ASHES ↠ b. barnes [II]

three

       IT WAS A COLD DAY in Romania. People were wearing their warmest clothes, holding their arms around themselves to keep a good body temperature. The sky was a little grey, the clouds being blown quickly by the wind and the city seeming a little darker than it normally was. People walked down the street, starting small conversations before continuing.

It was all a new sight, but Allura enjoyed it. She loved how easy going Bucharest was, and how nice people had been to her in the short time she had been there.

The woman wore a black sweater, that covered the hydrogen cables that ran up her arms. She was carrying her usual backpack with the hydrogen tank, and her eyes were an ordinary green. Her strawberry blonde hair was in a bun with a bandana. She was wearing tight dark blue jeans and brown boots.

The girl had seen that many women wore a strange thing called 'make up'. She had never heard about it before, but she was willing to find out what it was if it would help her to fit in. So, on her face, was a light layer of make up: light brown on her eyes, with a small amount white, coral blush, her eyelashes were a little curled and she had applied a soft pink lipstick on her already pink lips.

Her entire persona seemed rough, and aggressive. But her make up, and her soft delicate factions made her seem almost angelical.

Allura walked inside a shop, the bell ringing as the door hit it. Her green eyes scanned the small place, admiring the different types of vegetables and fruits that James had told her about.

"Don't be confused by the variety. It's normal." Then, he'd grab a vegetable from the table and show it to her, so that she would learn their names and how they looked.

So, taking a deep breath and trusting what she had learned, she approached the man who had interviewed her last week. He took off his apron, giving it to her and smiling.

""Știi să numeri?" Do you know how to count? He asked her, his brown eyes bright at the fact that he'd finally get someone to help him with his store.

"Da." Yeah.

"Apoi, binevenit la muncă." Then welcome to work. He replied, going outside and getting in his car.

"Da. Mulțumiri." Yeah. Thank you. She mumbled to herself, putting the apron on and standing behind the cashier. She then attended the clients, being surprisingly nice and smooth in her job.

She remembered her job back in Jupiter, and she remembered how skilled she was and how she analyzed the information with intelligence and ability.

But something about this job made her feel calm, made her feel normal.

It made her feel somehow human.

         ALLURA WAS LOST IN HER thoughts as she organized the vegetables. Her hands moved automatically as she put the food in its place. Her strawberry blonde was in a high ponytail, a white sweater on her body and her hydrogen tank had been reduced to a small one that fit in her pockets, so her backpack was no longer necessary. Her green eyes observed the clock, eager for it to hit ten so she could finally close the store.

       When it finally did, she sighed in relief. She finished and took off her apron, placing it on the drawer under the cashier and analyzing the room for anything she had missed.

        The small store was welcoming. You entered from the left of the store, if you were standing by the cashier, and were welcomed by five rows with seven baskets each with different fruits and vegetables. By the window, there were also six baskets, so that people could see them from the outside. Behind the cashier, there was a brown door, which lead to a small room where employees could keep their personal artifacts in a locker.