Candles

07 | C O N T R A S T

I ARRIVED TO WORK EARLIER than I did yesterday and I was standing at the front door with my phone in hand. The lights inside of the shop were off and the door was locked; I had checked plenty of times just to see if someone was playing tricks on me. I was too early and I did not know what to do with my spare time. I was too lazy to go back and sit in my car. I had already locked the doors and just thinking about unlocking them stressed me out. Instead, I sat down on the ground and crossed my legs, looking up at the sky. The clouds moved slowly and I wondered where they were going to be by the end of the day. 

My hair laid over my shoulders in a complete mess and I sighed at the sight. I did not get much sleep last night because of how wide awake I was. I had actually fallen asleep not too long ago. After I dyed my hair, I stayed up for a little while longer and just sat down on the sofa. I stared at my blank television screen for what seemed like hours before I decided it was time for me to try to get some sleep. I was in bed for at least an hour before I was out cold. I had gotten only a couple of hours of sleep more than enough times but boy was it Hell. I woke up with a rat's nest instead of hair and I did not bother trying to do anything with it. I would have only made it worse. What was wrong with a little frizz, anyway? It was just hair. It would fall out eventually. 

I constantly turned my phone on and off just to see if I had a text message from someone. I was bored out here and I would be overjoyed if my mother decided to give me a call or send me a text. I would even be happy if Harry sent me a text message. Unfortunately, I did not have his number. He sent me the text message with my work schedule on it from the work phone...which was locked inside with everything else. Until someone else showed up, I was on my own.

I did not like that very much. 

My eyes watched the cars on the road in front of the shop. I watched them come and go like Clare watched her customers. There were red, blue, white, silver, green, black and yellow cars. Some were bigger than others height wise and some were longer than others. I could tell which cars were older by their model and I could tell which ones were new. I could also tell which cars needed to take a trip to the car wash. 

Looking away from the road, I glanced down at the ends of my hair and pouted slightly. It was going to take me a while to get used to this new color. I thought I would be used to it by now but I was clearly wrong. I somewhat regretted dyeing it. Unfortunately, it had to be done and brown was the only suitable color. I refused to dye it black. I exhaled slowly and turned on my phone, checking for the time. It was now ten minutes before eight and I was becoming anxious. Where was Clare? What about Harry? Where was he? I did not care about Jillian because she did not officially work here. Then again, neither did I. As of right now, I still did not have a clue what I was supposed to be doing. Clare was supposed to be teaching me some stuff today, though. 

I smacked my lips and tilted my head to the side as I impatiently waited for someone to come to the rescue. I did not know who I was supposed to be waiting for but I hoped they would show up soon. Did Clare lock up last night or did Harry? I was almost certain it was Clare because Harry left a little while after I did. I sat my phone down on the pavement beside me and rubbed my temples. I was never going to be this early again. I made a promise to myself. 

You are not coming to work this early again. You will be locked out and will have to wait for hours just for someone to show up. 

A red, pickup truck pulled into the parking lot and I felt like a dog who was about to receive a treat. I did not stand up but I watched the vehicle from sitting position. It parked a few spaces away from my car and when I heard the engine cut off, my heartbeat quickened. Someone had finally come to the rescue. The door to the driver's side opened and he carefully got out. He had to make a small jump to meet the ground but he did not seem to care. Why would he care? He should be used to doing that by now. It was his truck, after all.