The clock ticked closer and closer to ten o’clock while Faiyaz thought about how miserable of a night he was about to have. The worst part was that it wasn’t even his choice. At seventeen and living in your parent’s house, you didn’t get much of a say. Especially when you came from an Indian household. Owning the local 7-eleven was not an advantage in this category either. Faiyaz had heard it all growing up with his family. He fit the perfect stereotype that most people thought of when it came to his culture.

Ever since he could remember, he had helped out at the store with his parents. He would clean the sticky counters, stock the fridges and clean the disgusting bathrooms until he was old enough to deal with the annoying customers. Then he was put on register duty, which eventually led to him running full shifts all by himself. After mastering all that, he was then put in charge of the overnight shift as his parents began to grow too old for it. It was just what Faiyaz needed. No weekend time to spend with his friends who were all out partying — he was stuck behind the counter.

His parents had high hopes for him to follow the path that they had laid out for him. They had good intentions about it, but disregarded their son’s dreams. They wanted him to make a lot of money and be secure in his job, like most loving parents. They wanted him to be a lawyer or go to medical school; money was being put away for this Kodak moment. They wanted him to have a better future than they had been given. This was the whole reason they had come to America to begin with, a dream of a better life.

But Faiyaz had other plans. He had a vision of being a rapper. He knew it was just a dream, but that was what he loved about it. The amount of support that he had received for this dream was minimal, considering everyone thought it was a joke. He had a small crew of friends who supported him and actually enjoyed listening to the rhymes he could create. Anytime Faiyaz was caught practicing or writing down raps, his parents threw them away. The only time Faiyaz got to work on his raps was at work and during the little time that he had available with friends.

Faiyaz and his closest friend, Jimmy, had a vision for renting a studio out one day so that they could actually record something that sounded professional. With Patrick barely making it by with no job, and Faiyaz’s money being monitored by his parents, they were blind men grasping at a vision that wasn’t there.

On his way out, he turned back to grab his headphones, which were a work necessity. He then walked out and got in his beat up 96’ Toyota Camry with visions of hopping in a new Mercedes Maybach. The realization of what he was driving hit him as soon as the engine wouldn’t start. With a couple more tries, he was on his way. He pulled up at the 7-eleven on the corner that he knew so well. He parked and looked in the mirror, preparing himself for the night he had ahead of himself. Walking up to the store, he noticed the usual homeless person lying in front of the store. The guy was there every day, and his nickname had become The Notorious B.U.M., given to him by Faiyaz himself. Although no problem had ever occurred between him and the homeless man, or even with the store for that matter, Faiyaz still had tremendous hate for this guy. Not being able to pursue the dream that he wanted made him hate that this guy was throwing his life away at a 7-eleven. It seemed as if Faiyaz placed the resentment that he had about his own life onto this man.

“Another day, another nap, huh? Sad piece of shit.” Faiyaz threw the insult only for it to land on deaf ears, as the man didn’t move or acknowledge him. Faiyaz just shook his head and headed inside to waste away as well.

DING

“Ah, the bell that reminds me to return to my cell. So nice to see you father, looking forward to another splendid night.”

“Faiyaz, not tonight please. I’m exhausted and don’t have time for this. I found more of your raps underneath the register. I don’t want to find those again- do you hear me? The next piece of paper I find with writing on it better be some damn notes from something you are learning! Do you understand me?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Excuse me?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Alright, I stocked everything up pretty nicely for the night. There should be plenty of beer for the usual late night rush, and we are out of the Gatorade on the machine. I put a sticker on it to mark it, but it will be fixed tomorrow. Other than that, everything should be good to go. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Just like that and his father was gone. Strictly business. No raps, you should study and get to work. It was the usual conversation that Faiyaz had with his father, actually seemed to be how all their conversations went. As his dad walked out the door to his car, two college-aged guys walked in laughing and smelling like bud. They headed towards the beer, like most customers did after 10 PM.

Faiyaz looked outside into the night that he was not going to be allowed to enjoy. He panned his sights down to The Notorious B.U.M. who seemed to have woken up. He was now sitting back against the wall, picking underneath his long, extended fingernails. Faiyaz shook his head at the nonsense. He was sitting here, stuck behind the counter, trapped from the life that he could be living out in the unpredictability of a Friday night. The Notorious B.U.M. was spending the night that he had on the ground in front of a 7-eleven, picking his nails. He could do anything, but he decided to be lazy and live like a fool. Faiyaz would never understand it and would never be so courteous as to spark a conversation with him. He would rather sit back, watch and enjoy as he critiqued those he didn’t know.

Not even paying attention to what was happening in the store, he missed the two guys who had just come in and were now running out with boxes of beer in hand.

“Run Milo!” One of them yelled, as they headed out the door.

“Motherfuckers!” Faiyaz chased after them, but they sped off before he could reach them. He heard a chuckle behind him as he was catching his breath; the homeless man was enjoying the sight. Faiyaz shook his head and headed back inside. It was going to be a long night.