Broken Flames

A Normal Day

Liam's POV

I run the 3 blocks to the corner store. I'm so late. This is the second time this week. I run in and head straight for the employee's room when-

"Ow! Liam, Watch it!"

I ran into my best friend since fourth grade and coworker, Blair who was holding two boxes of bottled liquid soap that are now thrown everywhere.     "Uh, sorry Blair I wasn't looking." 

She gets up and looks at all the bottles spread out everywhere on the floor    "I'm making you help me clean this up, you know."

"Ya, ya. I gotta get my 'uniform' on first."   I really wasn't looking forward to helping clean up 100 bottles of soap off the floor, but that's what it takes to be a good friend I guess. I go to the walk to the employee's room like I had originally planned, there I put on the "uniform" that's a glorify Chief's apron.  After struggling to tie it for a while I walk out to find that everything is all cleaned up. There's no way that she could have done that all by her self in that amount of time. Unless she is in one of her moods, but it didn't seem like she was when I bumped into her.  I don't stress too much about it less work I have to do this early in the morning the better. I figure that she's off putting the soaps on the shelf so I walk to the checkout desk to assume my roll of casher. when I notice a looming shadow behind me. This scenario would normally be scary but in my case, it's terrifying because it can only be one person.    "Hey, Sharon what you doing up here this early?" 

She ignores my question as usual, "I see you're getting familiar with my shadow but I wouldn't get too used to it with you being late all the time recently. And I've asked you to address me as Mrs. Madilade or Mrs.M at the least. I am your boss after all." 

I turn to look at her and I see her do my favorite part of our interactions: the death stare. Or more accurately the 'you're about to get yourself fired' look. I've managed to slither my way out of getting fired quite a few times so far but each time she gives me that look I can't help but wonder if this is the time she actually does it. I know much better than to tell her some lame ass excuse or lie so, I just sit there blankly waiting for her to say something else.  That doesn't work too well as she just sat there as well with the look on her face staring right back at me. I have no choice but to start a conversation or more like a plea deal.    "Sooo, how early did you get here?"   

She ignores me again but this time she says something that might as well have been written on my pink slip, "The real question is, what time did you get here Mr.Duske?" 

Oh boy, here we go this is the time for sure,  Sharon said 'the next time your late will be the last time you will ever be late!' I was just about to admit defeat and stamp 'YOUR FIRED' on my forehead myself. When the sound of glass, or at the very least something breakable shattering fills the store. Almost as if on cue Sharon basically runs to the storage room in the back. I'm not sure if that was on purpose or a very perfectly timed accident but I owe Blair one. All I hear is Sharon yelling "WHAT HAPPENED HERE!" and Blair fake sobbing "I'm sooooo sorry its all my fault... I can't do anything right..." And I know she's acting as shes fake cried before and from what I hear it sounds like shes stepped up her game. Props to you Blair, Sharon is totally buying it!  Don't get me wrong Sharon is nice(and scary,) and all but she is just a little bit of a mega feminist. Not that that's totally a bad thing it just seems a little unfair to me. But in situations like this, it works to our (me and Blair's) favor. If I were to even attempt anything like that Sharon would fire me on the spot. So I guess being a female has its perks. Granted, they have way more problems to deal with than men do but a few advantages can't hurt. 

Sharon eventually comes out of the back and waves me over. I abandon my post and walk to the back, not that anyone would come to a corner shop this early in the morning. Sharon pulls me off to the side just in front of the doorway to the storage room and says in a way too loud whisper voice to the point that if there were any customers in here they would hear,                           "I need you to help Blair clean up the pots she broke in the back. And be nice because she's going through some stuff you wouldn't understand right now. Also, I'll excuse you for running late today but the next time you're late and don't help clean up the mess you created, you are done here. Understand me Mr.Duske?"

"Yes Shar- I mean, um, Mrs.M." Wow great, save!  I awkwardly smile at her, for the lack of anything to say. 

"Good. And have a wonderful day dear, you too Mr.Duske," she shouts from the front door, and walks out the door. After I know for sure she's gone and isn't coming back I breathe a sigh of relief.   "That was a close one, I owe you, Blair!" I say as I enter the storage room. I am met with Blair on the floor picking up little shards of glass and putting them into a garbage can. I join her and start picking up shards as well.   "So you used the period excuse again this mouth, I didn't think that was possible. I might just have to tell the health teacher my findings."  As I say that Blair's face goes red then she looks at me, and I look at her then suddenly we both erupt in laughter.  

"Oh my god, Liam your an idiot!" She says between spells of laughter.  

"I know, but that's why you keep me around, isn't it? Everyone has the dumb friend."

"You found out my secret so, now I've gotta kill you." She says that as she pulls a pillow off one of the lower shelves and smacks me right in the face before I can even close my mouth all the way. 

"Gross! It tastes like old man!"

"Your fault for having your big fat mouth open!" She smacks me again but this time I dodge it, and it hits my knee and bounces and hits the little garbage can we've been putting the glass in. 

I quote that old vine "Oh frick! I can't believe you've done this!" And we burst out laughing.

The rest of the morning goes fast as we reclean up all of the glass and continue to joke around. You would think we'd learn not to joke around at work after spilling the glass everywhere, but you'd be wrong. See we've been friends for so long that I'm pretty sure there's not anything that can ruin our friendship. And its kind of funny that were such great friends since neither of us can figure out how we even became friends in the first place. It's just one of those things that just happens and you don't know why, but I'm not complaining since she's my only friend. Well, I have people I talk to. I mean I'm not that low on the social scale but when I say friends I mean people that actually care about me not just people who get bored and so we talk. I get snapped out of my daze when Blair waves in front of my face. You know the wave people use to snap people out of whatever world they've escaped to in there mind? Ya that one, and actually it works pretty well in Blair's case. 

"Come on its almost time to leave so get your stuff together, OK."She asks in more of a statement but I didn't mind, because if it wasn't for her I would never get anywhere on time. I put my "uniform" back for the day shift, were on our way. To the place of horrors, to the place of nightmares, to the place of agony, to the place where my life was changed forever...                     

High School...