Chapter 1:Finding Friends
"…One…two…three…" A boy murmured from the side of the fruit stand. His ocean blue eyes watched as the fruit vendor walked towards the middle of the street, where he had planted a gold coin. As soon as his back was to the stand the boy with a brown vest and white pants, reached a hand into the pile of fruit and grabbed an apple. But as his hand grabbed it, another grabbed his hand. Alaric peered over the side of the stall and saw a furry little monkey attached to his hand.
"Let go!" he hissed angrily at the small primate. The monkey chattered angrily back and tugged on the apple. "No, way get your own!" Alaric tugged back and then a tug-of-war game started. Both continued to pull until a shadow appeared above them.
"Get your hands off that apple you little thieves!" the boy and monkey looked up to see an angry vendor holding a sword above them. Both shrieked as the sword came down and the monkey gave a final tug on the apple and got out of the boy's grip. The boy quickly moved his hand as the sword came down causing the sword got stuck in the wood of the stall and Alaric took off after the monkey.
"Come back here monkey!" the boy yelled, and then he heard a crash and looking behind him saw as the vendor finally freed his sword causing splintered wood to fly everywhere.
"Come back here thieves!"The vendor took off after them and the boy sped up trying to catch the monkey. The monkey took off down an alley and Alaric followed him. The boy sprinted around the corner and ran smack into something and he fell backwards onto his bottom.
He looked up to see an older boy wearing beige colored pants, a purple vest, and a red fez. The little monkey chattered at him from the older boy's shoulder.
"Hey, did you take that apple from Abu?" the older boy said frowning at Alaric.
Alaric glared back and ran a hand through his tousled light brown hair. "No! That monkey of yours took it from me! My hands were on it first!" the older boy seemed to consider this a moment.
"Abu." The boy said accusingly at the small monkey on his shoulder. "Did you take this from him?" he held up the apple and the little monkey attempted to grab it. "Abu!" the boy said more sternly. "Well?" the monkey seemed to know the jig was up for he nodded and pouted as the older boy tossed Alaric the apple.
"Here, it's yours fair and square. Sorry about Abu." Alaric nodded.
"Eh, its ok he was probably just hungry like I was." The monkey pouted some more and the boy laughed.
"Here, then if it means so much to you." He held the apple out to the tiny monkey and he grabbed it greedily. Then he looked up from eating and chattered at him.
"Abu thanks you." The older boy grinned. "But you didn't have to do that."
Alaric waved him off. "He's welcome and it's no big deal. I can always get another."
"Well, if you're sure. Thanks again." Alaric nodded and the older boy and the little monkey disappeared. Alaric stayed in the alley a little longer and was about to leave when suddenly he felt the back of his vest grabbed.
"Got ya! Captain over here!" the vendor called. Alaric tried to get away when the guards showed up.
"So, we meet again little rat!" the captain smiled evilly revealing a few missing teeth. Grabbing his vest the burly man lifted Alaric off his feet.
"Let me go! Put me down you big gorilla!" Alaric yelled, kicking his feet out.
"Shut up!" the burly man snarled and gave him a shake. Suddenly a furry blur flew past the boy's head and slammed onto the top of the captain's turban. Abu grinned at Alaric and pulled the guards turban over his eyes. The guard dropped him and the boy felt something grip his arm. Alaric looked up to see the boy from earlier wink at him and then he pulled him along. They ran through streets, allies, past crumbling buildings and finally to an old abandoned building.
After catching they caught their breaths Alaric said, "Thanks." The little monkey soon appeared. "Both of you." He added with a wide grin.
"Hey, it was no big deal." The older boy shrugged and Alaric smirked as he recognized his words.
"Well, guess I better be going." He said and started to walk away. But the older boy stopped in his way.
"Where are you going?"
"Home or uh, whatever you wanna call it." The boy shrugged and the older one frowned.
"What do you mean? You don't really have a home do you?" Alaric sighed, the thing he hated most was discussing his past and he didn't like to talk about it.
"No. But I'm ok. Really." He added at the disbelieving boy's gaze.
"No you're not. Not if you're all alone. Let me help you."
"Why? Why would you spend your time on me?" the smaller boy asked confusedly and a little suspicious.
"Because it's the right thing to do." The older boy stated simply. "Do you have any parents?" Oh why did he have to ask that question? Alaric didn't like thinking of his mother.
"No. I uh never knew my father." He said quickly and tried to walk away, but the older boy stood right in front of him.
"And your mother?" Alaric looked at the ground. "Oh…I'm sorry." Alaric shook his head. "No? What is it? You can tell me, honest you can trust me." Alaric looked into the older boy's gaze and then decided to come clean.
"She left me." Alaric said quietly. The older boy winced.
"Look I'm sorry about your mom. If it's any consolation to you my mother died when I was younger and I never knew my dad either."
"Yeah? Well at least your mother wanted you. Mine left me in the middle of the street and never looked back." The older boy flinched. "She didn't want me."
The older boy frowned, "Why not?"
Alaric sighed and looked at the ground. "Because I'm a jinx." Suddenly laughter filled the air and Alaric's head shot up and stared at the boy in front of him.
"A jinx? Really? I don't believe in jinxes!" after he saw that the boy wasn't kidding he frowned again. "Who told you, you were?"
"The people from the town I ran away from. They blamed me for everything. So you won't want me either. I might give you bad luck." Alaric said mockingly.
"Of, course you wouldn't. You seem like a pretty good kid to me. Why don't you come live with us?" as he said and the little monkey leapt onto Alaric's shoulder and chattered in his ear something that sounded like 'oh please!' Alaric smiled a little unsurely.
"Um, really?"
"Of course. Now c'mon lets go home." The older boy walked away.
"Home, that sounds good." Alaric said and after pausing a moment he ran to keep up.
"So, what's your name?"
"Alaric."
"Well, Alaric, I'm Aladdin and this is Abu." The monkey hugged Alaric with his tail.
"Nice to meet you, Aladdin." The monkey grumbled. "And you too Abu."
After awhile Aladdin said, "You know, you don't look like a jinx to me." And the little boy grinned.
Genies and Jinxes by PirateWizardThief