Superhero

Chapter 10

Addison got off the bus and started walking towards the convenience store. As she got closer, she noticed a white police car driving away from the store. Addison gasped and started running to see what was up. She saw Jeff watching after them, a disgusted look on his face.
"Jeff!" Addison called as she neared him. He turned to her, looking a little surprised. She stopped in front of him and caught her breath. "Is everything okay?"
"Addie, what happened last night?" Jeff asked, staring at her.
"Is that why they came?" Addison sighed, shaking her head. "I should've known..."
"Tell me exactly what happened," Jeff said, walking back into the convenience store. "In detail."
"Let me get changed first," Addison said, following him in.
"Your shift isn't for another twenty minutes," Jeff said, getting behind the counter. He leaned forward and looked at her. "Tell me what actually happened."
Addison sighed and started telling him about the Superhero's visit. He listened in silence, wide-eyed.
"It's even worse than what I watched in the security feeds," Jeff said, shocked at Addison's story. "And then he just left?"
"Yes," Addison said. "Right before Fiolina set foot in here."
Jeff shrugged. "The police dug the trash for the remains of whatever the guy ate here. If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have thrown them away."
"You cleared the trash?" Addison asked in surprise.
"It was full," Jeff said to his defence. "The person before me didn't clean up, so I cleared it away."
"They could've gotten DNA samples from it," Addison frowned thoughtfully. "Fingerprints, saliva samples, the guy was wearing fingerless gloves."
"Yeah, I saw in the security feeds," Jeff nodded. "Seemed like he was wearing a mask. Did you get a glimpse of his face while he ate? I saw that you tried."
Addison shook her head. "Nope. He kept his head bent low all the time. I didn't even know he wore a mask until I saw his front view using the CCTV. I tried to see his face while he ate, but he turned the other way around and ate instead."
"Wow, rude..." Jeff said, shuddering slightly. "And then he just disappeared?"
Addison nodded. "He was about to pop a stick of gum into his mouth, but Fiolina arrived before he could."
"I think he doesn't wanna be seen, running away from the scene as fast as he could," Jeff frowned. "I'm actually surprised he didn't run away from you."
"Maybe because I was the cashier here, and he didn't have much of a choice," Addison shrugged. "He looked really tired too, and definitely hungry. Also, I've never seen anyone drink SlurpSlurp up so quickly, not even you. He finished it in like two minutes!"
"Yikes!" Jeff said in surprise. "How? How did he not get a brain freeze?!"
"Beats me," Addison chuckled. "Anyway, I think you should go. My shift's starting soon."
Jeff nodded and watched as she disappeared into the back room. She came out again and replaced him as the cashier.
She could still picture the pervious night's happenings clearly happening again.
"Alright, I'll just get myself a few things and then I'm good," Jeff said, leaving the back room while fixing the collar of his black jacket. He turned to Addison and saw her staring into the abyss. "Addie? Are you okay? Addie!"
Addison jumped out of her thoughts. She turned to Jeff, who still stared at her with a confused look on his face. "I'm sorry, what?"
"It's nothing," Jeff sighed, making his way to the food warmer. "You're still pretty jumped about what happened last night, huh..."
"No kidding," Addison let out a humourless laugh. "I couldn't have been more terrified. It was very scary."
Jeff chuckled slightly, putting a chicken pie in the microwave. "You know, Dietitian, these pies are beginning to grow on me."
Addison finally laughed. "What about the SlurpSlurp?"
"I'll take yoghurt instead," Jeff grinned. "Get some of that calcium in me."
"They're good for bones," Addison snorted. "Oh my gosh..."
Jeff laughed and made his way towards the refrigerator. He took out a large bottle of yoghurt and held it up, shaking it with a grin.
"Yoghurt? You good!" Jeff laughed, coming towards the counter. He put the bottle of yoghurt down in front of Addison with a grin. The microwave went off, and he rushed to it. He was relieved to find that his food wasn't burnt. "Luckily it didn't burn."
Addison burst into laughter. "It won't burn, Jeff. You put in on timer."
"True, but one cannot be too careful, right?" Jeff shrugged.
"Yeah I guess you're right," Addison nodded. She frowned when she realised something. "You have college today?"
"Thank goodness, I don't," Jeff grinned. "They let us off on Sundays."
"That's a relief," Addison said, retying her hair into a neater low pony tail. "College on a Sunday really reeks!"
"Tell me about it," Jeff agreed bitterly, packing his food into paper bags. "I can sleep!"
"Poor you," Addison sympathised. She gave the dark circles under his eyes a meaningful glance when he came towards the counter. "Look at you. You really need to rest."
"I know," Jeff sighed. "But my college said nope. My professor literally said 'five hours of sleep is more than enough'."
Addison laughed at his imitation of his professor's voice. "Your professor's a jerk. What does he teach?"
"Chemistry..." Jeff rolled his eyes. "Of course he doesn't know the definition of 'enough rest'."
Addison chuckled and scanned his things. Jeff looked at the price meter and took his wallet out to pay.
"Do you want a plastic bag?" Addison asked, putting the money away in the cash register, and taking out the change. She ripped the receipt off and handed it to Jeff together with his change.
"Nah, it's okay," Jeff said, taking his backpack off. He stuffed the things into his bag, but left one white paper bag on the counter before zipping up his bag. "Keep the change."
"What?" Addison said in surprise. "But Jeff, it's a large amount! It's like ten bucks!"
"Keep it," Jeff smirked and pushed the paper bag forward. "This one's for you too."
Before Addison could protest, he winked at her and left, waving.
"Oh Jeff..." Addison sighed. "You didn't have to do this..."
She took out her phone and only just noticed a few texts that Jeff sent earlier. She didn't really read them since her phone was in silent, and she didn't take her phone out until now.
Jeff: Addie
Jeff: Why are the cops here?
Jeff: Addie please tell me!
Addison gulped, reading the messages. She sighed and put her phone aside. She looked at the white paper bag in front of her and smiled. She decided to keep it for later, and safely put it way in her backpack behind the counter. She left the counter and checked if everything is in order around the shop.