"Listen, Lily I realize you hate the job but being nice to the customers isn't just a suggestion. " My manager Riah explained.
We were now sitting in her office and after I heard that same speech i got every other week I zoned out, focusing on the clock ticking each second before my shift is over. Hopefully she'll talk for the rest of the hour until I'm free to go home.
Of course, it doesn't go as I hoped and she cuts her speech short, probably because she noticed my lack of interest in the entire situation.
I leave the office and slowly walk back to the register. What made me decide to get this slow, under-paying, good for nothing job at a bookstore?
Still beats the hell out of me.
I sit at the stool with my chin rested against my hand as the dull music in the shop starts to make my eyelids droop, also a cause of the four hours of sleep I got last night.
Just as I was about to completely fall asleep my head snaps up as the bell on the door rings out causing me to have a mini heart attack.
As my eyes adjust to the light behind the at least six foot person, they walk to the back of the store to find where the book they seemingly knew exactly was at.
As the unknown person walks down the aisle closer to the counter I notice his T-shirt was representing one of my favorite bands, Blink-182 which I began loving since I first bought their single I miss you.
As he comes closer I recognize him as one of the people who live in my apartment building.
'Whose he?' I ask my neighbor as we sit in the lobby of the apartment building.
'Oh, that's Luke. I'd avoid interaction with him, he isn't much of a nice boy.' the old lady told me. I watched his long strides as he exited the building.
He sets the book down as I start to ring it up.
"Hey, Luke right?" I ask as I look up to meet his eyes which I can't see through his sunglasses. He just nods and looks down. Not much of a talker, alright.
"I think we live in the same apartment building. " I smile, trying to at least make small talk, the least he could do is reply a simple answer but he seems to not be saying anything.
He takes off his glasses and lowered his face so it was closer to mine. At this proximity i could smell the spearmint gum he had and the aroma of cologne that clung to his body. And looks at me with blue eyes that are hard and cold, but so beautiful.
"Listen, I'm not here to make small talk. If you could just ring up my book, that'd be great. " He replied sternly.
"Listen, being nice to people isn't such a bad thing, maybe sometime you could try it and not be such a di-" I rambled on, not being able to look at him while I bagged his book. The anxious feeling was tightening in my chest from his cold rejection I just recieved from trying to he nice. My leg started to jump up and down as I handed him his bag in exchange for the cash he handed me. I decided my shift was over and grabbed my jacket and rushed out the door.
//
Once I was finally in the comfort of my own apartment I drew a hot bath hoping to release some of the stress that built up just from today. Once I was finally in, I don't know if it was the relaxation of the hot bath or the exaustion of everything that happened today, but I dreamt not of my usual nightmare. But of the blue eyes that seemed to make me weaken at the knees, the deep voice that held so much mystery to it.
Even this dream of lovely things, could not keep me from my usual sleep schedule of waking up in sweat, but this time I woke up not in sweat, but in the cold bath water that was warm before I fell asleep in it.
And when I went to cure my racing mind of the thoughts fighting back and fourth I wrote a poem of the only thing making my mind race at this hour.
Luke
••
yay another chapter
keep voting lovelies
xo kat
