It started one night at work. I was working a second-shift, which was generally two in the afternoon until ten at night, when he walked into my life. That’s a little dramatic. He was part of my life before that, but only in passing, the way most coworkers were. He was my supervisor that night, you see, and though we had worked as equals, we were never left alone to talk. That night, everything changed.
It was not really that unusual of an evening. The day had been slow, and I wasn’t expecting much from my shift either. My friend, Rachel Carrik, was who I was replacing for shift change.
“- and the angry French guy came in again. He was still yelling about you smoking when you took out the garbage,” she laughed, pulling her long brown hair from its ponytail.
I grinned at her, silently envious of her amazing hair. It fell down her back to rest just above her ass. She was a petite girl, standing roughly three inches shorter than me – which is a talent for any twenty-two year old, seeing as I’m only five feet tall – with a huge rack and decently proportionate body. Despite being just a few months older than me, she still had some of the acne that had been a trouble for her over the last year or so while working in the “not-quite-fast-food” place. Technically, we’re a Canadian based coffee shop franchise located in the middle finger of Michigan’s famous mitten. Realistically, we were also part of an ice cream franchise known as Coldstone Creamery, and we make deli sandwiches. That’s right, I work at Tim Horton’s.
It’s not exactly a dream job, but it pays the bills.
“Eventually he’ll get over it. It’s not like I was smoking inside,” I laughed, pulling my visor over my darker brown hair. I didn’t bother putting it up, it fell to my shoulders and I kept a bandanna on. Besides that, it would feel a little redundant with the fifty tiny braids that dangled around my face. “Who’s my super tonight?”
“Didn’t you look at the schedule? Why do you make a copy of it if you aren’t going to look at it?” she prodded, pulling a long sleeve shirt over her tank top. Aside from her pants, Rachel basically changed in the break area in the back of the store, which consisted of a slight hallway with a computer for watching training videos that opened into a slightly bigger space with an ice machine and mop area, then wrapped around to the freezer and cooler. “You’re working with Aiden on his first solo shift as a super. It’s just you two ‘til ten.”
I nodded. “Well, it could be worse. I could be with Carol,” I laughed, shaking my head.
Carol was our boss and the owner of this specific franchise location. She was an older, bird-like woman. By bird like, I mean she had the physical features of a bird with a large, hooked nose and beady dark eyes.
“Ew. Don’t go there. I have to work with her tomorrow morning until Kaylee C. comes in.”
“Ah, sorry. That blows.”
“Tell me about it. I’ll see you same time tomorrow, right? Have a good night Brie.”
“Mhm, night Rach.”
I adjusted my name tag, moving out front to make myself my signature drink – eight shots of espresso, six shots of cream, six shots of sugar, and a double shot of vanilla flavor on ice. Most people would call it an excessive misuse of caffeine. I would agree if I didn’t drink two a night.
That’s when the trouble started. As I sipped on my grossly over caffeinated drink, he came around the corner. I had never paid him much attention, but I didn’t really have any problem with him. Aiden smiled at me, a wickedly charming smile. He had short ginger hair and playful grey-blue eyes. “Heyyo.”
I chuckled, “Hey. What’s up?”
And, as harmless as it seemed, that was the beginning of the troubles in my life.
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