7 Summers

Chapter 2 - Tucker Cole Johnson (2022)

I hate being a junior at high school.

Especially at a new high school.

It sucks.

And I especially hate having to work at a grocery store after school.

But here I am.

Scanning random people's groceries at Food Lion.

"The bananas don't have a code on them," I tell Jeremiah, the manager, who's currently training me. I can see the lady who's bananas I'm attempting to scan give me a very judgmental look. I didn't get a good look at the girl who's with her, but I can hear her smothering a laugh.

"It's 4011, I think." Jeremiah says. I pray as I enter the code, and a picture of bananas pops up.

"Oh thank God," I whisper to myself, and proceed to scan the rest of the items in the cart.

"Your total is sixty-five eighty-seven," I tell the lady.

When she's putting in her card and signing the digital pad, I look at the girl, probably her daughter, who's with her.

She has dark brown hair with blonde highlights, and bright green eyes with brown rims and dark golden flecks. The sunlight mixed with rain from the windows above made a rainbow light streak on her face, going from the left corner of her forehead, across one of her eyes, and down to the bottom at her jawline, then bouncing off her gold 'Gemini' necklace, and into her brown, now golden, and blonde curls.

She looks like an angel sent from Heaven.

Holy shit. I think to myself.

She catches me staring, and it feels awkward, so I look away. I feel that she's looked away, so I look up again. But I was wrong, and I immediately avert my gaze.

It feels weird to make eye contact with her.

After a few seconds, I decide it's safe now, but she's still looking at me. Before I can look away again, she smiles at me. I can't think of what to do, and I can't even bring myself to smile back at her, so I just look down at my scanner.

I can't help but smirk to myself, but I feel my cheeks get hot, and I realize I'm blushing. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the girl trying to hide her laughter.

Dammit, Tucker. I scold myself

The card scanner beeps, and I look up at the woman.

"Have a good day, ma'am." I say politely, but she doesn't respond.

I don't bother to look at the girl again, but I do find out her name because her mom starts yelling at her.

"Amelia, watch where you're driving the cart!"

"Not my fault that the left front is screwed up." The girl, Amelia, retaliates. My checkout lane is empty, and I don't see customers approaching nearby, so I start to watch their argument.

"I don't want to hear any excuses, Amelia. Drive properly."

"Okay," Amelia mumbles, but she ends up running the cart into a table with candy stacked on it. All the boxes of candy get knocked over onto the floor.

"Amelia, look what you've done!" Amelia's mom scolds her.

"Mom, I told you one of the wheels is messed up!"

"Go and pick all that up!"

I walk over and start helping Amelia, but her mom stops me.

"She made the mess, and she'll clean up by herself. Go off." She makes me leave, but I stand by the table watching Amelia aggressively pick up the candy and stack them back on the table. I try to hide my laughter as she gets madder and madder. After she's done, she makes eye contact with me and her face turns bright red. She quickly turns away and storms out of the store.

I stay there for a while in my own thoughts, until I feel someone shake my shoulder. I look over and see Liam, our assistant manager.

"Someone's got a crush," he teases me.

"Whatever." I wave it off, but still laugh.

"C'mon. You got a chance. She comes here every week."

"Really?"

"Yep. Just ask Jonathan."

"Jon?"

"Yeah, the guy scanning at register 2. They had a whole thing."

"They did?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. They're done."

I sigh and walk back to my register.

After a long and exhausting shift, I drove back home. I walk into my house absentmindedly and trip over my dog.

"Shit, sorry Max." I apologize to my dog who doesn't understand me, but happily walks away, wagging his tail. I walk into the living room and put the keys on the table.

"Well, how was your first day at work?" My mom asks me.

"Crappy," I responded. "But also somewhat entertaining."

"Really? What happened?" She asks curiously, and I proceed to tell her about the incident with Amelia.

"See, grocery stores are interesting. Now get changed, dinner's on the table." She proceeds to watch her 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' episode.

I start to walk upstairs, but realize something and walk back down.

"Where's dad?"

"Oh, uh, well, he just went to Lowe's to get some things."

I look at my smartwatch skeptically. "At 9 PM?"

"He kept forgetting to get some things, so I sent him right now."

"Okay, then..." I walk away, still unsure, but I was too tired to investigate today.

I took a shower, changed my clothes, then went downstairs to eat dinner. After eating dinner, I went back upstairs and as I fell onto my bed, I immediately fell asleep.

♦♢♦

I woke up to my alarm screaming into my ear. I groaned and slammed my hand on it to turn it off.

I didn't want to go to school. I just moved from Tennessee, so this school was completely new. And it was my third day at Wyndham Oaks High School. I can barely even spell that.

I walked out of my room, got dressed for school, then went downstairs.

"Morning Tucker," my dad greeted me from the kitchen. "You got a parking spot at Wyndham, right?"

"Yeah, they give a spot to all the juniors and seniors."

"Excellent, so I can go to work, and you can take yourself to school."

"Wait, you're going now? And where's mom?"

"Your mother already went to work, and yes, I'm going now. Bye Tucker, and don't forget to eat breakfast!" He leaves through the front door and I'm left in silence. Well, almost silence. Max is barking and bouncing off the walls like a kid with ADHD. My mom probably took him for a walk earlier and now he was a little too excited.

I got my backpack and keys, and left through the front door. I left food out for Max, but I didn't eat anything myself. I hop into my gray jeep and drive to Wyndham Oaks High. I park my car in the student lot, then wait outside for them to let us in.

I sit there idle, not knowing what to do. At my old school, Hanover High, everyone knew me, but because of my parents, I had to leave and now I'm starting as the new kid, which sucks.

I plug in my airpods, put on my Spotify playlist, and look through my Snapchat, but all I see is my old friends, still in Tennessee, having fun without me.

I sigh and look over at the roadside. The 'Welcome to Tennessee' sign is sitting just a few yards away, but the 'Welcome to North Carolina' sign next to it stands taller, mocking me.

It's like I'm so close to home, yet so far.

In my airpods, Morgan Wallen plays.

"I can't love you more than my hometown."