lover boy & dollar store girl ♬ matt sturniolo

I

CHAPTER I
[ just the three sodas and the other shit? ]
♬

the ear-worm buzzing of the fluorescent lights was starting to give minnie quite the headache. the cashier had been sitting on a makeshift stool crafted from three taped-up boxes for the last hour of her shift, staring as the second hand on the clock ticked away the waning moments until she could close the store and go home. the last thing she wanted to do was work until closing on a monday night, but alas, the world is always out to get her, isn't it?
jasmine mcallister- minnie, as her family called her- couldn't be more indifferent towards her job at the dollar store. it was a shithole in a dingy strip mall that looked just like every other dingy strip mall across the country- run down and last renovated in the 80s. but it was close to home, and her night shifts were easier to handle with school being in the morning. and in such a wonderful little place such as the downtown dollar store, the lack of customers caused for no disruptions when it came time to do her homework. as boring as it was, it could be worse, the girl decided.
now, at 8:45 p.m., the cashier was starting to feel antsy. finally. only fifteen more minutes and then i'll be on my way home, she told herself. she hopped off her cardboard throne and twisted the register key, opening up the drawer and starting to count the money inside. she was halfway through her fives and tens when the bell of reckoning rang out at the front.

three teenage boys toppled through the glass doors, smiling and giggling like kindergarteners as they divided and conquered the aisles of the store. minnie only rolled her eyes and hoped they'd be in and out, so she could get back to counting the register.
from behind the kiosk, she watched as they scampered about. they looked familiar- they were kids from school, no doubt. she wracked her brain for their names, but the headache proved she'd have no success. the boys looked like clones, minnie realized. triplets. how do i not remember triplets? she scolded herself.
the cashier shut the drawer and waited for a few more minutes until the boys scurried up, holding three tall cans of dr. pepper, a sparkly green fedora meant for st. patrick's day, two pairs of aqua blue jelly sunglasses, and a plastic packet of fake mustaches. the boys stared at her as she scanned each item with the century-old scanner, and she felt like she must have something on her face, or she must be an alien. anything to explain why they were gawking.

the tallest of the three fished around in his pockets until he came up with a twenty dollar bill. "here," he offered it to her with an outstretched hand.

"thanks. your total is seven bucks even. just the three sodas and the other shit?"

the boys laughed and nodded, and minnie felt a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth. she cashed the twenty out and handed back thirteen. the tallest took the change, and the boy wearing the green star-patterned hoodie stole all the costume items from the belt. the last brother took the three cans of soda in his hands and offered a soft smile. "thanks."

"no problem. have a good night."

the boy with the sodas began to follow behind his brothers, but came to a stop just feet away from the front doors. when he turned around he asked, "do you go to somerville high?"

"yeah. i'm a senior."

"me too," he grinned, "we don't have any classes together, but i thought i recognized you. i bet you're in all the smarty-pants classes, huh?"

minnie chuckled quietly before replying, "i guess you could say that."

"i'm matt, by the way. sturniolo. matt sturniolo," the boy repeated himself, jumbling up his words like he was racing himself to get them out faster than his brain could think them. "those kids running around in the parking lot are my brothers."

"jasmine mcallister. i usually go by minnie, though."

matt shifted the cans around in his palms, wiping the condensation on his sweatpants. "do you always work at night?"

"most nights, yeah."

"then i'm sure i'll be seeing you. in the hallways, too, probably."

"yeah. see you,"

"have a good night, jasmine. or minnie. can i call you minnie?"

with a slight warmth pooling in her cheeks, minnie nodded. it's been a while since anybody that wasn't her mother or sister called her by her nickname- especially a boy. "sure."

"cool. see you later, minnie."

with that, the boy walked right out of the store. and there she stood, still stuck with an uncounted register and a 'closed' sign that was begging to be flipped. minnie went through the motions and made sure all the lights were shut off before locking the doors behind her and tucking the keys away in her bag, and she did it all with a slight smile on her face.

when she made it home, it took her all the way from showering to laying down in bed to realize that her headache was completely gone.