Setting Up Shop - Chapter 1

Manny sighed slightly, leaning against the side of the bus. He stared out the window as it ambled down a desert highway, riding easily along the traffic.

"Penny for your thoughts, Manny?" spoke a voice beside him.

"Oh it's nothing." He chuckled faintly, smiling just as slight as he leaned back in his seat. "It's just the first time I've been back to Sheet Rock Hills in a long time. I'm a little nervous."

"What you need to do," spoke a second voice near the first, "is take a deep breath and relax." The bus hit a bump in the road, easily coaxing a whimper from the speaker.

"Yeah right." A third voice popped up now, with a rather condescending tone. "You can't even relax, how's Manny going to!" He harrumphed, then glanced up at the 19-year-old in the window seat. "Are you even sure about doing this? We were fine back in Mexico!"

Manny snickered a little, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "It's a little late for that, Turner." He flipped one hand over and held it out a little. A moving blue and purple flathead screwdriver hopped into his waiting palm, giving him a rather sour look. "Confía en mí, ¿okay? It will all turn out alright."

Turner scoffed, slumping slightly before heaving an exaggerated sigh. "Fine." He hopped back to his seat, where a red-handled saw and an orange monkey wrench much like him were waiting. The saw sighed slightly, then looked up at Manny with what she hoped was a helpful smile.

"Of course things will be fine! You'll see."

Manny smiled, settling in his seat and leaning against the window again. "Gracias, Dusty." He reached up and pulled the brim of his hat down over his eyes, letting out a slow exhale.

Satisfied, Dusty turned back to the other two tools. Noticing the wrench's diverted attention, she leaned forward slightly and peered around at him. "Rusty? What's up?"

"We're being stared at again."

All three glanced across the aisle, where the two people in the opposite seats were looking their way. Turner glared at the two before turning away sharply with a loud "Hmph!" Dusty nudged Rusty slightly, giving him a smile. "Don't worry about it. Look, Manny's asleep now, so let's try to get some rest too. We've still got a long way to go."

Rusty let out a disgruntled noise, uneasily turning away from the people before settling back against a pillow in the seat. He closed his eyes, vaguely aware of the other tools taking up similar positions around him as he tried to focus on sleeping.

But man, that bumpy bus ride was going to make it hard.

---

The bus rumbled to a stop at the station, jostling slightly as the air brakes let out with a loud hiss. The doors clacked open after a few moments and the driver exited first, moving around to the side of the bus and undoing a hatch. People started filtering out after him, a few going to the station but most claiming their bags from the now-open compartment. One of the last ones was Manny, who took his duffel bag and shouldered it, a smaller bag he'd carried on the bus with him on the other side. The three tools in his company ducked around people's feet, hopping up to join Manny as he started down the sidewalk.

"Where are we going now, Manny?"

"To un hotel, Dusty." Manny paused a moment to check a street sign, then continued walking. "There's not one far from here, and I'd like to drop my things off before we move out into the town proper."

Rusty paused a moment to stare, then hopped faster to catch back up. "Oohhhh... I hope the hotel is clean. And safe, it's gotta be safe."

Manny chuckled lightly and looked down at the worrywart wrench, smiling slightly. "It'll be fine. We'll only be there for a couple of days anyway, with any luck." He clicked his tongue against his teeth thoughtfully as he looked back up, watching the buildings they were passing. "I lined up a couple of apartment interviews the other day, before we left. Hopefully one of those will turn out good."

"Yeah, I hope so!" Turner grunted slightly, glaring up at a person who didn't yield to him fast enough for his liking. "I do not want to live in a hotel!"

"We won't live in the hotel," Dusty said with just a hint of annoyance. She and the others followed Manny through a glass door into the lobby of the hotel. "We'll just be staying here until we can find something more permanent. Come on, you remember Manny talking to us about it before we even left his parent's house."

"I know." Turner rolled his eyes and sighed, hopping back a bit to give Manny room to lay his bags on the floor. "My comment still stands." As if feeling eyes on him he leaned back, staring up at the front desk attendant leaning over her counter to look at him. His expression soured, turning into an outright glare. "What?"

"Uh. Nothing." She leaned back in her chair, glancing up. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Sí. It should be under Manuel Garcia?"

The woman turned to her computer and typed in the name, smiling after a moment. "Ah, here it is." She blinked twice, then glanced around the monitor at Manny. "A single, right? What about...?" She gestured vaguely, then leaned back in surprise when the saw hopped up onto the desk.

"Oh, we'll be fine." Dusty giggled and smiled. "We don't take up much room." She shook her head (or what could pass for that motion, anyway) and gave the attendant a worried look. "There's not going to be a problem, is there?"

"Err no, there... shouldn't be." The woman started typing again, a little hesitantly at first. "What brings you to Sheet Rock Hills?"

"Oh, well." Manny leaned on the counter to watch her curiously, folding his arms. "I used to come up to Sheet Rock for the summer when I was un niño, but I stopped around the age of 10 or so. Today I'm moving here permanently."

"Well, welcome back to Sheet Rock Hills." She smiled, but not before giving Dusty a glance as she turned to her printer. "So, are you some sort of repairman, Mr. Garcia?"

"O-oh, Manny is fine." He smiled a little sheepishly, shaking his head a little. "No, I'm not, officially anyway. Not yet."

The attendant sighed lightly, taking a sheet of paper from the printer and sliding it across the desk to Manny, handing him a pen to sign with. "Well, we could certainly use one here. Sheet Rock Hills hasn't had a good repairman for a while now." She took back the sheet when he handed it over, and it was soon filed away. Handing him his room keys, she smiled. "You look like a handy guy, Manny. I think you'd do good things here."

"Gracias." Manny flushed slightly, bending down to scoop his bags back up. He smiled and waved before turning, heading over to a nearby elevator. "Vamos guys, let's go." The trio of tools followed him into the elevator, passing a final glance at the front desk and noticing the woman was watching them, right up until the doors closed.

Rusty groaned faintly, slumping a little once they were alone. "Ohh, I wish people would stop staring at us. It makes me feel so uncomfortable."

"I know." Dusty sighed, before putting on a slight smile. "It's just because we're so special, that's all. Pretty soon people here will be used to us, just like they were back in Mexico. You'll see." She nudged Rusty affectionately before bending back to look up. "So what's the game plan, Manny?"

"Getting settled in, first of all." Once the elevator stopped and opened again he stepped out into the hallway, followed by the other tools. "I'd like to see if my abuelito still lives here, too." He chuckled lightly and smiled down at his friends. "I'd stay over at his house a lot whenever my parents and I came up."

"Really?" Dusty blinked, then smiled. "Did your parents grow up here?"

"Yes, they did. And we'd always come up to see Abuelito whatever summer we could." Manny stopped outside a door and slipped in the key, unlocking it. "But we stopped when I was 10 like I said, because of school. I hope he does still live here, it'd be nice to have a familiar face around."

Turner smirked slightly, hopping into the room ahead of Manny and the others. "What, you didn't have any friends here?"

"No, I had a few friends when I was growing up, but I know a few of them moved away by now." Manny shut the door behind him and walked inside, resting the bigger bag on the bed. "In fact, I'd like to run by la ferretería, the hardware store, after we go to Abuelito's. It's run by the mother of one of my friends when I was little."

Satisfied there were no terrifying sights to see in the room, Rusty hopped up onto the bed and smiled up at Manny. "The hardware store? That sounds neat."

Dusty snickered slightly. "Leave it to Manny to make friends with the local hardware store." Rolling his eyes with a smile, Manny walked across the room and placed his smaller bag on a table. His change in expression was caught by Rusty, who leaned around to peer at him with a worried expression.

"Wh-what is it, Manny? There's not... not something over there, is there??"

"No Rusty, there's not." Manny let out a thoughtful noise, placing his fingertips on the table and giving it a little jiggle. "But the hardware store might actually be our first stop. It feels like one of these table's legs is loose."

"Loose, huh?" Turner jumped over and peered at the table's underside. "Uh-huh, looks like you're right Manny." He glanced up when Manny leaned down to get his own look. "There's a stripped screw in a hole too big for it."

"Yeah, I see. Looks like someone tried to fix this mesa, this table, a few too many times." With a hand to his knee Manny stood back up, turning to head back to the door. "It's any easy enough fix. Come on tools," he called out, smiling to himself. "Let's see if I remember how to get to the hardware store."

"Wait!" Rusty whined faintly, hopping off the bed and followed Dusty and Turner out. "Y-you're kidding, right Manny? You do remember how to get there right? Manny, wait!"

---

The bell above the door jingled lightly as the small group walked in, then again as the door shut. Manny hung back to watch as his three tools hopped forward, looking around with wide eyes; even Turner's face had a sort of awe in it.

"Wow!" Dusty flexed around, scanning the shelves, boxes, and displays. "Look at all this hardware!"

"You guys can look around," Manny said with a slight chuckle, "but cuidado, be careful. You don't want to knock anything over." As the tools hopped further into the store and separated to skim the shelves, Manny walked inside and up to the counter where a tall, red-haired woman was standing. Spotting her customer coming over, she smiled brightly and waved.

"Hey there, welcome to Mel's Hardware! Can I help you find anything?"

"Yes, let's see..." He rubbed his chin in thought, then ticked off on his fingers. "I need a piece of good, sturdy wood about a foot long, a box of 3-inch slotted wood screws, and a bottle of glue."

Melanie nodded and smiled, beginning to turn away. "Coming right up!" She hadn't gone more than two steps before she paused and glanced back, staring at him thoughtfully. "You know... I can't shake the feeling that I know you from somewhere."

"O-oh well." Manny trailed off for a moment with a little bashful smile, clearing his throat before speaking again. "It's Manny, Mrs. Dinsmore."

"Manny!" Her expression positively lit up as she came around the counter. "Little Manny Garcia!" As he nodded she pulled him into a hug, then leaned back and glanced him over. "My, the years have been good to you." Mel snickered slightly, giving him a tap on the nose that made him blush deeper. "It's been so long since I saw you last. Gosh, it must have been nearly 10 years."

"Sí, just about--" Manny was cut short by a crash in another part of the store, and the two of them turned to see Rusty on top of one of the shorter shelf units, standing next to an overturned box of galvanized nails. He turned away sheepishly, looking down.

"...S-sorry."

"Ah, I thought I saw you come in with someone." Mel chuckled and smiled, putting her hands on her hips. She moved over to the shelf and righted the box, scooping the nails back in it. "It's alright little guy. No harm, no foul." With a pat on his head she headed back to the counter.

"Ah, let me introduce mis herramientas." Manny smiled slightly as he gestured toward each tool in the store. "Rusty, Turner, and Dusty. My.. my father gave them to me when I turned 17."

"Mmh, sounds like someone's going into the family business." Mel flashed him a wry smile. "You know, Kelly would love to see you again."

"Kelly?"

Melanie swept back around the counter as she nodded. "Yeah, in fact she's here today. You know, she's going to take over the hardware store any day now."

Manny smiled, folding his arms behind his back. While he spoke, he twisted his fingers around the bottom hem of his shirt, fiddling with it. "Bueno, that's very good to hear. I.. can't wait to see her again too."

"I'll go get her then." She winked and smiled before disappearing into the back room.

"So who's Kelly, Manny?" Dusty hopped up onto the corner of the counter, giving him a curious look.

"I already mentioned it, Kelly was a friend of mine when I was little." Manny glanced at Rusty and Turner as they joined the saw. "We used to play together pretty often."

"Really?" Rusty blinked once and glanced toward the back door, then back to his friend. "What's she like? Oh, I hope she's nice and not too scary."

Rolling his eyes, Turner huffed and glared at the taller tool. "How can a person be scary, Rusty??"

"Easy! They could be really tall, or have a deep voice, or l-look like a pirate!"

"A pirate? Rusty, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

"I-it could happen..."

Manny shook his head, muttering "Ai yi yi yi yi" to himself. He glanced up when he heard the door open, and then for a few moments heard nothing else but the sound of his heart pounding against his throat.

"Manny?" Kelly blinked twice, coming around the counter as a hesitant smile grew into a larger one when he nodded. "Oh wow! I haven't seen you in ages! How are you?"

"I'm doing well, Kelly." He returned a quick hug she gave him, and smiled. "How are you? You look... very well." He blushed the faintest bit, having had to cut himself off before saying "amazing" on account of a line of thought that she did look a lot nicer than he remembered. Then again, the last time they saw each other was when they were 10.

Kelly giggled slightly, smiling, standing with her hands folded down behind her. "I'm doing pretty well, thanks. Did Mom tell you about me and the store?"

"Yes, we've heard." Catching a brief look of confusion in her face, he chuckled lightly and gestured beside them. "My tools: Dusty, Turner, and Rusty."

Amid the chorused greetings, Kelly leaned on the counter and smiled, glancing at the three. "Right, my mom told me about you guys. It's nice to meet you. I'm Kelly, one of Manny's old friends."

"So we've heard," Turner replied with the slightest smirk on his face. Catching a look from Manny he blinked, then turned away with an eyeroll.

Mel, returning to the floor, glanced at the group with a smile. "You know, I have some things to do around the shop right now, and I bet the tools would love to give me a hand. Manny, Kelly, why don't you two use the time to catch up?" Resting a box on the counter, she looked over at her daughter. "Dear, you can show him around Sheet Rock Hills since it's been so long."

"Um, sure Mom." Kelly turned slightly, raising a curious eyebrow. "What do you say, Manny?"

"S-sure, I would love to see the town. But will the tools be alright here, Mrs. Dinsmore?"

"They'll be fine!" Melanie laughed lightly and moved forward, giving the two of them gentle pushes towards the door. "Go on, have a good time. You've got so much to talk about." She watched them leave, settling back against the counter as the door's bell jingled twice. Dusty snickered a little, hopping to her side and glancing up.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Yep." Mel winked and picked up the box again, moving out into the store. "Come on guys, you can help me put all this stuff out. And I'd love to hear more about Manny."

The tools glanced between themselves before hopping off the counter, following her down one of the aisles. The last one to leave, Rusty sighed slightly to himself and looked towards the door, still unsure about Manny being gone for what would likely be quite a while. Shaking his head, he bounced to the floor, trailing after the others.