Page 10 of 912321

Play - Sparks by Coldplay

Temporary, I hope

“For fuck's sake, you stubborn stain.”

I swear at myself as I scrub as hard as I can on a mark that looks like it won’t budge.

I can feel the sweat forming under my clothes as I continue wiping down the table with the soapy rag that is gripped tightly in my hand.

My mind races as I think of all the endless possibilities ahead of me. I think of my future, Milo’s future. Everything. Being offered a place at St. Ellesta means Edna, Milo, Hayzel, and I can finally have a shot at a happily-ever-after.

A white picket fence, a place where I don’t need to hide, one where I no longer feel pain, without them in it.

“Are you overthinking during work again?”

The voice makes me jump a little.

“Shit!” I turn around and see Heath standing there, hands in his pockets, long hair falling in his face like always. That sad song is playing softly in the background.

He looks like he walked straight out of a 90s record store: mid-forties, worn denim jacket, tired eyes that always stay kind.

He’s been good to me. Better than any boss I’ve had, especially after the last place, the one where the manager tried to trap me in the kitchen. I still feel it in my stomach when I think about it. I punched him in the face and ran. The next day, Hayzel called the cops for me because I wanted to go back there myself and kill him, but she said she wouldn’t survive the conjugal visits in prison.

I worked there for a year, then I found this place, a coffee shop covered in old CDs you can buy, a weird little haven I didn’t know I needed.

“Sorry,” I mutter, wiping the table again even though it’s already clean. “My brain’s not here today.”

He snorts. “I can tell. You’re glowing. What’s going on?”

I put the rag down and met his eyes. “I’m quitting, Heath.”

He blinks. “Do I treat you badly? You drink coffee for free all day long.”

I laugh before replying, “No. You’re the best boss I’ve ever had. I got accepted into St. Ellesta.”

His whole face lights up, genuinely, almost ridiculously happy for me. “Reya, that’s amazing! Okay, now I get it.”

“And… Hayzel too.”

He puts a hand over his chest like he’s dying. “Both of you? Seriously?”

I shrug, stacking a row of CDs back in place. “Sorry.”

“Hey, boss!” Hayzel calls from the door as she arrives. She wasn’t working today; she had already started buying things for her dorm.

“Don’t ‘hey boss’ me,” he says, pointing at her. “You’re quitting too.”

She comes over and hooks her arm around mine. “You’ll survive. I already know people who want the job.”

He shakes his head at both of us. “You better be the best students that university has ever seen.”

“Promise,” we say together.

“I’ll send the paperwork to Edna’s,” he adds. “And you can come back any time. Both of you, even if you only want a coffee. And Reya, for the CDs, you can keep the ones you already have.”

“I wasn't planning on returning them,” I say, ducking behind the counter to grab my bag and jacket as I hear him laugh.

“Thank you for everything, Heath,” I say. “I’ll bring Milo by and annoy you.”