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Doughboy 2 ...Ped n Zam havin to do some serious thinkin. Doin a bit more drivin around to try n see if it was just a bit of a 1-off. Seemin like they havin bit of a marketin problem. Bit of a wrong supply n angry demand. 1. Mister Whippy jingle comes blonky-blooin round the corner. 2. All the proper Ingerlish whippersnaps gets dribbly mouths thinkin bout Italian ice cream. 3. Up chugs the moustachioed brown-faced fellows Zamil n Pedros wi their boxes of barfi n halwa. 4. = issues. Everywhere they go the local Pongo customer base displayin product hostility. It is not just the the little kids, it is the grown-ups as well. Some of em havin words to say when he tells em that he does not stock Mini Milks or ice pops. Little tiny kids pointin fingers, tellin Pedros where he should go. It is like the hardest day of their lives. They were so happy before they started. But now it is like some 1 has come along, sawn open their heads, pulled out their brains, shook em up, then shoved em back in their skull sacks upside down. “It is a sticky situation.” Yasmin has opinions if they want to listen. “The foreign food will never catch on for the Ingerlish. They like too much their ice cream, red sauce. Chippy tea, red sauce. The baked bean, red sauce. All food taste of nothin, so covered in the red sauce.” “You do not understand!” Pedros really not wantin to have to listen to this. Full of shouty anger at himself. Knowin that Yasmin was probably right, but no way he was gonna let his dreams get kicked in the bin. “My special sweets are loved everywhere. Africa! India! Pakistan! By the Ingerlish also. The tastebud is the same all over the world. Sweet taste make a man happy. Sweet gift make a woman fall in love. Sweets give a child energy. Nobody in sane mind can argue. I am right!” Zamil just noddin. Not wantin to argue. Not wantin their dream to end up in the bin. Jameela n Hala sittin round watchin the talk. Sittin on boxes n boxes of coconut barfi. Keepin guard wi sticks n stampin little feet if they see any mice or roaches. But in danger of becomin toothless at an early age if poppa fails to get rid of the sweetie stockpile. Ped n Zam chattin it over wi Yasmin, decidin to stick wi the free sample policy. Do 1 last tour of duty, 1 more day, see how it goes. Zam stays up all night for a change. He has forgotten how to sleep anyway, so tis not much of a prob. Workin on his latest bit of sign paintin. This time keepin it simple, a big white bed sheet, big red letters. *FREE SWEETS! 1 DAY OFFER!* "Are you a pair of perverts?" 1st question Pedros gets from a woman comin up to them on the Pong High Street, her face half hidden under a plastic see-thru umbrella. Bucketin down wi rain today. Brats all at school, so less chance of violence. No 1 is buyin, but then Ped n Zam not even sellin, can not give the stuff away. "Sorry lady, you want to try orange gulab jamun. Same colour as your dress. Taste heavenly!" "Is this a trick to get little kiddies to come n speak to you? So you can tie em up in your van?" "Please, lady, all I ask is you try. 1 time, it will shock you how sweet n delicious!" "Offer em sweeties before you kill them? Where are you goin to bury them?" "Zamil, drive, please drive me away from here." "Www wwh whhhh where to?" "Anywhere. Bangladesh. Kampala!" Xcept it turned out the Ingerlish were not all crazy. They do like a bargain, especially a free 1. Green nutty barfi the favourite giveaway item on the council estate round
the back of the railway line. The people from the bought houses likin a bit
of carrot halwa. Even got a few of the Bangladeshi folk livin up round
Pamnation Road to try some homemade frozen kulfi. Handin it out in paper
napkins, all wet sticky n melty. Managing to get a few queues formin.
Creatin a market demand. All they had to do now was get a few of em to part
with their jingle-jangle *coin of the realm*. Next day, Zam has the van ready super-early. Not ever sleepin means that gettin up is not a problem for Zamil. Stayin alert enuf to drive can be a bit of an issue but he drinks serious amounts of black tea n smokes a pipe which seems to help keep hm awake, even if he is a bit quiet most of the time. He nods when he is spoken to, n Pedros prefers it when people let him do the talkin. No arguments. First stop is the Pong estate n it looks like people are gettin a bit
used to the new idea. Yellow toothed kids queuin up to munch a bit more fang
rot fodder. Ped is startin to bump the prices up a bit. Everythin is still
mega cheap but he is wantin to get a bit of cash in his till now that the
Ingerlish bratwursts are startin to get hooked on halva. Pedros is becomin a
proper sugar peddler. It is somethin like a phenomenon. Burfi to your
doorstep, or at least to your curb. The twinkly twisted machine sound of
Indian music blarin down the road, announcin the arrival of the Mystery
Sweetie Machine. Money saved also means more chance of spendin on new stock. This is how Pedros looks at it. Yasmin wud like to spend any money on rent for a nicer house. A place where she does not have to worry bout the kids fallin outta the windows. Zamil has got his eye on a newer van. Ideas in his sleepy head bout a crazy new paint job. His upside down brain not always makin sense. Lack of sleep n too much smokin of the funny pipe makin him grumpy n silent. Drivin the van all day, workin in the restaurant in the evenin. Not eatin. His face startin to look like a skull. The baby cryin in the back of the van not helpin his mood. At least the 2 older girls are at school learnin bout Billy Blue Hat, Roger Red Hat, Henry VIII n Topsy n Tim. At least Yasmin n gripey toothy Inas get dropped off at the shops to do a bit of pootlin at around 3, before Yasmin goes off to pick up the 2 schoolgirls at half past. At least all of that, coz that was the day that the Martino brothers covered the Mystery Sweetie Machine in petrol n set fire to it. Rocco thinkin that words were not doin the explainin enuf for him, got Pedros to put his hands on the pavement n stretch out his fingers. Shouted at Pedros to try n get him to accept reason. Then broke all his fingers wi a hammer. 1 at a time so the pain wud be stretched out a bit. He thought a lot bout his actions did Rocco. His brother, Aless, was more of a random violence expert. He did Zamil some gut damage wi the hammer then slit the side of his cheek wi box cutter. Always liked to have his tools wi him did, Aless. You never knew when you might need to bang in some nails or open some boxes. Or rupture a liver n slice open some flesh.
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