"Ok so how does this crushing thing work?" I asked, putting down my bag.
"You really don't have to do this Soph."
"Too late. I already made up my mind buddy. Unless of course you don't want me here and would rather see me leave?"
"Hmmm. Now I'm stuck between wanting to be besties but also not wanting you to burden yourself." He said, feigning thought. "I guess I'm just gonna be selfish...." He trailed off.
Ok then. If that's how you want to play it.
"So that brings us back to how the heck does this crushing thing work?"
"It's simple actually. So you see, you take the cardboard, you flatten it out until it, well, it's flat. Then you stack them inside the machine, then you close the guard, hold this yellow button for three seconds, Wait until the light comes on then you turn the key right." The look on my face must've been a sight to see, because he stood there laughing.
"Um , I'm sorry can you repeat the stuff you said about the things? Yeah, that would be good."
"Don't worry I'll show you how."
And that's what we did for the next two and a half hours. Or what I thought was two and a half. It wasn't even supposed to take that long, but we kept joking and laughing so hard we took a few minutes to cool down. The second time we had to stop was when it was my time to do the cardboards. I might've singlehandedly ruined the machine. Every single time Axel goes to do something or talk to someone, I think I overstuff it with cardboards that it jammed over five times.
The sixth time it happened, we agreed that all I was going to do was keep him company.
When the laughing died down, it was quiet for a few minutes, but for whatever reason it never felt awkward. I was just standing here, passing him the cardboards that I flattened and he feeds them to the paper eater. It stayed like that for a while until he broke the silence.
"So whataya think?" He asked.
"Usually there'd be something extra attached to that statement."
"Why don't we play 20 questions? Since you're already so good at this." He refers to my amazing cardboard breaking skills.
"Sure, but you start first." I definitely need life hacking questions and for the life of me I can never come up with them.
"Ok sure. What was the most influential cartoon character for you growing up?"
Ok. That was fast. And a little too specific, but it didn't take me much time to answer.
"Kim Possible. Duh."
"Interesting. For me I guess it would have to be Mulan." He said so proudly.
I 'bout choked on my saliva.
"I'm sorry did you say Mulan? As in 'Mr. I'll make a man out of you' Mulan?"
"Yes." He laughed out. "Why is that so hard to believe."
"I don't know. Because, if anything, at least Li-Shang would be more your thing." I muffled a laugh.
"Okay miss judgey. You tell anyone that, I'm denying your existence. Next question. Let's make it quick here. Otherwise we'll spend the whole night with each other." He said, emphasizing the last two words.
Ew.
"And none of those 'what's your favorite thing' questions please. We want some real, deep life questions." He added.
"Ok. Ok fine."
Great, leave me to come up with the questions.
Hmmm. What could I possibly ask?
"What was your most embarrassing moment ever?" I finally ask, after excruciating seconds of waiting.
Smart.
The look he wore wasn't exactly a pleased look. More like the answer to this question was going to be so embarrassing that he'd regret ever asking me to play.
"Okay then. That concludes our episode for today. Thank you for coming ladies and gentlemen." He bowed to an imaginary audience.
"Wait no. Tell me!"
"What no! We haven't unlocked that level yet. We get to know each other step by step. I can't give you a life ending secret that'll force me to relocate to Antarctica for four years before this dies down." He shrugged, adding more cardboard to the crusher thing.
"Damn dude how bad is it?" I laugh.
"Trust me, you don't wanna know. Anything involving Landon as a friend would definitley get the FBI and CIA at your door very unexpectedly." He beamed tilting his head at me. I don't know if I ever noticed, but his dimples are insanely cute.
"Hey Axe. Here are the keys, close it up cuz we're all done and you seem to be still here for whatever reason. Boy don't you have a life? Girls to chase? Shit to do?" Said the assistant manager guy. He's so funny I literally choke on whatever it is I'm eating.
"Girl, can you make sure his dumbass makes it home in one peace please?"
"Sure. I got it. Have a good night sir!" I waved.
He looked at Axel a little horrified and then turned back to me.
"Who's sir? I'm Nate. Nathan if you're my mom, but Nate for the most part."
"I'm sorry. I'm still getting used to everything. Well don't you worry Nate, I'll take care of him. You have a good night."
"I shall." He replied, walking away. Then he turned back and added, "Well. I'm actually going to have a Netflix party for one with take out. Damn. It's even sadder when I say it out loud." He said walking away, shaking his head.
It took me a second to register what he just said.
"Wait the store is closed?" We both said at the same time.
I looked at the time on my watch and sure enough, it was way after closing time.
Like by a lot.
"Damn you really don't feel time when you're having fun." Mumbled Axel.
You got that right.
"Okay let's just leave this here for whoever is working morning. Seems like a them issue." He said, kicking the boxes to the far side of the room.
"Um. Sorry to burst your bubble buddy, but don't you work opening on Thursday's?" I asked, clearly cutting his happy dance a little short.
"You couldn't give me those three seconds of happiness could you?"
We went upstairs to get our stuff and I waited for him to come outside from the washroom. He changed into a white hoodie and a black beanie.
"Awww you waited for me? That's so sweet. Come on I'm driving you home." He said, holding the door open for me after he swiped out.
Wait what? Him dropping me off to where I live will open a new door to non-boundaries and we ain't about that life.
"No it's ok! The bus comes right outside the store. I can find my way back home don't worry. Good night!" I said in a rush, running down the stairs so fast I almost tripped three times.
If I stayed a second longer, I would've been able to hear what he had to say since I was a little too new to the city.
Serves me right for being the way that I am.
As I stepped outside to the empty parking lot, the crisp October night almost sliced through my bone. I've never been out this late and to be honest, it kind of creeped me out a little. The only car was Axel's red Jeep and a few others from a 24-hour restaurant right next door. I made my way to the bus stop, and sat down on the half frozen bench, my butt instantly freezing and my pants probably sticking to it. I held myself tighter since my jacket wasn't that thick and just rocked myself back and forth.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Just like I did when they.... no....Snap out of it. We're not going to think about this right now. The memories come flooding in regardless.
"Clear!"
Nothing.
"Clear!"
Nothing.
"I need you to push one of epi!"
"Ok. Clear."
Nothing.
With everyone's heaving breaths, and audible elevating heart rates, the doctor said the one thing I was too afraid to hear.
"Time of death 23:45."
"Hey hey! Soph are you ok?? It's ok girl I'm here I gotchu. It's ok." .....
An extremely cold breeze knocked the air right out my lungs and brought me out of my daze. I held myself a little tighter and looked at my phone. It's almost midnight, why isn't this stupid bus here. I got my answer in the form of overly blinding headlights pulling up next to me.
"You know, if you waited to hear what I had to say, you would've heard me say that today the busses stopped at 8 due to a stupid maintenance thing they decided to start mid week. So come on, let me take you home." He smiled as he reached over to open the passenger's seat. Then before I had the chance to reply, he added, "Come on, I won't kidnap you I promise. And in here is much warmer than out there." He smiled.
When he saw that I was still reluctant, he altered his offer a little.
"Okay how about I drop you off at the nearest intersection..."
"Sure."
"BUT. You'll have to let me buy you food and we can eat in my car if you'd like. You know, so we can continue our conversation from before."
Dang it. On one hand, it's better than dropping me off at the front door. But on the other hand, I hate it when people buy me stuff. Ugh I guess letting him drop me off is the lesser of two evils.
"Not to interrupt your deep thoughts, but I'm freezing my ass off here."
I laughed a little, and got into the car which literally smells like him; a vanilla/cinnamon combo.
"Okay. Deal." I said, closing the door after me.
"Sick! Okay where do you want to eat?" He asked and before I had the chance to process his question, he answered himself, "there's actually a really good 24-hour diner that I love going to."
I sat back into the chair as he drove off, basking in the warmth of the heater. Something about being with this guy makes me feel a little safe, even though he's been literally all up in my business since I started working here.
We drove in silence for a few seconds, no music playing and none of us initiating a conversation. I think we're both tired, so I just appreciated the company and comfortable silence. I could feel him glance at me every once in a while and just smile. For a few times, it felt like he wanted to say something but he'd close his mouth and just look away.
About twenty minutes later, he pulled up to the parking lot of a cute, mellow diner.
"The Love Shack? You come here alone or is that where you bring all of your co-workers?" I muffled a laugh.
"It's ok no need to get jealous. I bring my friends here a lot. Stay right here, I know what to get you and next time you can choose on your own like the grown up you say your are." He smiled as he gently closed the door. I mean, I've been too lazy to cook so I exclusively ate ramen and canned soup for the past few weeks, so anything would be a step up really. While I waited for him to arrive and for the grilling questions to begin, I started looking around his car. Honestly I half expected it to be filled with stinky gym clothes, lost moldy socks and half eaten burgers. Instead, it is literally so tidy and spotless I can eat off of it.
I reclined the chair a little and decided to get comfortable. My favorite song came on just as I turned on the radio and I raised the volume all the way up.
"I think I've seen this film before, and I didn't like the ending. You're not my homeland anymore. So who am I defending now...."
Taylor Swift and Bon Iver set the mood for me and I just embraced the warmth of it all.
I looked out to the inside of the diner and saw Axel effortlessly laughing and joking with the cashier there. She seemed a little flustered so I guess she also fell for his charm. A few minute later, he took the bags and was on his way out. Before he came to the car, he gave one of the bags and some cash to a homeless lady sitting outside the diner and that literally made my heart flutter a little. Not a lot of people even notice the poor anymore or anyone else's suffering.
He gave a her a big smile and headed towards the car, his face glowing with happiness. He opened the door and slid on the chair without dropping anything.
"Ok here's your order. Spicy chicken tenders, truffle fries, large coleslaw and a strawberry cream soda. You will love it trust me." He said smiling.
Still maintaining eye contact, and his smile unfaltering, he tilted his head like he was analyzing me.
"What? Is something wrong? Oh my God, are you allergic to anything?" He asked looking a little confused.
Gosh darn it! I forgot to change my facial expressions from smiling. He must think I've completely lost my damn mind. Honestly I blame the hunger and the cold - making me act like a Victorian era peasant.
"No. No nothing. Thanks for the food dude! So what do you want to talk about?" I said, hopefully changing the subject.