The Pieces of Us

The First Meeting

I could not believe that I was genuinely biking through the rain to the pet store to get Ellie food for her goldfish. I mean, couldn't she have waited for someone with a car to come home? Can Princess Bitsy Sprinklenuts not survive an hour without food? Is she going to die? 

The answer to all three of those questions: No.

So, being the exemplary older sister that I am, I pulled out my best rain coat, a pair of boots and my bike. And there I was, on the way to the pet shop to get my little sister's goldfish some food. I am such an idiot. 

Halfway through the trip to the store, the hood of my rain coat slid off, causing me to be soaked to the bone by the time that I reached the nearest pet shop. 

I parked my bike outside the the store and opened the glass door, which was plastered with various posters with kittens and puppies on them. 

Inside, the store smelled of wet dog, and considering I probably smelled like that too, I just ignored it. At the counter there was a boy who looked to be my age. He had dark brown, almost black hair, and greenish brown eyes. He was pale and tall, but slim as a pencil. He was facing away when I entered, so I just ignored him I walked towards the 'Aquatic Life' sign. 

It was reasonably empty, but that was to be expected at 4 PM on a rainy Thursday night. I glanced around for the fish food, finally spotting a small shelf with some plastic containers on it. I walked over to them and searched for the brand name Ellie told me I just had to get. I spotted a little sign, among all the others that read 'Sold Out.' My eyes found the label, and of course, it was the fish food I needed. 

I sighed, standing up and walking towards the counter. Maybe they had some in the back. I did not just ride five miles, on my bike, in the pouring rain, just to come back to a five year old having a temper tantrum. It just wasn't going to happen. 

At the counter, the boy I saw earlier was so involved in his phone game that he didn't even notice that I was at the counter, watching him fail miserably at Flappy Bird. 

"You would probably get through the pipes more easily if you didn't always bring the bird to the top when you you first start," I commented, causing his poorly animated bird to run into the pipe once again. He jumped and then stood up straight. He was a good three inches taller than me, but I was used to feeling short. 

"You scared me," he stated factually. 

"I did indeed. But you should know better than to play on your phone at work," I replied to him, mimicking his tone. He sighed. 

"No one is ever here during my shift." His eyes scanned me up and down. "What are you doing here, anyway? Did you walk here?" 

"Well, when one comes to a store it's normally because they want to buy something, but maybe I'm mistaken. And, no. I didn't walk here. I biked." He nodded thoughtfully. 

"So, what do you need that was so urgent you had to ride here on a bike?"

"Fish food for a five year old's goldfish, and the brand I'm looking for isn't on your shelves." 

"Are you sure? I could-" 

"I checked, and there's a nice 'Sold Out' sign right where it should be."

"Ah. I'll go check in the back. Wanna come?" I raised an eyebrow at this question. It wasn't normal to be invited into the storage room of a store, but at that moment, I could've cared less.

"Sure," I accepted, mentally telling myself: 'Why not?'

I followed him through an aisle of dog toys into a storage room. It was cement and ugly, filled with boxes and various crates. He led me towards a section and asked me for the brand I was looking for. I told him and we bothe scanned the boxes for the label, but couldn't find it. 

I sighed once again. This was a huge disappointment. Now I'd have to ride my bike further to the next store, getting even more soaked than before. I followed the boy out of the storage room to the front of the store, heading towards the door. 

"Wait!" the boy shouted from behind me.

"What?" 

"My shift ends in 10 minutes. If you wait it out, I might be able to drive you to the other store down the road." I looked at him for a minute. 

"Alright, but I don't get into cars with strangers. What's your name?" 

"I'm Matthias. You?"

"Eira." 

"NIce to meet you, Eira." 

"And you likewise, Matthias." We both smiled at eachother as I stepped back into the store and waited for his shift to end.