THEM » Us #1

Grocery Guy and Gut Feelings

  I pushed the milk and cream up on the counter and pulled out the twenty my dad gave me. I looked up at the boy working the register. His hazel eyes stared down at me. His red hair draped across his forehead. "Hi." He said, scanning the items.
  "Hello." I say with a forced smile. "Are you guys hiring?" I ask.
  He nods. "Yeah, your total is six forty-six." I handed him the twenty. "Is there any paperwork you would like me to fill out?"
  He pulled to papers from the folder under the counter. "Here." He scribbled on the top off the paper, then handed me the papers. "Bring it back anytime."
  I smiled. "Thank you." I looked down at the paper as he put the cream in a bag. He wrote his number across the top with the phrase, "Just in case". I thanked him one last time. I shoved the papers in the bag with the cream before I grabbed the milk and bag and headed out. I started walking home when I saw Cooper talking with Devin, Jordan, and Ava. They were all laughing and heading towards Dunkin' Donuts. Cooper smiled at me from across the street. I shook my head and kept walking.
  The cool air felt good on my face. My hair blew around as walked down the sideway. I turned up the brick path of my big yellow house. It seems big, but the crammed inside made it feel small. I opened the door and stepped inside, wiping my feet. I shut the door and headed for the kitchen. I put away the cream and milk. I hummed Song of South as I sat down in the rocker. My hands shook as I held the papers in my hand. Hazel eyes and red hair folded my brain. It unfolded when I thought about a freckled face and bruised arms.
My eyes shifted side to side as I read the paper. Andy entered the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of milk and walked back upstairs. Filling out this paper is going to be hard. What is my hobby? Why do they care? How many times do I shit and piss a day? Like seventy, but why do they care?

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

I slipped the papers on the counter. He took them from me kindly. "Let's see." He scanned the papers quickly. "I'll bring this to the boss and call you to set up a meeting. I hope you get the job."
  I thanked him and walked out. This time, I saw Kody and his bike gang. I headed the opposite direction. I took the alternative route back to the house. Kody didn't notice, and I was fine with that.

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

  I returned home safely. Yet I had a feeling. A gut feeling that made me sick. I stared out the dining room window to see Kody and his friends. They stared at the window and waved when I appeared. I quickly gave them the finger, before quickly rushing out to meet them. I stood on the porch, staring at the gang of skaters and bikers. "You ignorant bovines better keep walking, or I'll put a restraining order on you."
  "Nice try." Kody speaks up. "We are not leaving until your shittin' ass...." His voice trailing off.
  "Well...um....hello?" I wave my hand in front of him. He blinks and tells his friends to keep walking. I watch as they walk away until I'm stopped by the irritating noise of someone snapping. Kody now stood on the lawn, closer to me. Vehicles drove by with drivers staring at us. Kody stopped snapping and started talking. Fear held me tighter than Python as his deep voice spoke. I could feel my face burning red and my eyes ready to water.
  "I'm sorry. I hurt you and I don't know why. I hurt you and Connor or Cooper or whatever his name is! I'm, uh, sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck. I felt I small smile stretch across my face. His face turned red as he smirked.
  "Asshole. Go see your friends." I demand. He puts his hands up in surrender and heads for the library, where his friends and the skatepark are waiting. I scan the common. I look down the road to where the Food Mart is. Cooper stood at a telephone pole. His face looked shocked. I could tell he had been there the whole time.