Carleigh POV
"Okayyyy. Let's get this almost-worse-than-Donald-Trump shift out of the way! Seriously, how am I gonna handle four long freakin hours of torture?!?" Issa groaned as he pulled into the Barnes and Noble parking lot.
"Quit complaining. Aren't you the one who wanted to work here in the first place?" I replied.
"Only because they had Starbucks, and Lord knows-actually, the our whole high school knows-I suck at being the poster tumblr baristo," We both cringed as we thought about Issa's community service hours in the cafeteria last year. He didn't mean to set half the kitchen on fire or ruin our lunch lady's weave, it just happened. We're both total clumsy screwups, and that's partially why we're bffls.
"Still, you make it seem like it's four days-not four hours, and don't you have the amazing me to do most of the work anyway? Only a matter of time before the boss legit fires you, and then you can exit the store strutting the most legit Regina George stride ever walked by the history of the universe." I fired back as we took our places behind the cash registers.
"Until then, I'll just have to learn to survive with my short yet glorious Starbucks breaks..."
I don't mention the fact the day he's fired will almost be worse than Donald Trump. Issa is one of my only friends, and he got expelled last year for plastering the principal's office in llama wallpaper whilst screaming at the top of his lungs another original song about llamas and twerking on the desk. His parents didn't care. Issa has been crashing at my place for as long as we can remember once his mem left and his dad got too wrapped up in his new family with his new wife and children. Issa didn't care, either-still doesn't-his only reason being "school just isn't for me," but I don't question it. Why would I? He'll tell me everything when he's ready, and as long as he's always here I'll be fine, hopefully. When I'm at school he's Youtubing and working at Target to scrape enough money together to buy his own place. School without him, though, is just boring. Nobody notices me, and I'm fine with that, since I don't have the best social skills, but the days seem much longer without his vibrant personality.
"GAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAAALLLLPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!! CARLEIGHHHHH HALPPPP! SON OF A LLAMAAAAAAA " Issa screamed while trying to keep clean language to attempt at least a little respect from everyone else, breaking me out of my daze. My eyes wonder over to the Starbucks section to see him tripping over a chair-classic klutz move-and spilling his coffee all over his uniform. I keel over and laugh, but my clumsy legs somehow manage to do exactly what Issa did and trip over a chair while trying to help him. Of course, this only makes me laugh more, Issa too, and we just sit there like the lunatics we are dying laughing for a good five minutes, replaying our actions in our heads. We've managed to move back to our registers, but we're still laughing when a tall, lanky guy with dark brown hair and eyes walks in, staring at Issa and I as we try to fix his stained shirt. Instantly I pull away and pretend to be working. Thank God Issa and I are the only ones working the late night shift, since hardly anyone is here besides our verrryyyy shy barista, Rebecca, who is usually too shy to speak up to anyone.
Its been another five minutes and I'm still laughing so hard I don't notice the tall boy standing right in front of me until he asks, "Um, excuse me, can you please show me where your young adult section is?" in a surprisingly beautiful British accent. Trying to keep in my giggles, I reply, "Sure," and two minutes later when he returns to me I've managed to compose myself. "Do you have any recommendations?" "You can't find anything?" "No, it's just that I've read the majority of these books," My eyes widened in surprise. Finally, another book nerd like me. "Yes! Another book nerd!!!!! Finalllyyyyy!!!" I exclaimed and jumped high into the air. Then the boy coughed, bringing me back to reality. My already red cheeks flush, and I once again try to compose myself. Sometimes I forget to not fangirl in front strangers, and I almost always slip up when I see anything related to my many fandoms. "Well, I'm currently rereading Harry Potter, and we just got in the new limited edition covers if your interested. Dumbledore looks absolutely amazing in the new Halfblood Prince cover." All the boy did was stare at the ground in....what looked like embarassment. My eyebrows subconsciously arched, as he replied, "I've, ummmm... never read Harry Potter"Once again my eyes widened. "You're telling me an avid reader like you has never read Harry Potter? Are you kidding me? How? Don't you dare say it's for little kids. Everybody I know whether their old or young loves Harry Potter so don't you go and think you're too old for it because no one is. Seriously these books are the best thing ever and you must read them. Like how have you survived so long?????" Now the boy's eyes widened. "I didn't exactly understand what you just said, you're kinda a fast speaker, but I got the gist of it. I think I'll just bye a copy of the first book and see how it goes?" "Yes yes yes. Please do. This book will change your life. Welcome to the fandom." I grinned as I helped him pay for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. "Do you have a Barnes and Noble membership card?" I asked. He shook his head. "No, but I'd like to sign up for one." "Okay. Please give me your name and phone number." "My number is *insert number* and my name is Dan Howell." "Ok. Have a great time reading!" I said as he told me goodbye and left.
"OMG, Carleigh, your fangirling skills never cease to amaze me," Issa said as I locked up the store for the night three and a half hours later. More often than not I lose my calm demeanor while working because how can I not fangirl when I'm surrounded by books and people who need books? As we drove away and turned up Panic! at the Disco's new album, Death of a Bachelor, all I could think about was the pale boy with his alluring dark eyes and hair. I didn't even realize till now he was quite a pretty boy, and my mind kept drifting off to his lovely accent and face....
