When You Least Expect It

01

     I made the decision to stop for a quick coffee along the way. I stopped at the only coffee store in this town and left my bike on the side. It's not like anybody would steal it. I grew up with half the people here, and it made me more trusting of them somehow.

The familiar jingle of the entrance bell greeted me as I stepped inside. The place was practically deserted, save for a couple of souls. When I spotted Mrs. Walker, I instinctively lowered my head and skillfully made my way to the counter. That woman could gossip for hours.

"It's no secret Robert cheated on his wife. Remember his pops had that fling with his second grade teacher, Miss Rose? He's grandmother was also a bit of a stud in her days. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, eh?"

I listened to Mrs Walker as I waited in line — who kept chatting away in that usual, raspy voice of hers. Pausing every few seconds for a loud sip of tea, she resumed her gossip-laden cycle – an endless, torturous loop. 

    I wondered if she ever got tired of gossiping about others affair and private matters. But then I realised that she wasn't married and had no children, so this must be her only source of entertainment.

   "The usual?" the boy behind the counter asked.

   "Yep." I looked at his name tag and suppressed a laugh. Erik. 

   With a K.

"Gimme a sec..." His face flushed and the tips of his ears turned red. He continued fiddling with some buttons until he finally let out a small 'Aha!' "Got it! That'll be four dollars and fifty cents."

  Rummaging through my wallet, I found only a two-dollar bill. "Ummm..."

"It's all right." Erik with a 'K' pressed some buttons on the cash register. "It's on the house."

Putting my money back into my ratty wallet, I mumbled, "Thanks, I guess."

"I still remember when your dad lent a hand moving my mom into our new place. He was a real champ, especially during my old man's passing..." Erik sniffled. "I kinda owe you guys for that."

  I was inclined to put on a relaxed grin for him. "No problem. Thanks for the coffee." I quickly got out of there before he could start to get sentimental with me. That was about the last thing I needed.

I gulped down the drink, leaned against the store wall, and watched families pass by. Someday, I will leave behind this town.

If it's the last thing I do.

I chucked what's left of the drink in the garbage can, and then I hopped back on my bike. I rode straight over to Dad's corner store, staring at the flashing sign above the shop.

The Hudson's Foodmart.

The sign was crooked, barely standing on its own. I parked my bike in the side alleyway just beside the store — where a group of teenage boys were passing a joint between them. They all went silent at the sight of me. 

"Afternoon, Max," one of them said to me. Bones. "Come join us."

"No can do, boys. I've got to get to work. Maybe some other day," I called back.

Bones snickered and muttered something to one of his friends.

White trash, I thought with a scowl, and unlocked the door to the store. I stepped inside and hopped behind the counter. Business was painfully slow in the afternoon.

Ten minutes later, the bell above the entrance rang. Dad entered, smiling at me behind the counter. "Sorry I'm late, kiddo. My car ran out of gas on the way here," he explained.

"It's all right," I said.

"It went up by nine cents today. Can you believe it, kiddo?" he exclaimed, shrugging off his jacket. Dad couldn't resist telling everyone the increasing price of gas nowadays.

"That's nice." I flipped through a dusty magazine. Do people even read magazines nowadays?

My shift ended in two hours. Dad hummed an old song, sweeping the floors, clearly struggling to kill time. Sinking into my chair, I stared at the empty street through the glass windows. 

There's never anything to do in this fucking town.

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A/N I personally hate adding author's note because it just looks tacky, but what are your thoughts so far? Let me know!

Also, this chapter is meant to be boring. It's to show how bland the town Maxine lives in. Next few chapters should be interesting. I've already planned out half the book so updates are fairly quick. Expect chapter 2 in a couple of days as I'm already halfway through it!

Don't forget to vote and comment please.