String of Fate

Chapter Fifty Six

Yikes! I was running late to my part-time job. Well, it wasn't really a job – I just worked at the family corner shop over the weekend with my dad. Technically, I could pop into work whenever I wanted, but I liked to get there by ten because that was when it started to get busy. It was already half past ten, but that's what I got for sleeping through my alarm.

I pulled on my jacket and rushed out of the door, checking that it had locked behind me but I was trying to be quiet. My mother was still in bed, so, I didn't want to wake her. She worked the long hours at her own job over the week, so, the weekend was really the only time that she had to catch up on sleep.

I started crossing the road, not looking because I couldn't hear a car engine – all the engines around here were loud and noticeable so I didn't really need to look. It was the squeal of brakes that made me stop. I jumped and stumbled back, seeing the car that had almost run me over. A tall lanky guy got out of the driver's side of the car. "What were you doing? I almost run you over! You could have been killed!"

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." I admitted, a bit surprised. I noticed that he was young, so, he couldn't have been driving long. How was his car so quiet? Everyone around here had ridiculously loud engines, even the new cars. "Well, I must go. Sorry!"

I rushed passed the bonnet of the car, still not able to hear the engine, and didn't stop walking fast until I was at the corner shop. I headed inside the shop, seeing a queue had formed already. My dad spotted me as I headed through the shop around the people. "Summer, you were meant to take today off. What are you doing here?"

"I came to help you, dad. You always get swarmed on the weekend. Any extra hands can be a help." I replied, stepping behind the counter onto the second till. I typed my staff number into the machine so I could start serving customers. Then, I called out to the people waiting. "Hello, anyone who doesn't want alcohol or cigarettes, queue here, please."

It was a couple of hours until the rush ended and my dad was able to get two minutes to himself. Since we were now the only people in the shop, he was able to lean on the counter and start the conversation with me. "Summer, I told you that you didn't need to come in today. You should have had today off to spend time with your friends for your birthday."

"I'll see them in school on Monday anyway and a couple of my friends are coming over after school to eat pizza and watch movies to celebrate my birthday on the actual day." I told him, messing around with the stand by the till to make it look neater. I tried seeing the shelves as best as I could to see if anything needed to be restocked. I noticed a couple of customers had come into the store. One of them looked familiar. Then he turned around and I realised why – he was the guy who I had walked out in front of this morning. Hopefully, he'd want something that I couldn't serve him.

"Hey, you're the girl from this morning." He noted, placing a bunch of sweets on the counter and selecting a packet of chewing gum from the stand that I had just rearranged. "So, I guess this was where you were running off to. You really were in a rush this morning, weren't you?"

"Yes. I'm sorry for that." I answered, scanning the items one by one. Once I was done, I piled them up neatly for him. "How do you managed to make your car engine so quiet, though? I'm used to the loud engines on the street. That's why I didn't look. I guess it's my own stupid fault."

"It's fine. You're still in one piece, that's what matters. The car has an electric engine, too, which is why it should be quiet. They're not common so it's not surprising that you're not used to the noise of them. Just, try to look next time." The blonde guy explained, giving me a cheeky grin. He was definitely new to the area because I didn't recognise him. It would be nice to know if he had moved here permanently or if he was just passing through. "I'm Aaron, by the way."