Ariana placed the carton of eggs at the top of the overflowing plastic bag and handed it to the elderly customer, receiving a twenty-dollar bill from a shaking wrinkled hand.
"Let me just get you your change," Ariana mumbled opening the cash register exchanging the note for ten cent. The customer held up a hand and pursed their lips.
"I don't need little coins jingling in my purse, keep the change, dear, think of it as a bonus." The old woman retorted looping her hand between the plastic handles. She smoothened down her lavender cardigan and pushed up her rimmed glasses which squashed up against her beady eyes. Ariana stifled her laugh and watched as the old woman shuffled out of the shop's automatic door, muttering something so quiet she could not quite catch. Glancing around the store to see if there were any other customers in sight, Ariana debated her life decisions for applying for a cashier job. Of course it wasn't her career for life, she was still in high school, but someone had to pay for her college tuition. She was not going to rely on her family's money for everything, independence was Ariana's strong suit. The store was nice, anyway, she liked her co-workers and her boss, and didn't mind scanning chocolate bars for three hours each night. The store was small enough too, with only seven aisles for consumers to browse upon. It was money either way, like it or not.
Ariana and her co-worker Michael were the only ones on shift and as she looked up from her till she caught sight of him rearranging the cereal display.
"You know they're going to be moved again tomorrow morning when Patricia comes in," Ariana remarked tapping her fingers against the register. Michael looked up at her and smiled showing his set of white teeth.
"Thought that counts," He chuckled before resuming back to his work.
Michael was a curiosity to Ariana. He wasn't much older than Ariana, yet he had the face of a wise old man. His skin was sallow and his hands were those of someone who worked hard, creases lining up and down each palm. His hair was almost gone, only stringy cords of black remained and they were carelessly flaunting about his head. She pondered whether to ask how old he was, but her co-worker, Patricia, advised her not to bark down that street and that he was in his twenties. It was hard to believe but Ariana relied on the fact that some people did not age well, and perhaps Michael was in that category.
"Ariana do you mind sweeping up aisle four?" Michael asked rubbing his head while holding a box of Raisin Bran in his other hand.
Rolling her eyes, Ariana unwillingly obliged.
Ariana squirmed out of her chair and walked slowly to the backroom where all of the cleaning supplies were upheld. Of course Ariana had to clean up, it was never Michael. It was so quiet in the shop, that from her distance she could still hear Michael whispering to himself and the boxes of cereal thumping against each other. She continued her short trek through aisle four where she soon noticed the problem. Washing up liquid was swirling on the ground spreading like a forest fire.
"Shit." Ariana moaned realising she would, actually, have to clean it up. Why would someone be such a nuisance and make Ariana's life much more difficult. It was probably some idiotic punk who was dared to come in here and mess up the place. Or else it was the old woman but she didn't seem like the type. Plus Ariana would have heard her, and the pool of Fairy liquid seemed to have been there a while. Ariana carefully hopped over it and made her way to the storage room dry. She was glad the shop was empty, except for Michael, she hated cleaning up a mess whilst customers glared at her thinking 'Oh my, what a disgraceful store.'
Little did Ariana know while she was searching for a mop, the automatic doors groaned open and a tall dark figure glided in.
The figure walked noisily, catching the attention of Michael who was wiping sweat from his beetroot coloured face.
"Good evening sir, how may I help you?" Michael swallowed straightening his tie and staggering to his feet leaving the cereal boxes scattered on the floor.
The figure paused and turned to face Michael. He opened his mouth to speak when he heard a crashing sound ahead of him. Leaving Michael alone, the figure made his way up the aisle where Ariana reappeared and was beginning to clean up the mess. Ariana was busily thrusting the mop back and forwards and soon the liquid was demolished. She didn't notice the figure until he stopped right in front of and if it weren't for Ariana's procrastinating trait she did not think she would have noticed him. Her eyes started from the ground and worked themselves up. First she noticed that he was wearing all black. Black cowboy boots, black jeans and a tight leather jacket. His face was perfectly structured with high defying cheekbones and a chiselled jawline. His olive skin was illuminated beneath the fluorescent lighting. Although, she couldn't see his eyes. They were disguised with sunglasses. Ariana pushed her dark hair back from her face and rubbed her hands on her smock.
"May I help you?" She asked him, clenching her teeth. The figure stood with his arms crossed and examined Ariana. Suddenly he repositioned his torso so he was facing the aisle which was thick with washing up liquids. He singled out and picked up a pink bottle and held it in one hand.
"How much?" he purred waiting for Ariana's answer. His voice sang in the air until it registered with Ariana. Ariana stretched forwards to where he had picked up the bottle. In front of the display there was a small sign which told what the prices where for each individual product. She located the price; it was $3.92.
"It's right there on the label, do you want to buy it?" Ariana said raising her brow, noticing how close she was to his body. Without meaning to she stared at him again and she found herself noticing how tight the boys leather jacket clung to his body. She could feel the warmth radiating off his skin on hers. The figure laughed, noticing Ariana's fascination, and placed it back on the shelf.
"No," With that he placed his hands in his jacket and spun on his heel and left. Ariana watched carefully as he strolled back down the aisle and went out the door. Confused, she resumed cleaning the sparkling floor and counted down the minutes until she could escape the store.
-
"I'll see you Wednesday Michael," Ariana said trying to hide the happiness that she was finished scanning items and listening to cranky customers complain about the state of the shop. She buttoned up her jacket and pulled on her ponytail. Michael rubbed his head and smiled up at her.
"Yes, yes. Have a good night, Ariana." He replied and let Ariana pass him. Michael always decided to remain in the shop after closing hours, he liked to walk up and down the aisles and count how much stock they had and needed. Most of the other co-workers thought it was odd and some thought he was stealing money from the tills, but Ariana had worked with him for a while now and knew he would never commit such a crime. He didn't have access to all the tills except his own, plus he couldn't lie for shit.
Ariana paused before heading out and took out her phone and pressed into her music app. Debating which song to listen to, she pushed her earphones in and began her walk home. Ariana turned her back to glance back at the shop squinting her eyes as the vivid brightness illuminating from the store hit back at her, and saw the messy letters scrawled on top of the structure. 'Little Shop Of Wonders'. Her boss was a fan of Howard Ashman and thought it was ingenious.
She lived ten minutes away from the store which was quite handy especially as it was freezing outside. The cold winter air ran through Ariana's body and soon she was shivering under her jacket. It bit into her skin and she hunched up to keep in the little warmth she still possessed. Ariana was always on high alert when she walked home. Her uncle, Alan, always told her she would collect her as she didn't like the idea of a sixteen year-old wondering the streets at ten o'clock in the night. . You didn't know who would be around your corner, Alan warned. Ariana didn't mind, she liked walking, it gave her some time to think to herself without any distractions. Tonight her brain was filled with thoughts of the stranger at the shop. Ariana was drained of energy and wasn't keeping a close eye on the road. As she crossed without so much as looking up, her music on full volume, she didn't notice a Land Rover speed down the slippery surface. The lights of the car flashed and Ariana suddenly glanced up and saw the car advancing on her. There was little hope for her; the car was nearly upon her. Ariana was stuck in a rigid position, her body not communicating with her brain. Ariana screamed silently to herself to run, to make an attempt at saving herself but she could feel the heat from the cars ignition. She shut her eyes and braced herself for the impact, her heart rate creeping up. She didn't want to die just yet especially without saying a final goodbye. Why wasn't the car stopping? Surely it had seen her? She felt like a deer caught in headlights. I'm going to die! Ariana cried to herself.
Fortunately, she did not.
Abruptly, she was dragged away from the car and she saw it race past without her. Ariana slammed into a wall of a building and came face to face with the dark figure from the shop. Her breath came out in a rush and her body began heaving uncontrollably.
Ariana had to blink before she registered that she was still alive. The figure still had his sunglasses on and he had his fists entangled with Ariana's jacket. Ariana began to whimper and the figure loosened his grip on her.
"Are you okay?" he inquired, letting her loose.
Ariana's voice came out hoarse as she struggled to find words to respond with.
"How-how did you do that?" She demanded, her face crumbling up. She tried to blink back her tears, but she could feel them trickling down her face. The figure did not give any feedback.
"Watch where you're going next time." He warned her.
They remained in an uncomfortable silence and Ariana felt as if the boy would reach out and stroke her face, but suddenly he pushed her back.
The figure turned and lurked away into the darkness leaving Ariana scared and all on her own questioning how in the world she was still alive.
-
The walk back to Ariana's house seemed longer and darker than usual. Perhaps that was because she had just experienced a life-death experience and still couldn't figure out how the boy had rescued her. One stage Ariana was on her own, the car lights reflecting of her face, and the next she was facing the boy with sunglasses, still alive. Maybe she was reading into things. The car could have been metres away but it felt closer because she was in shock. Or maybe, by chance, the boy was a professional athlete. Ariana told herself this as she replayed the events that had recently occurred over and over again.
Except she didn't fully believe herself.
Fixated on her own thoughts, Ariana wasn't moved by the bitter air which circulated around her causing her bones so shake. Her earphones were still lodged in her ears but her music was not playing. She could not shake the image of her rescuer; there was something strange about him. Handsome yet strange. No, not handsome, but beautiful. A terrifying beautiful that caused wars. Stop thinking about him, Ariana scolded herself.
Eventually she came to a halt outside her house. All the lights were still on, and she heard the music being blasted from upstairs, even though she was still lingering by the gateway. Jamie, her younger sibling, was home then. She wondered if Alex was home too, it wasn't likely but in all honesty that wasn't exactly a bad thing. When was he ever home. Although the house was small, Ariana liked it. She had no reason not to; it had been her home all her life. Ariana could always rely on her house. The house was surrounded by a white-washed fence which enclosed the perimeter, accompanied with tufts of green grass. Weeds grew in many places of the garden; Alice was not a gardener. Ariana's mother wasn't much of one either, except if she found a weed residing in her front lawn there would be war. Hopefully when she came back from running off with her boyfriend she would redesign the garden and redesign her mothering skills. Unfortunately Ariana knew it would never be the latter.
Ariana placed her cold hand on the fence and pushed the gate open, wincing as a small screech escaped from the wooden door. Pushing it closed as she manoeuvred herself through it she hurried up the pathway to her front door. As she bounded up the steps, she wriggled out her key from her pocked and slotted it into the keyhole. It clicked, and she pushed her way inside. Immediately she was greeted by the warmth of her home, and suddenly all her thoughts about tonight were pushed aside as she re-established herself in the glow of her home. The hallway was lit up and Ariana glanced down and saw letters dispersed below her feet. Rolling her eyes she hunched down on her knees and gathered them up, vaguely glancing at the addresses printed on each envelope. They were bills; something Alan rarely paid attention to. Ariana removed her jacket and hung it on the stair bannister and, still holding onto the bills, made her way inside to the kitchen. Ariana was greeted by the presence of her Alan pouring himself a glass of Prosecco while speaking into his phone. Perhaps speaking into the phone was an understatement. Alan's face was flushed a dark red as he shouted into the mobile. Ariana couldn't make out what the other poor soul was replying with, all she knew was that Alan didn't like it. Grinning, Ariana sat on one of the counter tops chair and watched with an amused smile at her uncle getting worked up. Alan slammed his glass down and rubbed her temples with her index fingers.
"Okay, I understand you. Just next time, don't make out with your frickin' slut where I work. You got that? Bye, have a shit life." Alan said, finalising the call. He hung up and threw his phone on the floor. Ariana tried to suppress her laughter.
"I hate men, we are literally the most stupid race in the galaxy. I wasn't expecting this from Gerry." Alan remarked topping up his glass and draining it in seconds. Ariana rolled her eyes; trust her uncle to get involved with her employer.
"Boy troubles again?" Ariana inquired raising her brow at Alan's sudden taste for alcohol.
Pouring yet another glass, Alan nodded his head.
"Unfortunately. Apparently every guy I go near feels the need to cheat on me or else treat me like shit. It's like I have a sign plastered on my forehead saying 'hey cheat on me, I'm used to it.' But to think Gerry would fuck me over like this a new low, must stick it in the old diary." Alan snorted at his last statement and wiped his forehead clear of his sticky mess of hair.
Ariana had come to terms with her uncle rambling on about his never ending relationships. Men had come and go throughout the time period Alan had moved in with them, and it wasn't unusual to see him having a breakdown every time they turned out to be cheating liars. The boring part was that Ariana and her two brothers Jamie and Alex always had to listen to the same lecture about how much he hated men and how they should all rot in hell. Of course with the acceptation of Jamie and Alex, as they were "born and bred gentlemen".The lecture usually happened either once or twice a week. Although he was a drama queen, Ariana loved him. Alan had been much more of a mother and father in the space of six months then Ariana's actual mother and father had ever been in the past sixteen years. For that she was grateful. Alan was young too, for an uncle that is. He was nearing his thirties and still tried to be as much fun as he could. He was gorgeous too, with coal black hair which cascaded down past his shoulders and beautiful rounded emerald eyes which Ariana had always been envious of. Alan did not relish in his beauty though. He did not think he was any better than anyone else, which was also unlike her sister. It was a pity that Alan was recently only attracted to scummy men when he could do with someone a lot better. Time after time Ariana had warned her uncle of her distaste in his boyfriends, proving to no prevail. By tomorrow Ariana would arrive home from school to find Gerry and Alan in a heated discussion which would result in both of them forgetting the past and making out like there's no tomorrow. For the past few weeks this had been the schedule. Gerry was nice, for a small ginger thick Irish-accent man, and although his tendencies to cheat on Alan were a warning sign, Alan did seem happy with him.
"You'll find someone better, don't worry just yet. Maybe lay off the alcohol though, you don't want to be hung-over for work." Ariana said tiredly placing her head in her hands and propping her elbows up for support. Alan let loose a laugh and placed down his glass.
"Thanks kiddo but being hung-over is on my 'to-do' list right now. How was work? Did you have any trouble walking home?" Alan asked turning around to put his wine glass in the sink and returning the Prosecco to its rightful place.
Ariana swallowed and racked her brains for what to say. She couldn't blurt out she had almost been hit by a car, she would never be allowed leave the confinements of the walls of the house ever again. Although the prospect of missing school was enchanting, she wasn't going to miss finalising her portfolio for art class. She also couldn't admit she had come across a mysterious boy, her uncle would not stop asking questions about him. Even if Ariana did not know any of the answers herself. Pausing before opening her mouth she finally decided with a curt response.
"Nothing new anyway. The walk home was fine as usual, bit cold though."
Alan faced her again and leaned his hands on the counter top.
"You need to start covering up a bit more then. I don't want you getting a cold and then missing days of school." Alan scolded her. Ariana mumbled in agreement.
"Would you mind checking on Jamie, he hasn't came downstairs since he got home from school? He told me he had something on his way back, I still have some meatloaf in the microwave if he's hungry." Alan popped the question out, biting on his lip nervously.
Ariana stood up ready to ascend the trek to her younger brother's room. Alan was a good guardian, putting aside his addiction to being in love, and his lack of knowledge of the children he had in care.
"Is Alex home?"
Alan chewed on his lip and his green eyes scrunched up in thought.
"Yes, he's in his room. I think he fell asleep though, he got a flight in from London."
Ariana looked at her aunt with a puzzled frown. "I didn't see his car?"
Alan paused for a moment his cheeks flushing. "His friend gave him a ride from the airport. I'm going in to watch TV," Alan added jerking up and quickly walking away from Ariana and into the opposite part of the room where the TV sat. Ariana didn't have time to respond. Whatever.
Ariana had recently became quite worried about her two brothers. Her younger sibling, Jamie, didn't have much friends in school, but she had heard rumours about him that she didn't feel exactly comfortable with. Ever since their mom had walked out on them he had been distant with her. They had always had a special bond, one which both of them didn't hold with Alex. Alex was always wary of them, being three years Ariana's senior he kept to himself and was rarely seen in the house. He didn't take after his two siblings who both possessed chocolate eyes and milky skin tone. Where Jamie had chestnut hair, Ariana had a deep, lush red. Alex resembled Alan, with his short jet black hair and his snake green eyes. The last time Ariana truly saw Alex displaying brotherly characteristics was when she was fourteen when Jamie had been bullied in school. Alex had lost his head, insisted he came face to face with Jamie's tormentor, and called up to the culprits house where he argued with the bullies parents. Brandon, former bully, apologised admitting he "only wanted a friend" . It resulted in Jamie forming a friendship with his former bully, much to Alex's disapproval. Alex seemed to have a small fondness for Jamie, but paid no attention or sympathy to Ariana. He had moved out last year as soon as he had turned eighteen and according to Alan he was doing well and earned a lot of money, some of which he sent home to support the family he left behind. Ariana had no idea what he did, or where he was half the time. It was not like she cared either, if they were not blood related she would feel nothing but hatred towards him. He had left them when they were in their darkest days. If it were not for Alan, Ariana and Jamie would be homeless and separated.
Ariana hesitated before climbing up her staircase, but finally worked up her courage. The house upstairs was big, each containing an en-suite bathroom. All the walls in the house were a pale yellow, which could be disgusting but Ariana had never thought of painting over them. It was not like she had other problems to take care of. She came to a halt at the top of the stairs and racked her brains to play out different scenarios in her head on to what Jamie could be doing. Hopefully something legal of course. Jamie's room was beside hers, so if anything went wrong she had a quick escape. Balling up her fist she knocked on the white framed door. She could hear the gentle thump of music being played inside and automatically it subsided and she heard a crashing noise from inside.
"Jamie?" Ariana strained placing her hand on the handle. Another crashing sound.
Ariana turned the handle with her might and barged her way in. Jamie, her brother, was sitting on his floor white powder hanging from his nose. He looked up at her, his vast cocoa coloured eyes rounding with terror and tried to speak but his words were caught in his throat. Ariana stood gobsmacked as she saw her brother clumsily try to cover up his cocaine. The look of guilt washed over his face as he saw Ariana glare at him. Jamie had promised her, he had sworn he would never snort coke again. Not after the last time when he was hospitalised. Not after the last time when Ariana watched as tubes were inserted inside her brother, as doctors hastily tried to pump his stomach. Ariana felt her insides swish as she came to terms with her brothers betrayal. Her heart was swelling inside her chest as she looked down helplessly at her brother. Betrayal was like the descent on a roller-coaster; the part where you got sick.
"It's not what it looks like," Jamie scoffed wiping his nose.
"So you didn't just snort coke? Jamie you know you're not strong enough for drugs, don't you? Do I need to remind you that you nearly died!" Ariana said her eyes clouding with tears. She loved Jamie so much and couldn't bare see him wasting away like their mother.
"I'm sorry Ariana! I just found this in my drawer from before and I just wanted to see if I could control myself. I'm sorry!" Jamie cried jumping to his feet and held out his hand to grasp Ariana's.
Ariana recoiled and looked at her brother in disgust. His pupils were not diluted, which was a complete shock and delight to Ariana. Perhaps he did have some form or restraint.
"You're scaring me," Ariana whispered letting her tears tumble down her cheek. They fell into a small puddle at the base of her feet with a soft splash, and a moment later the patch had soaked through Jamie's carpet. Jamie rubbed his dirty hands and darted his gaze away from his sister.
"I know I didn't mean to do it, you have to understand that, okay? It just- I can't explain it you, Ariana. I just needed to see. I promise you wont see me going near drugs again, I swear on my life." Jamie pleaded.
"Don't swear on that, Jamie. I'm trusting you please try not to fuck me over this time." Ariana informed him, slowly backing herself out of the room.
Jamie picked up his head and a small grin stretched across his face.
"You're not going to tell Alice? Or Alex?" He inquired.
It was obviously something Jamie was not proud of, if he didn't want their distant brother knowing. Ariana closed her eyes and counted down from five.
"Good night."
The door slammed close, signalling she could finally let her tears fall. It was as if someone had turned a faucet in her eyes, the tears kept falling and soon she was hiccuping and hyperventilating. She did not stop, but fumbled her way inside to her room where she collapsed on her bed. She sprawled out and grabbed a pillow and covered her face with it. The fabric cushioned her face and her tears stuck to the soft surface. Distracted with the comfort of her pillow, Ariana was oblivious to the dark figure which was perched on her window sill, which was slightly afar. Cold air rippled through into Ariana's bedroom, passing through the secretive phantom which remained clutching onto the window frame. Skill was required to climb up to Ariana's window undetected, as her bedroom was located on the second floor. If Ariana had not been consumed by her own dilemmas she would have questioned this, asked the shadow to explain itself.
But the figure was silent and watched curiously at Ariana, waiting to see if she would stop crying. It did not come into the confinements of her bedroom; it did not wish to bother her. Its only wish was to stare at her in wonder. Perhaps it was waiting to see if she would finish blubbering , and if she would eventually notice itself. It waited, motionless, but finally admitted defeat. The figure in the window silently sighed and gave up pursuit and turned its gaze away from the crying girl. The moon reflected off his olive skin as he stared out into the black blanket which covered the sky. Removing the sunglasses which were permanently stuck to his face, he pocketed them and removed his fingers from the window. There was always tomorrow.
-
hey. So this is something new and completely distant from my horrendous previous works, but for once I feel confident with this. Would love to hear from you about what your first reactions were when reading this and hope you add and fan and continue reading my novel
Much love,
Katie