Into The Vale of Shadows // Max Mayfield

III; iii. back in black

chapter three
back in black

     TAPPING HER FINGERS rapidly on the counter, slouching over with her head resting on her free palm, Raven kept watch of the clock from the wall across her, then to the small piece of paper in front of her. The time read 8:52. Time usually runs fast, but at the current moment it feels as though time is taking forever to move on. Raven thought if she got out at exactly 9, she'd still be able to watch half of Lucas' game. She's still waiting for the current movie to be over, for her to clean the auditorium and leave. So here she is, staring — more of glaring at the clock, watching its arm tick ever so slowly, eating up all the patience she has.

     She now regrets agreeing to her co-worker. Taking this shift only earns her about three dollars more than her usual salary. Three bucks may sound a great addition to her savings, but nothing would beat the worth of seeing her best friend possibly play and win his first game on court. Raven have heard him complain for so many times, ranting about how Jason hasn't given him a chance on anything, always letting his friends play the game that they don't even have skill for. Though Lucas have said that Jason was a great guy, that still hasn't stopped her for despising the man for turning down her friend like that.

     Raven yawned, her eyes adverting to the doors leading to the auditorium. Any second now people would start spilling out of the room, and then she'd be able to clean and go.

     "Hey." Raven was snapped out of her little thoughts. Her head had made this neck breaking turn to where the voice came, seeing the girl from this morning.

     "Oh, uhh . . ." Raven's back straightened, her posture appearing somewhat confident yet nervous. "Cinema's closed. We're just waiting for the last movie to finish. Sorry, ma'am."

       "Oh no," Amanda chuckled, her voice soft and filled with amusement, eyes disappearing behind its lid, with her cheekbones and smile lines appearing more prominent, fitting just right to her features. "I'm not here for that."

     Raven looked at her, face confused and intrigued. "Well, how may I help you then?"

     "There's nothing I need," Amanda confessed, "I came here to say thank you for what you did this morning."

     "Oh." Raven's mouth opened, then closing like a fish out of the water, not really knowing what to say. "You didn't have to come out this late to say thank you."

     "I wanted to." Amanda smiled, biting the underside of her lip. "And I had a thing going on just a few blocks away, thought I'd pass by here to say thank you."

     "How'd you know I work here?" Raven looked pass the girl's shoulder, seeing that the people are a minute away from the end of the movie. "You know what, don't even answer that question." She walked away from her post, going straight to a cleaning closet, hand to the knob before she turned back to Amanda. "It's getting late, you should go home."

     "You're going to the game?" Amanda raised the piece of paper, the ticket Lucas have given her earlier in the day. Raven nodded, twisting the knob to the door. "I'll be going too. Should we go together? What time do you get off?"

     "I get off in about—" Raven squinted at the clock, "—few minutes from now."

     "Well cool, I can wait for you." The girl smiled, her hands resting on the counter. "I'm Amanda, by the way. Amanda—"