old friends

baggers get no love

riley leishman didn't exactly know why she still worked at heb.

the hours were horrible, her bosses sucked, her coworkers provided her little in terms of entertainment, and the customers could either barely hold a conversation, or refused to shut up.

wait, she knew why she still worked there. money. even if it wasn't good.

she had expected a majority of the cost of tuition to fall on her college funds--but her parents disbelief that she would ever move out of state (even though she has talked about it for years) diminished the funds greatly. even with a scholarship, her tuition was much more than she or her parents could handle. they were barely comfortable as it is.

it was moments like now--working her second job of the day, her lecturers voice ringing through her airpods as she slides items to her bagger--that she began to wish she had just stayed in state for school. it would make everything much, much easier. and she'd actually know people.

she glances up briefly. a guy about her age is standing there, awkwardly fiddling with his pockets. he's got a texas state shirt on and black sweatpants. he looks tired. she smiles slightly. definitely a college student.

"you go to state?" she asks, glancing up at him briefly as she scans a thing of paper towels.

he glances down as if he's forgotten the shirt he's wearing, before looking back up and shaking his head.

"oh, uh, no," he points in a general direction, "i got accepted, but i go to houston."

"mmm," riley nods, scanning the mans second box of cereal, "i wish i went to state."

the man laughs, "why? where do you go?"

"rice," she says with a sigh, "i just imagine life would be easier if i went to a party school."

she scans a third box of cereal as the man lets out a laugh. she can't help but let out a laugh of her own.

"rice? how smart are you, damn. what's your major?" he asks once he's stopped laughing. riley can hear the smile in his voice, even though she's not looking up to see it.

"compsci," she says, scanning a thing milk, "you?"

"compsci too," he nods, "what's it like there?"

she shrugs, thinking back to every lecture she's been to. and every lecture she's skipped. god, she doesn't even want to think about how far behind she's gonna be.

her professors voice cuts through her thoughts, telling her something that she definitely forgot and is extremely confused by.

"confusing," she says, "stressful. i guess it's fine though, could always be worse. yours?"

he shrugs too, "the same, i guess."

she scans her final item, a thing of tortillas. how texas, she thinks.

"fifty eighty-four." she tells him, moving to the side to help bag the extra items as he swipes his card.

she blocks out the sound of her professors voice, the words he speaks becoming nothing more than a jumble of sounds. probably akin to the sounds babies hear, though riley would not want to learn english if she knew this is what it would lead to.

she tries to listen, mostly because she's paying many tens of thousands of dollars to attend this university--who's classes she doesn't even attend half the time--but she can't force herself to do it. he's too annoying and she's too tired. it's kinda like a bedtime story. a really shitty, really repetitive, really long bedtime story that she's paying more money than she has and is in turn going into debt, to listen to.

"do you have a snap?" the man asks, pulling her out of her daze.

she glances over at him, then to her bagger, erin, who's raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"oh, uh, yeah, i think." she says, moving towards him.

he hands her his phone and she takes it, eyes scanning over the snapchat app as if she's never seen it before. she types in her username, hoping that it's right, before handing the phone back to him. he wipes the screen on his shirt and smiles, giving her a thumbs up.

"sweet, thanks."

she nods, glancing over at the next customer, "no problem, mr. houston man."

he giggles--like actually giggles--and riley can't help but laugh at that, noticing erins shoulders shaking as well.

"ms. rice university woman."

she smiles at him as he walked out of the sliding glass doors of the store, her eye briefly scanning over the buddy bucks machine. she's wonders for a brief moment if she should've given him buddy bucks. he seems like the type that would like a buddy buck or two.

erin leans forward and hits her in the shoulder.

"baggers never get any love." she pouts.

riley rolls her eyes, "i'd be more than happy to switch."

erin lets out a high pitched, but soft, laugh and shakes her head.

she's surprised, really, that mr. houston man decided to be bold. he didn't seem like the type. but riley also knows what he's looking for, and she's not sure if she can deliver. or if she even wants to. relationships are messy and riley isn't sure she wants to get into one anytime soon.

if she can't even go to college classes that she's paying thousands to attend, how is she supposed to commit herself to a person? for free?

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first few chapters read like a sapnap x oc but that isn't what it is