A Queen Is Strong

Chapter 6

Amelia's POV
(The day after the beach)

I had work today, so I woke up to my alarm. Nothing makes me more anxious than the sound of an alarm, and the fact that it was the first sound I heard make the feeling all that much stronger.

I turned off my alarm, and checked the time, 7:30 am.

I have two hours before I start work and I need 20 minutes to get there, so I mentally do the math and realize that I have one hour and forty minutes to get ready.

I get out of bed and grab my outfit for the day, then head into my bathroom to take a quick shower. I washed my hair last night before bed, so I just have to style it once I'm done in the shower.

My hair is naturally wavy but I usually straighten it because it's easier to manage.

After my shower and hair were done, and I was dressed, I went down stairs into the kitchen and looked at the clock on the oven to see that it was 50 minutes before my shift.

I decided to stop by a café to get an iced coffee and a breakfast wrap before work, so 10 minutes later I left the house after grabbing everything I would need for my shift at Crafty Corner. It was a small craft store near the edge of town, and I love working there. It was somewhat quiet, but there was always two people working, so I always have someone to talk to.

Today I was working with someone who was hired recently and I hadn't had a chance to meet them yet.

I'm not socially awkward or antisocial but I was still a little nervous and I'm not sure if it has to do with working with someone new.

After I got my food, I drove to work, I arrived 10 minutes early, so I was the first one there which was fine as all employees got keys so they could open and close the store when coming and going.

I pulled into a parking spot and grabbed my bag from the passenger seat before making my way to the store.

I unlocked the door and flicked on the lights, making my way to the break room at the back of the store.

It wasn't a fancy room, but it had the essentials like a table and chairs, microwave and fridge. There were coat hooks to one side and lockers beside them, with a window on the opposite side letting in natural light.

I heard the door bell chime and finished putting away my stuff before going to see if it was my coworker as the store wasn't opened to customers yet. As I made my way out of the doorway and down the hall, I turned the corner into the main part of the store at the same time as someone else and walked right into them.

"Umph" the person and I said at the same time, and both looked at each other with a surprised face not expecting the other person to be there when we were rounding the corner.

"Sorry" I said to the guy in front of me, "you must be the new guy, I'm Amelia, nice to meet you," I said with a smile.

He looked a little hesitant, like he was a little shy, but forced a small smile back and said "ya, um, I'm Nick, nice to meet you too."

I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable so I decided to try and start a conversation, "well I'll show you to the break room and you can put your stuff there, we don't open until 10am, so we have about half an hour to get everything ready," I said, turning to walk back to the break room.

I heard footsteps behind me so I knew Nick was following me.

Once I walked into the middle of the break room I turned around to face him. "So this is the break room, any locker without a lock is free, so choose which ever one you want," I said pointing to the lockers on his left.