Kick Him While He's Down. [Spesh;Blitz]

They were laughing at him again. Those stuck up snobs, they were laughing at him. He couldn't hear what they whispered behind their hands, but he could guess. They were making fun of his patchwork clothes, or his crappy job, or his fear of the ocean, or his crazy brother, or his prostitute mother, or just his life in general. There were plenty of things to choose from. He stared them down, trying to get them to feel ashamed, but they just giggled.

It was almost time for Todd to go home. He was standing behind the dusty counter of the shop were he worked. A shop that sold various things needed on a fishing boat, but the majority of the stock was fishing nets. Two girls who never starved a day in their life stood at the front of the store, gossiping about his life, and being very blatant about it. Todd was trying his hardest to ignore them, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.

Then he heard it. Something his could not tolerate. "His mother..." floated back from the front of the shop. It was only a snippet of a sentence, but it was enough to have Todd seeing red. "My mother what?" He yelled, coming around the counter and storming over to them. "You got a problem, eh?" He yelled. "If yer not gonna buy nothin', then leave!" He stopped short, not coming near them. They stared at him wide-eyed for a second, then burst out laughing at his accent, and left the shop.

Todd stood there in the middle of the cluttered stored, breathing heavily, his fists clenched. Talk about him, fine, but never, never say nothin' about his mom. Slowly he moved back behind the counter. The store was empty, quiet. The silence was heavy, like the store itself was mocking him. Todd tried to slow his breathing, counting down the seconds until he could go home.