Trying for Love

Chapter 22

Results' day came and went in the August heat, not that Manny felt much of the sun. Spending his summer working in the supermarket at the docks, the air conditioning so cold he needed a fleece. The manager had said he had a 'kind' face and so moved him from stacking shelves to the checkout after just two shifts, prompting dirty looks from the girl who always clocked in late. Manny would have known her name, but she never wore her name-tag - though she never failed to have on her seashell necklace and battered Dr Martens.

The monotony of the checkout was relaxing. Rattling off the time-dependent greetings to each customer with a fixed smile. He would scan each barcode, steadily passing the items from the belt to between his hands so the bleeping was rhythmic, interrupted only by the label-less which then had to be looked up. The only embarrassing thing was the "no alcohol sign" stuck onto the conveyor belt because Manny wasn't yet eighteen. After the first few comments and jokes about his age, he'd heard them all, so they soon became meaningless and he would offer a hollow laugh in return and continue with his scanning.

Working at this particular shop had two specific advantages for Manny, it was close enough for him to walk to and it was out of the way of where people from his school lived. This meant the yellow uniform was a secret for him and him alone – even Theo and Katie didn't know. They were busy anyway, Katie in the south of France and Theo completing an internship for a software design company in Cambridge. He'd seen Katie briefly at school when they were collecting results but after a congratulatory hug, he had left her to hang out with Nate.

It was while he had been standing, phone in hand, debating who – if anyone - to call to share his results with, that a familiar shadow had fallen across the ground in front of him.

"Congratulations," the sun had glinted through his curls, casting his face in shadows.

All the words had left his head, leaving Manny only able to parrot, "Congratulations."

Henry had chuckled, "I'm not quite sure if my grades deserve that praise but thanks. Passing biology wouldn't have been possible without you."

"Well, you're not dumb, so ..."

He had run a hand through his hair, the sun blinding Manny temporarily as he had looked up at him. Henry hadn't broken their eye contact, "I, um – do you want a lift home?"

"Yes," Manny had said without pause, drunk from the sun.

The smile which had started to grow was quickly dropped from Henry's face when Ewan had come over.

"There's a gathering at Jack's, want to go get some beers before we go there?"

Henry had turned away and agreed to Ewan's plan. A quick glance was all the goodbye that Manny had got, leaving him with a headache in the heat.

The thump of shopping being dropped onto the conveyor belt jolted him to notice the woman with a child on her hip. He smiled, wished her a good afternoon and began to scan.

When an ache began to spread between his shoulders, he stretched and checked his watch. He had just ten minutes of his shift left. The one good thing about doing the early shift was that Manny got to clock out at three and enjoy the afternoon. Taking the long way home, he would walk around the docks where a few, small yachts were moored and then across the swing bridge, through the bay and to the back streets. The breeze was normally gentle and so he wouldn't need to zip up his jacket, the opening only occasionally lifted by the breeze. Sometimes, if his mother's shift ended late, he would drag out the walk home. Reluctant to return to a quiet house, he would leisurely weave through the groups of families and friends giddied by the summer's freedom, absorbing their bliss as much as the sun's rays.