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It was bound to happen eventually. After nearly roughly fifteen years of being in the family, Ricky's old 1993 Ford F-150 truck was starting to wear out. The truck was old, and he probably should have been looking into getting it repaired an awful long time ago. Of course, Ricky had better things to do.

Now, he couldn't think of a single one of these better things off the top of his head, but at the time he was pretty sure they sounded 'better' or at least 'more fun.'

The truck had a seen a good life, marked by the years of worn and torn seating, taped-together gas pedal, broken back window, scratched surfaces, topped off with burn holes in the front seat and disturbing stains in the backseats. As the engine used the last of what it had left in it, Ricky pulled up into the repair shop - Hank's Garage - to finally take care of it.

Missing a driver's seat window, he poked his head out of the vehicle and shouted to the blonde girl who looked like she worked there.

"Hey, you reckon you can get this old girl back up to shape?" he asked. "The engine seems to be worn."

He opened the door and hopped out of the seat - the seatbelt had been missing for a decade - and slammed the door shut behind him.

The door bounced back and slammed to the ground.

"Also the door is broken."

"Erm, I dunno," Ricky shrugged. He had almost entirely forgotten that he had to pay for such a thing. He opened his wallet and found twenty bucks and a condom. He may not be the brightest wick on the cake, but he was pretty sure that wasn't going to help him. He tried his darndest to remember how much he had in his savings that he could spare. "Maybe like, erm, two hundred?"

That was probably enough to get laughed out of the store, at the very least!

"Yerp, I do have a job," Ricky said proudly. "I'm a gardener! I ain't rollin' in dough or nothing, but them lovely housewives tip me awful nice during the summers. If I put some into savings, I reckon I could raise that money in a few weeks."

Ricky thought of another route for discount: he could try charming the girl. Of course, that is until she asked about the stains in the backseats. Honesty was always the best policy, right?

"Erm," his face went red. "I reckon that's a mixture of booze, sweat, maybe some vomit, food and other unmentionable things a pretty girl like yourself don't need to hear none about. It's mostly clean though, I scrubbed the seats down just the other week." Ricky was a bit warped on time here, as it was nearly a year ago.

"No particularly interestin' stories, just the normal wear and tear after a few too many wild nights of sins," Ricky shrugged. He didn't exactly view his behavior as sinful, but his mother frequently reminded him that he was going to hell. She meant the best, truly.

"Hey now it ain't total crap," he said, taking a step forward in defense. Of course, as he did this he stepped on the fallen car door, which just highlighted how much of a piece of crap his truck truly was. "It's seen better days, I'll admit. Though them burn holes ain't from me, their from my ma when she used to drive the car down in Alabama before she gave it to me. Woman smokes like a chimney I tell ya."

He flashed his normal dopey smile as did his best to defend himself - and his car. "Its more of a landscapin' business, I just have the lawnmower and other tools in the back bed of the trunk really. At least that's all good back there." It wasn't, but it was manageable. "I reckon with new seats too on top of er'ything else I might as well be lookin' to get a whole new truck, huh?"

He was just a few years older than the truck, so perhaps it was time for that.

"Why, you don't say?" Ricky beamed. The thought of buying a used car was sounding way more enticing by the moment. Of course, in his mind he pictured himself buy a mint-condition but used neon green monster truck with orange flames all for just $50 and a condom. But then again, Ricky's mind was about yay big, so this wasn't anything out of the ordinary. "Ya think they'd have a truck I can afford there? I don't mind driving something that's used. I reckon you can tell that on account o' me drivin' this old thing fer too long."

"Where you from by the way?" he asked. He couldn't help but notice her accent - or to him, speaking the way people should speak compared to the weirdo city people language.

"Aw, nothin'," Ricky shrugged. He didn't mean to offend her and he smiled a bit nervously. "Sounds like you got a slight accent, but don't worry, the accent's cute. I like it, makes me feel like home. Only been livin' here for just over a year and haven't felt quite as at home since."

"I didn't even say my name, I'm bein' a bit rude," he felt embarassed. "Name's Ricky Cunningham. And if yer daddy's the one with the used cars then I'd mighty appreciate it if you put me in touch with him. Not quite sure what to look fer in a car, though maybe you might be able to help?"

Ricky was still reading the name on the name-patch by the time she had introduced himself. He would have been able to read it and sound it out eventually, he was sure. He wasn't very much taller than her at six-foot-two, which isn't something he was used to, at least for not girls in the city. He grasped her hand and gave it a strong firm shake. He was a big boy with strong arms, but he didn't give any lighter of a shake just because she was a girl.

That'd be racist or sexist or something, he thought. One of those.

"Pleasure to meet ya', Ellie," he smiled.

"Shucks, it wouldn't be the first law I broke," he snickered back. He wouldn't classify himself as a criminal or anything, but he's got a criminal record for little misdemeanors here and there - skinny dipping, bar fights, and general belligerence. He squatted down and grabbed the car door and lifted it - he weight trained frequently so the actual lifting wasn't tough even at roughly two hundred pounds, but its shape and bulkiness wasn't what he was used to not to mention that he had to move it into the bed.

Ideally, he'd be able to show off his strength and do it on his own, but he had a feeling he'd struggle. He also got a hunch that Ellie would want to help. "If ya can grab the other end that'd be great."

"Maybe we can go to yer dad's place when yer offa work," he suggested as he held onto the door. "Y'know, together."