Beyond the Ordinary

Chapter 37

A/N - Kate's dress^^ 

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KATE

Finally, the final bell rang and I quickly gathered my things before heading out of the classroom along with my classmates. With a sigh, I placed my French textbook into my locker before slamming it shut.

"Hey, Kate, right?" A voice asked behind me.

I turned around, my eyes meeting a girl's. I adjusted my bag on my shoulder, wondering how on Earth she knew my name.

"Um, yeah. Do I know you?" I asked her.

She laughed. "Yeah, I'm in your French class."

I nodded in response.

The girl was tall and had wavy strawberry-blonde hair that fell past her shoulders. Her eyes were a light shade of blue and she had freckles across her face.

"I'm Aliza," she stated, smiling. "I saw that you signed up for my club, musical theater, and I just wanted to tell you that we have our first meeting tomorrow after school. Bring a song that you're going to sing. Tomorrow's tryouts."

I raised an eyebrow. "Tryouts?"

Aliza laughed at my confused expression. "Yeah, to get in. I only pick people that can sing, so good luck."

I smiled. "Okay, yeah, thanks."

Aliza smiled and walked away, her skirt hugging her small frame like a second skin. I turned back around, slamming my locker door shut before heading out the exit, putting my AirPods into my ears.

I headed into work right on time and walked over to the employee restroom to change. I put on a touch of lip gloss and tossed my hair up into a loose bun before putting my bag into the back room and strolled over to greet Axel.

"Hey, Katie, wanna give me a hand?" Axel asked, winking.

I felt my cheeks get red and I opened the side door to get behind the bar with him. "Yeah, sure," I replied, handing him a cup for the blender.

"Hey, Kate!" Penny declared, coming out of her office.

I waved. "Hey, Penny!"

"Can I see you for a second?" She asked me, waving me over.

I felt my stomach drop and I nodded nervously. Sensing my nerves, Axel grabbed my hand as I passed by. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure it's nothing."

I nodded at him and followed Penny into her office.

"Have a seat," Penny said, taking a seat at her desk.

I sat down, pulling at the seam of my shorts.

"I wanted to talk to you to see if you wanted to work more shifts. We recently lost an employee for college so we're desperate for someone to help Axel run the front. You two seem friendly so I was wondering if you wouldn't mind doing that?" Penny asked.

I smiled, relieved that it wasn't serious. "Yeah, I don't mind at all."

Penny smiled. "Thank you so much, Kate. I really appreciate it."

"Yeah, no problem," I responded, getting up.

"I should have your next shift set up by the end of today," Penny stated.

"Okay, thank you, Penny," I replied, leaving her office.

I walked back over to the bar with Axel, sitting on the table since there wasn't a customer behind the one he was currently helping. Once the customer thanked him and left, Axel jumped up onto the counter, sitting down beside me. "So, what did Penny want to talk to you about?" He asked, his hand touching mine.

I felt my heartbeat pick up faster inside my chest. "She'd wanted to see if I could work more shifts to help you out."

Axel smiled. "And what did you say?" He asked, sounding curious.

I took his hand, fully in mine and his palm felt large and soft against mine. "I said yes, of course."