Orange

Four

I rolled over, struggling to ignore the alarm that blared next to me. Five more minutes, I thought groggily as I groaned. However, something forced me to wake up. I slapped the empty space next to me, finding nobody there. I sat up, looking dumbly at the empty space by my side.

He never stays.

Before I could get a sigh out, my phone buzzed. I snatched it up, practically shoving the small device up to my eyes to read my notifications.

Except there were none.

I gave out a heavy sigh, pushing myself to my feet. No, my phone had buzzed to give me a news article it thought that I would enjoy. Rutherford Eldest Gone Missing, it read. I gave the article a quick glance. Carl Rutherford, a big-name lawyer in our pitiful excuse of a city, had a son. The son just came out to the public as a Blank a few days ago. Next thing the family knows, he's gone without a trace. All in all, a pretty interesting read. With a Blank for a son, what will the Rutherford family business become? I lingered on that line for a few moments. I didn't know what it was, but it really annoyed me. Maybe because the whole article basically just bashed the son for being a Blank.

I shook away my thoughts, tiptoeing into the shower. Lukewarm. Not to mention that it was wash day. As I massaged my conditioner into my coily locks, I couldn't stop thinking about that line. For a moment, my mind flashed images of my mother and father, smiling down at young little me. I grimaced. How innocent, carefree I was, in those days.

If only that little girl knew the kind of person she would grow up to be.

I got out of the shower, throwing on a short-sleeved button up shirt with a high-rise skater skirt, finishing off the outfit with my worn-down pair of black kitten heels. I put my short brown hair into a ponytail (if you could really call that puffball a ponytail) and was out the door in moments. I didn't bother with breakfast.

When I walked into that tattered down building, I couldn't help but notice a pair of girls snickering as they passed sneaky glances at me. Definitely girls from my lane. I tried to ignore them, but eventually, one can only take snickers and whispers for so long before giving a heavy sigh.

"...You know, you should just be honest and say that you don't like me," I said, not even bothering to look back at them. "It would save everyone a lot of time and energy."

One girl, significantly taller than me and her friend, stepped towards me, a bit taken aback at my bluntness both otherwise still frowning down at me.

"You know, just because you have the highest sales doesn't mean you're any better than the rest of us," she smoothed out her mini skirt. "You're still a Blank."

"Yeah," her friend joined in, "don't you think for a second that you've got an advantage over us."

I looked back at them.

"Sorry you feel that way."

Without another word, I walked away, leaving a small crowd murmuring amongst each other. I could feel those girl's cold stares all the way to my booth. But like they say, ignorance is bliss, and I feigned that pretty well. So, I sat down, put my hands on my knees, and waited for the people to rush in.

It was a smaller crowd that day, this time only a handful of people waiting right as the doors opened. This time, a sweet-looking woman locked eyes with me, passing me a sad smile as she caressed the glass of my booth before walking away. I didn't linger on that for long. My eyes scanned the masses, wondering who would be the one to buy me. That was always the most exciting part—when you successfully lock eyes with someone, see the lust and adoration in their eyes as they put in their credit card and hit the 'purchase' button. Somehow, I found it worthwhile to keep searching, wondering who it would be.