Roots

Weeds

Weeds

I hobble across the road and press the buzzer because I'm not giving up on this opportunity, even though my body is singing in pain. I can do this, I need to do this!

"Hey, Austin, I'm back for another day of work."

The leaves shake as the fence opens, revealing the chaos unfolding in the garden.

"Switch the plants around because the height order looks wrong," Austin instructs.

The man grumbles but complies. Austin nods, and the man removes the lavender from the pot and places it in the hole. He covers it with dirt and moves to the next one.

Most of the lavenders and hedging have been planted, the bricks are paved, and the fishpond is being installed. It's just the rolls of grass and pond plants that need to go in next.

I stand beside Austin and beam with forced happiness. The garden looks amazing, but my stomach knots because it means I'm out of a job.

"The garden looks good."

"Your designs are great! What do you think about a fountain piece for the pond?"

"Sure, it'll look awesome."

"Oi, Pablo, get me a water feature."

One man stops working and walks out through the gate.

"How long have you been at it?"

"Two hours?" He shrugs. "The boss wants it done sooner."

"All right, what can I do?"

"He wants to speak with you."

"Crap! Am I in trouble? He wasn't happy yesterday, but I swear I only stopped to look at the garden for a minute to see what to do next." I bite my lower lip and sigh.

"You'll be fine unless you keep him waiting. He's around the back."

"Okay." I nod.

"Good luck, kid."

Even though he means well, I need more than luck to pull me through this.

I hurry around the corner and frown.

"Oh, shoot," I grumble.

There's nobody here. Maybe he had to leave? I hope Austin isn't pulling a prank because I got him into trouble yesterday. I should have kept my mouth shut.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

There's a lavender plant in the corner which hasn't been planted, so I cross the yard and struggle with it. I yank it out of the pot and into the hole already dug.

Since I haven't been fired and this could be a prank to show the boss I'm not a hard worker, I hope the pair will be surprised when they see me.

I adjust the plant and flatten the soil around the base so it's secure. I brush the dirt off and take a step back to admire it. Even though it's just a plant, it looks good.

The warm breeze carries through the yard, and the smell of lavender is thick but pleasant. I like the smell, but to have this many plants, I would grow to hate it.

I take the shovel leaning on the fence and press it into the dirt. My foot aches, but I press harder, determined to dig a hole and show my worth.

"Tikera." His voice booms.

I drop the shovel and turn around.

The mysterious door is open, and the boss is poking his head out.