Joshua

A boy spins a top on the pharmacy floor. As it spins, he adds dust, dirt, the leg of a cockroach to the body of the toy. 

“I am 7 years old,” he says. “This is a tornado like on Squid Game. Have you ever seen Squid Game? It’s on Netflix. It only costs $11. The winner wins $7.4 Billion dollars. The losers die. They get shot. BANG!”

He is wearing a neon green and blue camouflage t-shirt and black sweatpants. Black Adidas tennis shoes. 

“They are my parents,” he says, pointing to the man and woman at the register. Neither of them acknowledge me. They appear old enough to be his grandparents. The man is wearing pajama pants and has a long beard. The woman wears a white mesh top. You can see her bra underneath. 

“Joshua,” the man says, “let’s go.” 

The boy looks at me and smiles. “Bye!” He says. I wave and say goodbye. 

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