Thunderstorms (Camren)

Chapter 2

The fish swam around in their tank, turning once they reached the edge of the glass, completely fascinated as if they had just discovered some uncharted territory. The tanks glimmered many different shades of luminescent colours, creating a breathtaking view of the bright assortment of coral.

Bags of dog food were piled up carelessly in the corner, creating a heap. There was a thin layer of dust collecting on the top bag, signifying how long it had been since the food had been touched.

Hamsters stirred idly in their cages, slowly awakening from their slumber as they rose to their feet and glanced around the familiar setting of the pet shop. Some of them stayed glued to their spot on the sawdust floor of the cage, others made their way to the side of their cage to nibble at the food resting in the corner.

Then there were the lizards, they were wide awake and were scampering across the branches of their enclosure. They were always fun to observe as unlike many of the other animals in the store, they actually had energy and a more unpredictable pattern of movement that made them better than the fish.

The kennels were empty, a solemn sight when you thought about all the types of dogs that would hopefully occupy them eventually.

It was early afternoon and most of the animals were asleep or just lazing around, it was one of their favourite activities. Emerald eyes watched as they all relaxed, some falling back to sleep, she wished she could do the same. She was exhausted quite frankly and it didn't help that the day was dragging in at a snail's pace.

Lauren picked at her nails absentmindedly, trying to remove the red nail varnish that was beginning to chip off. She was completely bored out of her mind.

The pet shop she worked at wasn't particularly busy that day, it resembled a ghost town more than a store at this point. She couldn't recall the last time someone had stopped by, for whatever reason.

Lauren sighed, wondering for the umpteenth time that day why she had ever decided to apply for this job. Sure, she loves animals but not enough to sit around all day, staring at them as they sleep in their cages. At least it would be a tad more interesting if an animal besides the lizard and fish bothered to move even a fraction of an inch, maybe then she wouldn't want to bang her head repeatedly on the laminate counter she was currently positioned at.

She was too caught up in her thoughts of her newfound hatred of her dull job to hear the shrill bell as the door was opened. Similarly, she also blanked out the approaching footsteps of whoever had entered the store. What she did hear, however, was the noise of someone clearing their throat loudly, clearly very impatient or annoyed.

Lauren's green orbs shifted back into reality and she cast her gaze towards the scowling woman in front of her. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in" she said sheepishly, her voice somewhat hoarse from not using it in a few hours.

"I know," the lady replied simply but sharply, obviously annoyed that Lauren had been daydreaming when she had entered the building.

"There's a girl smoking outside of your store," the woman announced, emphasising the word 'smoking' as she wrinkled her nose up in disgust. Lauren raised a thick eyebrow upon hearing this, why would anyone smoke outside of a pet shop?

"—suggest you get rid of her before I report this to your manager." The now angry woman finished, Lauren admittedly hadn't paid attention the majority of her infuriated tangent because she simply didn't care, this lady was seriously giving her a headache. She wouldn't admit that though, she was too nice and shy to blurt out something like that.