The store owner is a person with bad luck. From three failed marriages, two robberies and one fire alert, the old man has left only his cat named Gum –who sits proudly at the counter and drops your groceries on the floor– and Lola’s favorite place to buy her drinks.

     “Oh, honey! Stop it!” a woman’s loud voice scares the people in the store.

     “Babe, I love you so much! If you ever cheat on me, I’m going to kill him and myself.”

     Lola pinches the bridge of her nose. Is this what romance is today? She grabs another beer from the fridge. She needs a lot of them today.

     “What is he saying?” Su comes from behind her to look more closely at the couple. They now fight over what color of towels to buy.

     “Don’t listen to them, kid. They are the reason I want to puke and leave Earth still gagging and never come back.”

     “Humans want to take their own lives?” Su thinks that they are proud creatures. If he was a human, he wouldn’t ever think of that. Sometimes he makes it his wish to be one…

     Lola looks at him but can’t find his expression to understand why he asks that. “Anyone has their moment,” she mutters in response. “Suicide sucks. Being on the edge of a cliff sucks. ‘Cause you don’t know if you will jump scared shitless or jump without fear and no regrets... Or if you are brave enough to still hold on to that one small rock and save your life.” She stops when she realizes that she is saying all of this to someone who doesn’t know anything about life.

     “Brave?” Am I brave? The new information makes him jump and walk to the couple. “Sorry, sir, but you can’t do that. You have to be brave!”

     What is this kid doing?! 

     Lola turns around and runs at the counter to pay and leave out of the store. She didn't sign up for this! Whatever is he doing is his own problem!

     “What the hell?” the man steps back with a frown and Su tilts his head. He thought the information will mean as much as it means to him, but Su is not welcomed with the smile he expected. Instead, the man bows down to his level and scoffs, “Are you a clone?” Su nods. “What the hell did they do to you? Did they shrink you?”

     The boy does not know how to answer. Is true that he is smaller than the rest of the Ar clones, but what is the man asking? And he can’t figure out his tone, either.

     “Honey, let’s just go—“

     “Hey, midget, I’ve heard you clones are dumber than animals. Is it true?” Su has been called unintelligent many times at the labs. This is not new. But being stupid or not is not important to him. The man grabs a small, colored box from the shelf and throws it a few feet away on the ground. “Go fetch, you midget freak!”

     Su looks at the box confused. Why would he throw away something if he wants it back? Then he turns to look again at the man but his eyes widen when he sees a fist launched right in the man’s jaw. His woman screams and tries to catch him when he stumbles on his feet.

     “Sorry, dude,” Lola says holding her hand. She hasn’t used her strength in a long time. “Your mouth was hurting my ears so I had to stop it.” She grabs the kid’s shoulder and drags him to the exit.

     “What the— who the hell are you?” the man asks in rage.

     Lola turns her head and he flinches at her glare. But she gives him a quick smile and a wink, “Oh, you don’t want to know, sugar.”

     They leave the store. Lola mumbles to herself how this day is worse than the previous one. But at least she has food. That she doesn’t know how to cook...

     “Sugar?” Su asks puzzled by the word.

     “Um, I was just sarcastic with it…”

     “There was a woman who called me that in the past,” the boy says watching his steps on the sidewalk.

     “Well, if the woman was old and even pinched your cheek, then it’s a good thing. Because it means that she liked you,” Lola shrugs and hopes this ends the conversation.

     Su does not think that. The woman never liked him. The proof was in those moments when her delicate hands, that always fascinated Su, were grabbing tight on his neck.