Friend-4-Hire

Summary: “Bored this summer? In need of some major hang-out time? For an hourly fee, you, yes, YOU can hire a friend! Call now! (Fee to be discussed later.)” Ah, the things we mortals do for money...

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Prologue

It was another beautiful day in May. There was a feeling of liberation as the last final was taken and the University closed for the week.

Ah, yes, it was a glorious day for all students on campus.

All students, with the exception of one.

Axel Ramsey, a junior at the University of Georgia, was in pain.

Or, to be exact, his wallet was in pain.

He stared at its gaping emptiness and sighed. This summer was not going to be a fun one. No car, no job, and no parental income supplements.

Axel closed his thin wallet and stuffed it into the back pocket of his jeans. He ran a hand through his dark brown, almost-black, hair. He was shocked by the length.

Great, he rolled his hazel eyes, yet another expense I’ve gotta take care of...

He shifted his bodyweight and stretched his legs before walking away from the wall he’d been leaning on. Not having anywhere in particular to go, Axel decided to take a nice little stroll around North Campus.

As he walked he tried to think of some solution to his monetary problems. But he found it hard to concentrate as a wonderful breeze ruffled his hair and reminded him that summer was here and that next semester he would be a senior. With an added spring in his step, he made his way over to the steps of the main library, a common hang-out spot for most of his friends.

As he neared the library, he spotted a guy with light brown hair and dark green eyes that made most ladies swoon (and some guys jealous, not that they’d ever admit it, of course) sitting with his back against one of the library’s columns, reading a newspaper.

“Hey, Johnston!” Axel hailed once in hearing range.

His friend looked up and grinned.

“Hey, Ax. What up?”

After exchanging the traditional guy high-five-handshake-thingy, Axel joined his friend on the steps.

“Anything interesting going on?” Axel gestured toward the open newspaper.

“Nah, bunch of crap as usual. There’s only one thing it’s good for.” Caleb Johnston held his newspaper so that Axel could see.

Axel laughed at the sight of Caleb’s half-finished crossword puzzle.

“You’re right about that one,” Axel agreed.

Suddenly, the nice little breeze turned in to a big gust of air and blew Caleb’s newspaper out of his hands and all over everywhere.

“Shit!” Caleb started to get up, but Axel beat him.

“Hold tight, man, I’ve got it.”

With astounding, erm, grace Axel ran around like a madman, jumping in the air in attempts to recapture his friend’s beloved newspaper.

After a good fifteen minutes of running and jumping, Axel managed to reclaim all the pages and brought them back to Caleb with a triumphant look on his now-red face.

“See! I told you I’d get—” he stopped abruptly.

“Ax? Axel? What’s wrong?”

Axel grabbed a page out of the newspaper and handed the rest back to Caleb.

“Of course! That’s it! That’s how I can solve my problem!!” Axel looked up at Caleb with a crazed grin.

“Uh, dude, you know I don’t like it when you look like that. You look really...scary...” Caleb began backing away slowly.

“No, Cal! Look!”

Axel thrust his part of the paper in Caleb’s face.

“The Classifieds? What does this have to do with anything? And what’s your problem?”

“It’s the answer, Cal!” Axel pointed to an ad.

“ ‘Need a dog sitter? Call now! Low Rates!’ ” Caleb read. “What, Ax, you gonna be a dog sitter?”

“No! I’m going to hire myself out!” Axel looked about ready to burst from joy.

“Hire yourself out? How?” Caleb wasn’t really buying this.

“Well, I need the money, but I’m lacking in the transportation department, right?”

Caleb nodded.

“And...?”

“And there are all sorts of lonesome people left on campus taking summer school, right?”

“Right...”

“So! I figure that if I hire myself out for, let’s say an hour at a time, to all the lonely people, with the condition that they have to supply transportation, and voila! Money and car problems solved all at once!”

Axel looked very proud of himself.

Caleb, however, looked confused.

“But Ax, what are you going to hire yourself out for? You’re not exactly Mr. Handyman and I wouldn’t let you within a mile of any children...”

“No, Caleb, my man, I am going to hire myself out as myself!”

“Yourself.”

“Yes.”

“How...”

“As a friend!”

“A friend.”

“Yeah! I’ll hire myself out as a friend to people who get bored and want to hang out with someone cool!”

Caleb blinked.

“What? You don’t think it’ll work?”

Caleb sighed.

“It’s not that it won’t work, the problem is that it will work. All to well, I’m afraid.”

“See?” Axel grinned. “Now I don’t have anything to worry about!”

“Yeah, but the only kinds of people that’ll want...” he pointed to Axel, “...this as their friend are insane. Or really really desperate. Are you prepared to deal with desperately insane people, Ax?”

Axel grinned even more.

“Bring it on.”

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A/N: So? What’d ya think so far? Let me know in your review I’ve had this idea floating around in my head for the past couple of weeks, but with finals and the holidays and all I didn’t have time to write it out until now. Oh, I can’t wait to write all the wonderful situations our lovely little Axel finds himself in What do you think of his name? I know too many ‘Alex’es, but I liked the name so much that I fiddled around and bada-bing, bada-boom, “Axel” was born! 0 And if anyone has any suggestions for names, guys’ and girls’, leave ‘em in the review; ‘cause I’m gonna need a WHOLE lot for this story! Later days! –Kera