Free Fighting by Cat Phoenix

sliding his hands together in anticipation.
    "Me,"
Ollie said. 
    We
wished him good luck and trailed after him to an interesting café that had flat
screen TVs and what looked like gaming consoles placed strategically around the
room.  It looked like a really cool place, actually.  I made note of it in case
we stopped back through. 
    The
store had a big bay window that we could see into, so the rest of us sat at the
tables outside and casually watched him inside.  He walked to the counter and
bought a drink before wandering around the place, looking curiously at the TV
screens that others were playing on.  He found one person sitting alone on a
couch, so he walked over and it looked like he asked if he could join him.  The
mark nodded his head and they talked for a few minutes before shaking hands and
turning toward the TV and picking up game remotes.  We watched as the mark
steadily grew more and more frustrated while Ollie kept his cool and almost
seemed to be staring blankly at the screen.  Finally, about fifteen minutes
later, Ollie looked over to watch the mark set his game controller on the table
in front of them none too gently, and then wrench himself up off of the couch. 
Ollie stood too and watched as the guy tore his wallet out of his back pocket. 
He pulled all of the money from the wallet and forked it over.  Ollie, forever
chill, calmly accepted the cash and gave him a two finger salute before turning
back to us.
    I
was super proud of him, even if he did just hustle some other kid.  He looked
at us through the window on his way out and a slow smile curved his lips.
    He
came outside and sat down at our table.  He threw the wad of cash on the table
and said, "That's how it's done, kids."
    August
reached for the money and counted it.  "Sixty bucks."
    "Not
bad," Spencer said.  "But I could do better."
    Brooks
collected the money off of the table and pocketed it.  Spencer got up and
looked around the sidewalks for a moment.  He spotted something that caught his
eye and said, "Stay here." 
    He
walked away toward two guys leaning over a brick wall that overlooked a
stairwell below.  Behind their backs were two skateboards, just asking to be stolen. 
Spencer waltzed up and without stopping, bent at the waist and scooped up a
board.  The two guys didn't turn around or notice him at all, and Spencer kept
walking casually down the sidewalk. 
    He
crossed the street at the intersection and walked up the sidewalk for a few
seconds.  His eyes were continually scanning the sidewalk in front of him.  His
head tilted to the side and a moment later, he threw the board in front of
him.  It rolled ahead of him and he jogged behind it before hopping on and skating
down the sidewalk.  He had his eyes focused on one spot ahead of him.  I looked
over and saw a woman who looked around my age walking with a cell phone in her
hand, eyes glued to it and totally clueless to the world surrounding her. 
    He
weaved between other people on the sidewalk with ease, pumping his foot on the
concrete beside of him every few seconds.  When he finally made it near her,
instead of dodging her, he threw himself onto her from behind.  Her bag spewed
its contents as she doubled over to keep from falling on her face.  His body
was molded against hers after they collided.  He hastily stood up and bent down
to help her gather the loose items from her bag.  He was speaking and appeared
to be apologizing profusely.  She was shaking her head in a flustered it's
okay kind of way. 
    They
both straightened up and he finally got her to smile before picking up his
board and skating back down the way he came.  He traced his steps back, placing
the board back where he found it without the guys even sparing him a glance. 
He fell into his chair at the table and tossed a pink wallet covered in purple
hearts on the table. 
    August
picked it up and flicked through the bills.  "One hundred and sixteen
dollars."
    We
all made