

He sent me a small wave.

"Mom!" I ran over to mom and pulled her arm. "Mom! Look it's dad!"

"Chad, stop pulling my arm!" She cried. "You're going to rip my dress!!"

"Come on!" I cry. "it's dad!"

"Chad. . ."

I didn't let her finish.

I pulled her to the side of the sienna facing where I had spotted dad.

"There he--"

I stopped and blinked.

The small car under the streetlight was alone, dad wasn't there.

He had gone.