A Different Kind of Love Story

Chapter I

                       I go by Rachel Thompkins, and there are no birth certificate records of my real name. Everything was lost on the plane. I live in Savannah, Georgia with Miss. Schab and eight various aged children; none older than me. They are all boys. Everyone's curfew is nine o' clock, but I'm in bed asleep by eight. I've never been in trouble with the law and I get decent grades, most of which are A's and B's. 

                   Normally I'm the one who cleans the house. I mopped the marble tiled kitchen floor, while Zade and Eli did circles around me playing some kind of tag-a-long game. The mop pad I was using was of no good use anymore, but when I went to grab and new one; I realized the box was empty. I had to go buy a new box, so I found Miss. Schab and she sent me out for more. I drove her 1989 wooden station wagon, since my 2015 Chevy Ultima was in the repair shop. I took Pine Avenue to Silver Lake Lane, which took me across highway 219; and the grocery store was right off exit 39.

                   I parked the car somewhat near the entrance, about five spots down. It was the closest I could get without getting ticketed for parking in a handicap  zoned spot. I readjusted the review mirror, took off my seat belt,and got out of the car; remembering to lock it this time. Last time, I forgot to lock it and got mugged. Twenty dollars of my allowance later, made me remember to lock the car doors. 

                  I hurried into the store because I didn't want this trip to take any longer than fifteen minutes. I hated grocery shopping. I grabbed a basket since I only needed mop pads and I went straight to the cleaning section. The store was packed full of people, but it was the night before New Years. I grabbed what I needed and tried to find a checkout aisle that wasn't super crowded with people. With no luck I decided to test my luck with the self-checkout. Nobody ever wasted their time with the slow machines. So there I was, the only one desperate enough to use the self-checkout.

                    I stared at the screen that flashed the green start button in the bottom right hand corner. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and I was starting to think I should of waited in line. I worked up the courage to tap the start button. The screen changed from a "Thank You for Shopping" sign to a blank screen. Above the blank screen was entitled "Scan your Items" with a downward arrow. My eyes moved down the screen as I saw the scanner. It couldn't of been all that hard. I turned my head to see all the people walking down the aisle when I saw a guy  standing behind me. Black, spiky hair, pale green eyes, and a few freckles on his nose. He was wearing boot cut jeans, a blue button up with a collar, and cowboy boot.

                   I must of looked him up and down at least three times until I noticed him staring. I looked away and back at the blank screen quickly. I felt like such a loser. When I came back to my senses, I realized I was stuck at the blank screen and still had no clue what to do next. I looked back at the guy, who surprisingly, was still staring back at me. I faked a cheesy smile. He pointed at the blank screen.

"Need some help?" his voice was deep, perfect. I laughed a little, before thinking about how stupid I probably looked. My smile quickly disappeared and I tried to act normal.

"Please?" I asked politely smiling.

He got close to me and started pressing buttons. Something about "are you still shopping?". He grabbed the mop pads out of my grocery basket, scanned the item, and placed it on the belt. He looked at me.

"Anything else?" 

I shook my head and watched as he scanned the few items that he had. He hit the finished button and swiped his debit card before I realized what was going on. 

"Wait!" My voice was tense. Soft but stern.

"Yes?"

"Did you just pay for my mop pads?" My stomach dropped as I realized I let someone I didn't even know pay for my item. 

"Let me pay you back," I looked for some money realizing I locked my purse in the car. The boy smiled. 

"It was my pleasure." 

He held out his hand and introduced himself.

"My name is Tyler." I shook his hand.

"My name is Rachel, but call me Claire. Claire Engstrom." He gave me a look.

"Nice to meet you, Claire."