"Are sure you're gonna be okay?"
"Yes of course, you worrywart. I'm the Krathing, nothing can harm even a single strand of hair on my head."
"Oh really? Well I suppose the spirit around you must be pretty powerful, picking your hair now and then. You're already going bald I see."
"Yo- kid, get out the damn store before I bash your head in with the register."
All jokes aside, Tan may have genuinely been a bit worried about leaving his senior alone. But he couldn't help it, he needed to get back to the radio station as his new show was still in the process of being written and he'd stupidly agreed to flexible hours.
Tan grabbed his bag, waved a quick goodbye to Krathing and went out the store. He was about to get in the can he had called when he realized he had forgotten something. He asked the driver to wait for a bit and ran inside.
"Holy fucking shit! The fuck is wrong with you Ai'Tan?!" The violent jingle of the door made Krathing jump six feet in the air.
"Ow, I just came to grab my headphones, I haven't been gone for 3 minutes and you're already spooked. I don't think I can leave you alone." Tan raised an eyebrow and contemplated his own words.
Accompanied with the senior getting up from his seat and a smack on the upside of his head, Tan heard," Get your dumb ass out of here, you're girlfriend's probably waiting to hear your velvety voice. I don't want her to come up to school with gigantic eye bags." With that Krathing pushed Tan all the way out of the store and into the cab. He watched the vehicle till it reduced to a small speck on the road and went inside with a sigh.
He took out the spare copy of some ancient book, he had checked out of their campus library. He didn't even like reading. If only Danglek hadn't forced him to sharpen his brain - not that it needed any, it was already as smooth as raw chicken breast - he wouldn't have even gone to his classes today. What even is the fuss about this book? He turned over the first page and started reading. The words all turned hazy. He sighed for the nth time.
Closing the book, he rumaged in his bag for something to pass his time. The store had scarcely any customers at this time, well it was 3 in the morning, who would ever give up the comfort of their bed, just for some snacks or groceries. He took out trinket after trinket from his bag, frustrated with the mess, he dumped the entire thing on the countertop.
He had just started collecting the wrappers and torn pages when he heard the familiar jingle of the door.
Oh shit. He hurriedly scraped all the trash into the trashcan nearby. "Hey, can I help you with something?" He turned to look at the person. Krathing's eyes were filled with curiousity as he watched the boy head towards him. The boy had a stern expression on his face. The boy reached out a hand and plucked a cigarette box from the stack beside Krathing.
"Woah! Aren't you too young for that, kid?"
The boy looked at Krathing dead in the eye and pulled out his ID. He flipped it and showed it to Krathing. James, Krathing read.
James snatched the card back instantly. Throwing some bills on the counter, just enough to pay for the cigarettes, he walked out of the shop. Krathing just gaped at the boy's curtness.
Well, he was weird.
Krathing resolved to playing a game on his phone. A few minutes later he looked at the clock and jumped up, it was already a quarter past 4. He was supposed to shut down the store before 4. Oh shit.
He hurriedly grabbed his bag, stuffing everything he had inside. He did a thorough check, so that nothing was out of place and snatched the keys to the door.
While he was locking up, he felt strangely warm. There was not a soul in the empty parking lot, save him. That was strange. He thought he heard footsteps shuffling behind him. He was quick to turn and prove that thought wrong. He couldn't take anymore of this. Krathing's were shaking, the key slipping from his hand. As he bent dow to pick it up, he saw some movement behind him, on the metal handle of the door. His breathing got uneven and suddenly his jacket felt too hot and tight.
He snatched the key and slammed it inside the key slot. He looked around the stranded parking lot. There was no sign of any life right them. He could hear some birds chirping but that was it. He hoped it was some stray cat that he saw or maybe lack of sleep caused him to see things and freak out for no reason. Yeah! That was it!.
Krathing still ran to his car, all the way across the empty parking lot. He sighed in relief once his body made contact with the slightly warm car seat. Eager to get back home and to this precious bed. He turned on the ignition and looked in his rear view mirror.
And James' smiling face was the last thing he saw before he blacked out.
