Away from the North

Chapter 7

"Yuku, Lilac! I got the job!" Jul tells running into the cloth shop. It hasn't been very busy today and no customers are here today. According to Lilac, Dali is coming back from vacation tomorrow. I lean against the counter and look at Jul.
"Which one?" I ask him. Lilac walks out from the back with a box of cloth in her hands as Jul shoves his tablet in my face. The restraint had messaged him back and asked if he is interested in being a cool at their place. Lilac sets the box down on the counter and walks over to us.
"Now you reply and say that you would love the job and ask when you start working," Lilac tells him. He nods and emails the place back. She takes out some of e cloth from the box and hands me a roll, telling me to put it up on the display case.
I got the hang of the job a few days in and so I've been allowed to do a lot here besides ordering stuff but Lilac says she always does that anyways. I put the roll in the holder and roll some cloth down. It's a pink, yellow, and green polka dot pattern made out of cotton.
I walk back over to the register and put a few more rolls in the display case, setting the old ones in regular shelves. I finish and walk back to the counter where Jul is sitting on a stool, staring at his tablet anxiously. I sigh and pay him on the back.
"I know that tablets send things automatically but they aren't going to reply instantly," I tell him. He's nods and sets the tablet down on the counter. It chimes a minute later and he hurriedly picks it up before setting it down with a pout on his face.
I turn the tablet on and see that it's a notification for one of the apps he has installed. I laugh and shake my head before walking to the back room to put the empty box away. I platter it and put it down the chute that leads to a dumpster.
I walk back out and stand at the counter, glancing over at Jul every minute of so to make sure he doesn't go crazy from not getting an email back just yet.
The bell above the door chimes and a lady and her daughter walk into the store. The girl looks to be about nine and has a cute skirt on. They walk up to the register and I see Jul walk to the back room with his tablet.
"Me and my daughter are looking for some cloth to make a blanket with," she says. I ask them a few questions before leading them over to the cotton section. They pick out a fabric that they like and I measure the amount that they want before cutting it.
I hand it to them and ring them up on the register. The girl hands me the money and I print out the receipt which I hand to them before they walk out. I put the money in the register, wondering how the heck that kid had so much.
Jul prances back out of the back room and shows me his tablet. The restaurant emailed him back and said he starts in two days at eight in the morning. He works until five in the evening before another person takes over.
Lilac glances over my shoulder at the tablet and smiles at him. She agrees to take him to and from work, but she tells him that he's gonna have to get a driver's license and his own car eventually.
The bell the door chimes again and she walks over to help another customer out. I stand next to Jul and watch her as she works with the costumer, walking through the store with grace and ease.
"Have a crush Yuku?" Jul asks, poking me in the side. I glare at him and look back to Lilac. I nod slowly and I can feel the smile radiating off of him. I punch him in the shoulder and smirk.
"Get your own girlfriend won't you?" I tell him before going back to watching Lilac. He hits me lightly on the arm bit I don't look over at him. I keep watching Lilac until she walks up to the cash register. I quickly look away from her, hoping she didn't notice me checking her out.
Jul snickers from beside me and I would hit him really hard if there wasn't a customer in here. Instead I settle for stepping on his foot with my boot. He winces and glares at me, turning away. The customer walks out and I feel bad for stepping on Jul's foot so I go over and hug him.
He sighs and hugs me back. I pull back and see Lilac watching us with what almost looks like envy. She leans stained the counter and folds her hands on top of it.
"So how long have you two been dating?" She asks. I stare at her in confusion. Jul starts laughing beside me and I realize what she said. Almost everyone in the North thought we were dating, especially out parents.
"We're not dating, if anything she's like a little sister to me. Plus she doesn't like boys," he says. I stare at him in shock and he realizes what he said. He apologizes a million times even though I tell him that it's okay.
"So you're a lesbian?" Lilac asks me when Jul finally stops apologizing. I nod and she smiles at me, quick to reassure me that it's fine and she doesn't mind.
I nod and we stay at the counter, helping the few people that walk in throughout the day. She tells us that Wednesdays are always the slowest and the weekend is the busiest. 
She closes up the shop and we walk upstairs. It's Jul's turn to pick out a movie on Netflix and he chooses some horror one. I sit down beside Lilac on the couch and Jul sits in a recliner.
Whenever there's a jump scare I clutch Lilac's arm like a life line. The movie finally ends and I walk up to me and Jul's room sitting on my bed. Why do I have to have a crush on her of all people?