Everybody Loves a Hero

Mr. Dobson

It was a late afternoon in February. I had finished my classes early in the morning and had been standing behind the counter of the local convenience store for the last few hours. Dobson Convenience had somehow survived for years tucked in a small corner of the city. Most of the customers were either broke college students trying to buy a few cheap groceries or a few locals running in to pick up something for dinner so they wouldn't have to cook. The lady I was currently checking out was the latter.

"That'll be $10.17." She handed me a $20 bill and continued to look down at her phone while I counted out her change. After receiving her bags and change, she left without saying a word. My favorite type of customer. Right after she left the owner Mr. Dobson walked entered through the back door. He was an older man, probably around my dad's age. He had run the store for years by himself until he had an accident and hurt his leg. He couldn't stand at the register for hours anymore, so he usually hired someone to work the late morning and early afternoon hours so he could rest for a bit. I had started working for him during the fall semester of my sophomore year of college about a year and a half ago.

"Alright Baker, shift's over. You can leave now." I nodded and took off my name tag and placed it under the counter.

"See you tomorrow Mr. Dobson," I said as I grabbed my bag from behind the counter and took off. He waved goodbye absentmindedly and took my place at the register.

My bike was locked out in front of the store, right where I left it. I was thankful that no one had tried to steal it this time. I've already had to buy two new bikes and bike locks since moving to the city. They weren't even nice bikes, just cheap ones that I bought to get from my apartment to either class or work.

I listened to music from my little secondhand music player that my roommate had given me for my birthday. For both of us being broke college students living on our own without the support of our parents, it was a really thoughtful gift. It was only about a ten minute ride from work to my apartment, but I decided ride around the city for a while. It was a really nice day today. The evening sun was reflecting off the windows of the buildings surrounding me, casting a warm orange glow on everything. When I was finally ready to go back home, I headed north.

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"Yo Baker! It's about time! The show's about to start!" My roommate Evan was bouncing up and down in his seat on the couch in front of the television. He had papers thrown all around him, trying to cram in a last minute study session for his chemistry test tomorrow. The kid was really smart, both naturally and because of his stellar study habits. He often helped tutor me in my classes and even then I barely managed to make it through my classes.

"There's still five minutes until it starts," I said and hung my jacket on a hook by the door. Evan was a huge fan of the Bachelor and in exchange for tutoring me, I agreed to watch it with him so he could have someone to discuss the drama with.

"This episode is gonna be awesome, I just know it. There's no way that Candace is going to let what Ashley said last week slide. That girl is out for blood."

"Candace had it coming though. She's basically screwed over everyone at this point." I grabbed a snack from the kitchen and sat down next to him on the couch, pushing papers out of the way.

"True, but that's why she's my favorite and is definitely going to end up with Nick. As they say, nice girls always finish last."

"I want Lizzy to win. She's the only one who actually seems to be interested in Nick. Plus, they both grew up on farms in Idaho. What are the odds of that?