Conveniently Inspired

Chapter Sixteen

On Saturday morning, Skylar proceeded with her usual weekend routine. She brushed her teeth and ate her grandmother's homemade banh bao for breakfast. Then she took her backpack down to the store and sat behind the counter, glancing up at the occasional customer. Eventually, Ben and Lena would saunter in, bickering, and she'd have to play mediator. Either that, or she'd be assisting Ben with his homework.

But like most Saturday mornings recently, it was slow. Until noon hit.

In the middle of teaching Ben long division, a teenage boy walked in. And then another. And another. And another. More. Until half the store was crammed with boys. Skylar stared, jaw-slacked, wondering what the hell was going on. Kaden filed in last, his arm occupied with a cardboard box in one hand and a neon green poster board in the other.

"Kaden?" Skylar jumped to her feet and walked around the counter. "What are you doing? What is this? What's going on?"

In response, he tugged her arm back to an isolated aisle, where they were far from the murmuring of crammed boys. A cheeky grin took over his face. "Remember my idea to save your business?"

Skylar blinked. "Yeah, but... I didn't think you were going to do it this weekend. You should've warned me!"

"I wanted to surprise you."

"My mother has no idea about this. I don't know how she'd feel if she found out-"

"Where is she?" Kaden scanned the premises.

"At the doctors, but-"

"Then that sounds like a future problem." He patted her twice on the shoulder, leaving her even more confused than before. Kaden began barking out orders like some lieutenant, hustling the lacrosse team around the store as if he owned it. Assertiveness and dominance oozed from his tone, and the boys scattered about, each one consumed by their own task. A couple of them began scooping chip bags and drinks into boxes, then walking out. Skylar was beyond relieved that her mother wasn't there, otherwise she would have assumed they were stealing and had a heart attack.

Po-po was upstairs napping, Ben was helping one of the guys on the team set up the counter outside, and Lena was helping Kaden with the poster, perched onto his shoulders like she belonged there.

About half an hour later, with much nervous pacing from Skylar, the exterior of the store resembled a lemonade stand. The lacrosse team was walking down the sidewalk with their charm and charisma, attracting many women like flies on honey as they sampled treats. Another half hour later, the store was at maximum capacity. There were so many people that a line had formed out front- which never, ever happened before. Skylar had to kick some customers out because the number was becoming a fire hazard.

There were two lines at the counter: Skylar took up the front, and Ben took over the rear end of the counter. They only had one cash register, so Ben just used a calculator and kept hollering at Skylar for what bills he needed. For two straight hours, her fingers pressed buttons and counted bills and bagged groceries. Those were some of the fastest (and most exhausting) two hours of her life.

Most of the shoppers were young girls, and unsurprisingly, many were from their school. When Skylar asked how they knew about the event, they showed her the advertisement Kaden had conjured up on social media. And sure enough, her location was tagged, with the times posted noon to 4 pm.

Just when the line was beginning to shorten, another crowd of giggling girls would enter. Skylar was bagging groceries for an older woman who ended up buying an entire shelf worth's of those Pocky sticks when Kaden sauntered up to the counter, that cocky grin which only seemed to grow bigger still as big as ever. "Am I a genius or what?"