I HATE my life!
I didn't get an ounce of sleep last night, and now I have to stack shelves for the next eight hours. I am happy I don't have classes today.
I pushed myself to work, putting on my uniform, looking half-dead with dark circles outlining my eyes. I opened the break room door to see Marlene, with dark circles of her own.
She gave me a pointed look, stirring her coffee.
"Someone made it out alive without pizza," she snarked.
"Barely, Marl, barely," I replied, opening the can of energy drink, which I am going to depend on like life support.
The store was too loud today, Easter shopping at its all-time high, I guess.
I sat slouching at the checkout. I saw a tall guy walk to the counter, purple streaks fading into his bleached hair, piercings on his ears and lips. Emo much?
He pulled out a bag of coins, letting them scatter on the ground. GREAT!
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, bending down to pick up the coins, all flustered and anxious.
"Calm down. Take your time. It's okay," I said—what I would want to hear if it were me at that moment.
I opened the other checkout and called for help before a riot broke out.
"Thank you!" He took a big sigh of relief and visibly relaxed.
I scanned his purple dye for him and gave him the receipt. He looked at the receipt.
"Thank you again, Aurora," he said, flashing a small smile.
I guess he read the name tag. Rare breed.
"No worries," I replied, half-dead.
I was tasked to stack the sweets again. I was running on autopilot, relying completely on muscle memory without processing my surroundings. Ethan showed up to help me.
At least that's what I thought.
"Uh, where do these go?" He had a big box of Easter eggs, holding them with a single hand, to be exact.
"Hold them properly, or we have to chase them if they fall," I warned.
TSHHHH
I am NOT surprised—that is exactly what he did. I give up!
I facepalmed with a sigh.
"I am so sorry!" he apologized and started panicking, stepping on and crushing multiple eggs.
"Ethan, calm down. Now we have to clean all the chocolate," I tried to calm him down. But it made it worse.
He tried to walk away from the chocolate, slipped, and fell, crushing even more eggs, and was almost covered in chocolate at this point.
I am not getting paid enough for this!
"It's okay, Ethan. Get up slowly. It is fine. You go clean up. I'll take care of this," I tried to reassure him, but he looked like he had just committed a war crime.
It's not that deep, kid.
I gave him a hand, pulled him up, gave him a pat on the shoulder, and sent him off.
I started to clean the eggs quickly before a customer slips and gets me jobless. I was crouched down, and a few strands of my wild hair got out of my bun to obstruct my view. I pushed it back, smearing a good blob of chocolate on my face.
I have unlocked a new trauma: Easter eggs.
"Painting the floor brown, love?" I looked up to see HIM, standing a few feet away, looking amused.
"Yeah, Easter decor," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm as I wiped the last bit and got up.
He let out a chuckle, looking surprised.
"We have a new version," he said with a smirk.
I am happy I am as entertaining as a zoo exhibit. I didn't even have the energy to swoon over him today.
"Let me help you, love. You look tired, excuse me," he said, coming closer, wiping the chocolate on my face with his thumb while holding my chin with the rest of his fingers.
My heartbeat escalated, and my breath left the chat.
I could feel the blood rushing to my face. I am sure I looked like a gaping goldfish.
Our eyes met for a single second. I was lost.
"There you go," he said, breaking eye contact, removing his hand, and wiping the chocolate off with his napkin.
I just stood there, speechless.
"Take care, love," he said, walking away, not before giving me a sweet smile.
What was I doing again?
"Are you okay?" A hand waved in front of me. I turned to see Ethan, looking at me curiously.
"ETHAN!" I grabbed the hand he was waving and shook it like my life depended on it.
"Whoa! What happened?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.
"Hypothetically, Ethan, let's say you had a fricking napkin, yet you wiped chocolate off someone using your hand. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?" I asked in a single breath, holding his arm hostage.
He looked at me like I had lost all the sanity left in me.
"Uh... maybe he is into you?" he said, completely confused.
"What if he was just being nice? What if I am reading into it too much? But then why didn't he use the napkin directly? It was romantic, wasn't it?" I let out more questions and shook his arm more.
"I... I guess he was just nice... maybe," he said, looking at me like he was checking if it was the right answer.
I gave him a horrified look.
He took a deep breath, released his arm from my clutch.
"Okay, take a deep breath," he said, looking calm.
I did, as I didn't know what else to do.
"He might like you, or he was just being nice. But what is wrong with having some hope? What is wrong with wanting love? Everybody deserves it!" he said, looking serious.
I have evolved Ethan into a wiser version!
"Uh... maybe yeah... that's what they said in the show I watched last night," he added with a smile, scratching his head.
I take that back. He is still the same.
"Thank you, Ethan," I smiled at him, grateful that I had someone to vent to.
"Anytime!" He gave me a thumbs-up, walking away.