Sunflower (2020)

needless to say i keep her in check

I flick my visor and apron into my locker, finding my sweater and tying it around my waist. It was my last shift at the Coffee Shop this week and I'm glad I'm finally free to leave. 2 months more of this customer-is-always-right bullshit and I'll be off to school again. Summer jobs really do make you feel like the lowest piece of shit, especially at $7.25 an hour.
I leave the back room and make my way out to the front of the shop. I wave goodbye to Nerris, some chick who I knew because we went to camp together 3 years ago. I know, I know. 14 is a pretty lame age to finally quit camp. It's not like I had any goddamn say in it though.
Anyways, it turned out me and Nerris lived in the same town, same summer job, same school. We're closer I guess, but we never actually hang out.
I push open the front doors and I feel
a light breeze, which is actually kind of surprising since the air is usually pretty dead this end of town.
The weather is still hot though, so my sweater stays around my waist. I stare down at my red converse as I hang a left and make my way towards the parking lot.
While I'm busy thinking of what I'll have to microwave for dinner, I hear a loud voice approaching me. I glance up for a second and everything around me goes slow.
He has shiny brown hair in a messy bun, the brightest eyes that I've ever seen, painted with frustration.
His boots make a low clicking noise as he trots past me. His mouth forms words and curses as his free hand flails dramatically, but I can't hear a single thing he's saying. He glances down at me for only a moment, but it's enough because when our eyes meet I feel an overwhelming pressure being released from my chest.
That's when I noticed I was holding my breath, but it isn't until he's way behind me that I stop to think about how fast my heart was beating. I stop walking to collect myself for a moment before shaking my head and pulling my car keys out of my pocket. They jingle in my shaking hands as I poke beside the lock a few times, fumbling and encouraging a few giggles from a nearby horde of teens. I angrily mutter a few curses before successfully pushing the key into the lock and opening my car door.
Once I'm inside and the door has been slammed shut, I look up at the ceiling, confused and thinking about what just happened.
Slow motion, pretty eyes, pretty legs, pretty hair, pretty voice (I assumed). and no control of my basic human functions. I cringe into my hands and kick one of my legs out in frustration.

This is some cheesy rom-com bullshit.

"Ok, Max. Pull yourself together buddy, you don't even know who that is. He could be 40 for all you know. Take a chill pill you fucking disaster." Great, now I'm talking to myself. Whats next? A musical number?

That's when the incoming call from David scares me. Those few monotone musical notes and I nearly launch myself into the windshield. I think this might be a good time to briefly explain my view on musicals. I fucking hate them. They're so cheesy and honestly I just cant get into them at all. But respect to those dumb theatre nerds that actually put up with rehearsing 24/7 for 5 months straight and still suck really bad. Must take a lot of self loathing to put up with that bullshit.

By the time I come back down from my little panic attack, I'm sure David has had to call me back. I accept the call and can't even get a hello in before the cheery "Hello, Max!" comes in from the other end.

"I just got off work. Can't it wait til I get home?"