Before Praise and Tracie had gotten married, they had promised to never make me feel like an outcast, and had said they would ensure they spent enough time with me no matter what, especially due to the fact that I was now single. Because of their promise, anytime they needed to go on food or cloth shopping, they liked it when all three of us went together.
“Please, give me enough green pepper,” Praise said to the seller behind the food counter.
The man smiled. “Done. Just take everything, and make your payment over there.” He pointed to another counter behind us.
Praise nodded. “Sure. Thanks.”
Grabbing all the items we had purchased, we walked over there. Behind the counter, there was a plump, red-haired lady, who was probably about 5″7. As her eyes skimmed through the paper in front of her, I couldn’t help but notice how big her eyeballs were, together with the intense blue color of them.
“Hi there,” Praise greeted.
The redhead looked up at us, scrunched her nose for some reason, bit her lower lip as if she was regretful about something, then tucked her tongue in her cheek as she leaned her arm over the counter.
“Hey. Want something?” Okay, that was a rude way to approach one’s customer. The indifference in her eyes wasn’t nice as well.
Tracie raised her eyebrows at the lady “Pardon? Isn’t it your job to take money for the food items? What’s with the wrong approach?”
The lady chortled. “Whatever. Just give me the items. I’ll package them for you. Come on.”
“This isn’t nice.” Praise frowned a little. “I’m not here to beg for food items, right? I’m gonna pay for them. Don’t speak to us in such a manner. And, what the heck? How can a worker be chewing gum while working, which makes you seem like some kind of street girl?”
Okay. That was Praise for anyone who cared to know her. She kind of acted so professional, probably because she grew up in a rich home. Also, she went to a catering school, where everything had to be done in an ordered way.
“Do you wanna pay for your food items or not? If you think I’m a street girl, just return the items, and go elsewhere. Simple,” the lady blurted out. How rude.
I sighed, and stepped close. I wore a stern look, ready to make her keep her mouth shut. “Hey, woman.” I dropped my palm on the counter. “I get it. You’re frustrated. But, this is crazy. I used to work eight hours a day. I know how tiring it could be. Rather than cause a ruckus, ask someone else to help you with the work.”
She rolled her eyes. “Just give me the items. I’ll pack them for you.”
“Good,” I remarked.
Grouchily, Praise and Tracie dropped the items on the counter. The redhead packed them like the frustrated person she was, shortly after we paid for the purchases. Once she gave us the packages, we turned around to take our leave.
Only a few feets away from the exit, my eyes caught Kenneth. He was speaking to a middle-aged woman, smiling as usual. A smile crawled to my lips. I didn’t know why, but there was something about him that always made me smile when I saw him. Was it how cute he was?
“Hey, snap out of it.” Praise slapped my arm. “Don’t tell me you’re admiring that cute dude. First, you drool for Ryan. Now, this one too?”
I shot her a soft glare. “Keep quiet, woman. And hey, how many times do I tell you not to speak about Ryan this way? Yeah, he’s cute, but that doesn’t mean I drool for him. I’m not his type, okay? Get it?”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes.
“Hey, Serene.” Hearing that beautiful voice, my heart leaped off its position for a second. I twirled my neck in his direction. And, for sure, that grin on his lips made my heart melt. How adorable he was.
I smiled too. “Hi, Kenneth. It’s been a while.”
He nodded. “Guess so. It’s really nice to see you here. What’s up? I can see you came to purchase some groceries.”
“Y-Yeah.” I laughed weirdly for some unknown reason. “I do come here sometimes. I like this place.”
“I work here,” he informed me.
“Oh, great. That’s nice.”
Tracie tapped me from behind. I didn’t know what she wanted. As well, the corner of my eyes could sense Praise smirking at me. These women were so, so crazy.
Slapping Tracie’s hand off my back, I glared a little. Turning to her, just about to whisper some threatening words in her ear, my eyes caught a printed paper which was placed on the glass wall of the store. It was a vacancy, stating that a sales girl was needed.
Good Lord, this was an opportunity to get the job I had been looking for, for a while. Finally!
“Um, Kenneth.” I turned to him.
“Hm?”
“I can see that a sales girl is needed here.” I pointed at the printed paper on the glass, then gazed intently at him. “You see, I kind of got fired at work.”
“Oh.”
“Hm.” I nodded. “So, if you don’t mind, can you help me get a job here? I’d appreciate it so much.”
“Um, I—”
“Hey, Kenneth.” The redhead appeared. She snaked her arm around Kenneth’s, a weird smiling hanging on her lips.
To my surprise, Kenneth stopped smiling. He wore a stern look. “Do you need something? You can see I’m speaking with someone. It isn’t right for you to interrupt me.”
She laughed weirdly. “Well, buddy…” She looked at me, gave me some kind of I-hate-you look. “I kind of noticed that some ladies were eyeing you. So, um, I came to check on you. I just wanna ensure everything’s fine.”
He rolled his eyes. “Marsha, what’s with this craziness? Do I look like a child?”
“Stay calm, will you?” She glared up at him. “I was only worried about you. Nothing else.”
“Then—”
“Fine! I’ll just leave!” She pulled away from him, then stomped back to the counter.
I stared at him in surprise. That lady reminded me of Sherri, in every possible way. How weird was that.
“Sorry about that.” He resumed smiling.
“No problem.”
He sighed. “So, I’ll speak with my boss about it. Send me a copy of your resume, via my mail. I’ll forward it to her, and get back to you. You don’t need an interview. Working here isn’t a big deal. It’s not like the pay is high.”
“Thanks so much for willing to help. I appreciate it a lot,” I said.
“It’s okay.”
“I’ll send my resume to you soon, okay?”
“Sure.”
“Give me your number,” I requested.
He stepped close. As he called out his number, Praise winked at me when I glanced at her. Tracie pinched me as well, and I knew what they were thinking. Kenneth wasn’t a bad person. In fact, I thought he was cute and cool. But, did they really expect me to fall for everyone I met? How ridiculous.
Anyway, it would be nice working here with him.
***
I threw my body into my bed, inhaled hard, then flung the blanket over my body. Taking my phone from the bed, I sulked when I didn’t see any text or missed call from Ryan. This was so weird, but I found myself getting attached to him lately. It had been two days since I saw him, or got any message from him, which was quite annoying. Would I say I missed him? Well, yes, I missed him.
I stared up at the ceiling, trying to meditate a bit. What was with this attraction between him and me? I knew I couldn’t have any feelings for him. We were so different from each other. He was very cute, I always liked seeing him, thinking about him always brought joy to my heart, I liked spending time with him, but, really, I couldn’t let myself fall for him.
He seemed perfect, but what about the “Mr. Arthur” in him? I couldn’t trust people like him. What if he was like Ralph?
My phone beeped from where it laid. Excited, knowing it was a text from Ryan, I grabbed it quickly. But then, it was a notification from my mail. Quite nervous, I clicked on the notification. It was an email from the grocery store Kenneth worked at.
I skimmed through it immediately. Seeing the words: “Congratulations! You’ve been hired!”, I hopped from my bed, dancing like a happy child. Finally, I was going to work again! This was great news.
Extremely happy, I hurried out of the room, heading to Vicki’s room. I had to tell my family about this.
However, what mattered most was, I needed to ensure that nothing would go wrong. Till now, I didn’t know who had framed me in that video of Ryan and me. So, I would have to be very careful this time around.
I hoped things would be better.
***