Common People (frerard)

Chapter 1

Kids have been rushing in and out all day as the semester was supposed to start. Starry eyed freshman got hoodies representing the university. It was a small store as I sat behind the counter, playing a game on my phone. My boss wasn't in and there weren't any customers or things to stock, letting me have a little bit of peace and quiet. It was nearing closing time and I decided to start closing procedures.

I was in the process of closing down one of the registers when someone hurried in. He went to the textbook section and was muttering to himself. I walked over, looking at him curiously. He was a little bit shorter with black hair but the sides were shaved and dyed dark red. He was wearing a dark hoodie with some black jeans.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"I am looking for a textbook," he said. "It is MCS 147."

I went to the computer and looked it up.

"It's not in but we should get it in two days," I said. "What we can do is you can preorder it and pay for it now so when it arrives you'll be notified and we'll set one aside for you so it won't sell out."

"Yes, perfect," he said.

I printed the barcode and went to the register so he could pay for the book. I got his info, putting it into the system.

"Alright, here's your receipt," I said. "You'll get an email as soon as it comes in."

"Thank you," he said. "Can I get your name? Just so I know who gave me the preorder in case there's a complication."

"I'm Gerard," I said.

"Right, Gerard," he said. "I'm Frank. Well, I guess you already knew that when you took my info for the book. Are you closing soon?"

"In about fifteen minutes," I said.

"Okay, okay, do you mind if I buy some stuff real quick?" He asked.

"Go for it," I said.

Frank nodded, picking up mugs, t-shirts and stuffed animals. There was quite a lot in total.

"I'm a first generation college student," he said with a proud smile.

"That's great, congratulations," I said.

"Yeah, I'm not crazy and getting like seven mugs for myself," he said. "It's for family members because they're all really proud of me."

I smiled and checked him out just as my brother came in. Frank paid and left with his bags of stuff. Mikey smiled, sitting on the counter as I closed the registers.

"You know you're not allowed to be in here during closing procedures," I said.

"No one's here," he said.

I closed up the store and sighed as we walked out of the main building. It was still warm outside as I looked around.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, just a little bit nervous," he admitted. "This is my first year."

"It's gonna be okay, Mikey, you're gonna do great," I said.

Someone placed a hand on my shoulder and I flinched, turning around. I smiled when I saw it was only my boyfriend.

"Why are you so jumpy?" He asked.

"Sorry, Andy, I just didn't hear you come up behind me," I said.

"Hey, Mikey, you excited for your first days of college?" Andy asked.

"Yep," Mikey replied quickly. "I'm gonna go back to my dorm. I'll see you later, Gee."

He left and I smiled, holding Andy's hand. I looked up as he smiled down at me, his beautiful blue eyes squinting as a tuft of black hair fell onto his forehead.