Snippet #4 2021

It wasn’t so much how he looked, Karma decided, although that was strange enough. Mismatched socks slouched against his skinny ankles under pinstriped pants that were too short and held in place by both a belt and a pair of suspenders as if the wearer were especially concerned about being pantsed. A brightly colored Hawaiian shirt, topped the affair encasing the slightly rounded torso. His nose was long and pointed and sported a pair of Buddy Holly glasses behind which his large round eyes blinked at her. The entire effect was of a garish stork, legs too long for the body. On someone else, the entire ensemble would’ve seemed the uniform of a nervous nerd, awkwardly trying to fit in with little to no actual hope of that actually happening. But there was something else, something swimming beneath his muddy brown eyes. The self-conscious smile and clueless expression were so trite as to be suspicious. As he approached she could detect a faint whiff of something unpleasant, like the smell of dead fish at the seaside. She shivered, trying to shake the feeling that she should bolt in the opposite direction, forcing herself to smile as he introduced himself.