Phonophobia

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"Red velvet, everyone likes that. I'm sure the little guy will love it too." I smiled through the phone adding some heavy cream into a glass bowl.

"Why didn't I think of that? Oh, Abby, what would I do without you." Gabi, my manager, chirps.

"You'd be useless." I giggled pressing my brick-like phone closer to my ear.

"You're right, take out the ingredients for the red velvet cake then, we'll work on it when I get back. The meeting will start any moment from now I gotta go, g'bye!" she rushed before hanging up.

The smile on my face didn't wear off, it remained even when I stuck my phone inside my pocket, even when I added icing sugar to the bowl, and even after I had whisked the cream to death and sat it in the fridge. That was me, the girl who loves to pretend, always pretending that everything was normal behind that smile. The smile of a girl who was already lost.

I made my way to the main door and switched the 'close' sign to 'open' and soon enough my co-workers streamed into the bakery. Sugar ñ Spice was the name of this bakery. It's more than a bakery, we do ice-creams and coffees too, I have no idea why the 'Spice' though, all we do is sugar. But oh well!

Noise. That was all my colleagues were doing.

I flinched when they let out a bark of laughter making my heart pick up quickly, I gulp heavily and just stood there fiddling with my thumbs. They weren't much, just 4 of them, they're best friends, always coming in with the latest gist and parties in town. I say they're social but they prefer I say they 'vibe' a lot. They're the only people that I think do not mind when I prefer to be alone or isolated or even when I keep stammering when I'm serving a disturbing customer.

And I like to think that the four in this room don't mind my business because they've learned that I like being like this, an isolated, lonely introvert. A weird adult who hates noise.

"They think it was easy Heath! Please tell them it wasn't easy." Rhea whines tugging the sleeve of her best friend/boyfriend. Heath who looks like a 17-year-old high school jock but is 20 smirks and wraps his arm around her waist.

"We can show them if you want, right on this counter," he said tapping the marble and her cheeks flame up.

What do they wanna show us?

"Of-fucking-course, not Heath, Little Baybi would not want to scar her virgin eyes, at least not on you two having sex," Kim said bluntly giving me a wink as my eyes widen a fraction and heat crawls from my neck invading my cheeks.

Of course, they wouldn't do that here, right? That was not an image I wanted to see.

I awkwardly push a strand of brown hair behind my ears and finally sit on one of the stools gingerly now that they've acknowledged me, well one of them. I just hope the topic to start with today would just not be me.

"I don't think Baybi would mind if they did, I mean, I'm sure you watch all those naughty videos when you're alone don't you?" Keith said drawing my name making my heart sink like Titanic.

"I-i... I d-don't w-wuh-watch a-any of th-those." I stutter embarrassingly and quietly feeling my heartbeat pick up very quickly again.

Keith had always been the mean one, he smokes at the back and keeps making me uncomfortable, too bad he makes delicious brownies and tarts.

Kim, short for Kayimna. She's half British and half Asian and does not have an interest in boys, she's gay. She's most likely the straightforward person in the group and kinda the cool one among them.