"TORYN AT CHECKOUT. TORYN AT CHECKOUT."
Toryn looked up at the loud speakers built into the ceiling when she heard her name. She quickly slid the last book back in it's place and sped walked to the front of the bookstore. Laura hadn't been playing about her getting a job and making sure she stayed busy. So the very next day Toryn landed a job at a bookstore called, Renown.
She's only been working for a month, but she worked hard so she wouldn't let Laura and Takashi down. Her life had been going good and she hadn't had an incident for the past month. Laura made sure she stayed on top of her medication and that she was still responsible. The medication wouldn't completely stop her from having another episode, but it did prolong it for a long time until it happened again.
"Take these back to their aisles." Mickey, the coworker who had called her to the front said. Mickey was a cashier. The kind of worker who always had an attitude. She was very nice to Toryn but rude to customers. Mickey was the type that always complained about her job but was still working there. "These people annoy me. They always picking things up but would never buy it."
"Thanks." Toryn said, taking the stack of books to return to their proper aisles. Toryn worked as a sales associate. She stayed in the aisles fixing shelves or assisting anybody in finding books they were looking for. But she was also a back up cashier in case someone called out or the store was busy.
Toryn looked at the tags on the side of the book that had the authors name and the genre of the stories so they could be placed in the right location. Once she did, she continued browsing through aisles to make sure books weren't on the floor and everything was in order.
In Renown, they had uniform policy and no piercings, tattoos or crazy hairstyles were allowed. Box braids and weaves were allowed but only black and brown. Their shirts were a dark navy blue and their name tag was clipped into the right side of their shirt. They had light brown Dickies pants and black or white sneakers. Toryn didn't mind though, she always preferred uniform.
"Excuse me miss, where is the mystery and thriller aisle?"
Toryn turned around, screwing her face up as she pushed the rim of her glasses higher up on her nose. "Just follow me..." Toryn said to a Caucasian woman. She took her a couple aisles over to the section she was looking for and the woman thanked her before she walked off.
Renown wasn't as big as places like Barnes & Nobles but it was coming up. It was a very nice place. They had a snack bar on the second floor, a lot of tables and chairs throughout all three floors for people so sit and read or eat, and computers. It was like a café and library all in one. And the store sold all kinds of books. Toryn loved it because she was a book head and because she was an employee, she got employee benefits like discounts and half off certain items.
"Okay, break. Fifteen minutes." Lenard, the manager of the store said tapping Toryn's shoulder as he passed by.
Toryn gladly nodded her head and walked upstairs. She went to the café, glad it was empty. She got a bagel and cream cheese and an apple juice and went all the way up to the fourth floor. The building technically had four floors but the fourth was closed off because it was where the employees went. Their lockers were up there to put their stuff along with the employee bathroom and their lounge.
Toryn knew fifteen minutes wasn't quick so she had to gobble down her food. That was the one thing she didn't like about Renown. The breaks weren't fair. Some people got fifteen minutes while others got thirty or even an hour. She was guessing it depended on how many hours you were working or how long you've worked at the bookstore. She did only start working four weeks ago so she guessed she couldn't expect a whole hour lunch.
She was only working four hours. Mickey she knew got an hour lunch, but that was because she worked eight hours. And another guy named Robbie got an hour and a half because he worked a twelve hour shift. Toryn couldn't work that long anyway because she was a minor. It was against the law. She had to work a certain amount of hours and minors couldn't do closing or late shifts.
Toryn put in the pin to the break room and opened the door. Two more coworkers sat in there. Renown had so many employees a lot of the time they didn't know each other. Sometimes complete strangers were on the schedule together.
"Hello," Toryn mumbled, just to be polite.
"Hi." A girl eating McDonald's said back, clearly not trying to start a conversation as she looked up at the small cheap TV that didn't even have sound.
The other girl was just on her cellphone, having some loud retarded conversation about who had a baby by who. She bought a pack of peanut M&M's from the vending machine. In the break room was a table big enough to seat four people, a snack and soda vending machine, a microwave and a mini fridge.
Lunch was awkward because Toryn felt like the girls were making fun of her. Why weren't they saying anything? Calm down, calm down. She told herself. She was on her pills and she was fine. Everyone in life is not going to be your friend and everyone does not have to be nice to you. She told herself.
Toryn only got to finish half her bagel and half her apple juice before she already had a minute left. She put her things away in the mini fridge and said bye to the females who both ignored her. She went into the bathroom and relieved her bladder, washed her hands and cleaned her face before she was back on duty. She was surprised how full the store had become.
It was four o' clock in the afternoon though so it was no surprise. This was the time a lot of kids came from school to hang out and be rowdy; or adults who got off work and wanted to stop by to pick up some books. Toryn hated when the store was busy, but she only had an hour left of work anyway.
Lenard passed again when he spotted her. Lenard was the only one who was dressed in all black since he was the manager. He had a black ear piece in his ear and a walkie talkie on his hip. Lenard was thirty-eight but Toryn really liked him. He was really nice to her and she loved that because he took into consideration she was only fifteen and it was her first job.
"Hey, take these down to the first floor and then go to the cash register. Lines are full. We need back up." Lenard said. Even though all three floors were filled with shelves on top of shelves, the cash registers were all on the first floor. That way no one could try some kind of trick and say they paid upstairs and walk out the door. Even with alarms on the items people had ways to make things work.
"Okay," Toryn said taking the books out his hands. She had five of them and had to run up and down to place them back in their respective places. The last two books belonged on the first floor so Toryn travelled down the stairs.
She placed the last two in the romance shelf before she felt a soft tap on her shoulder. She looked next to her at a very handsome boy. His skin was almost yellow though. He had brown eyes and curly eyelashes. He had to be at least six feet and he was dressed very nicely. Toryn felt like she'd seen his face somewhere before, but then again maybe she thought she did and didn't really.
"Hey, I'm looking for the Urban section." He said, eyeing the same shelf she was restocking.
She looked at him to see if he was serious but he wasn't even looking at her. "You're right in front of it." She pointed in a low tone. Toryn was really sweet and even customers complimented her on it all the time; but she couldn't stand the lazy customers who didn't even look around and just came in hoping to be escorted places.
The boy looked and widened his eyes for a second and put a fist up to his mouth, "Oh shit," he said, clearly embarrassed by the big bold sign that said 'Urban' right over his head. He clicked his tongue and shook his head at himself. "My bad, I be acting dumb somtimes...thanks." He said moments later, turning to her. He did a double take when he saw her and narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, Tori, right?" He smirked.
Toryn leaned in a bit closer, "Excuse me?"
Samir got a glimpse at her name tag when she moved closer and he corrected himself. "I mean Toryn. You're name? Toryn. I think I called you Tori last time too. I don't know why I keep saying that, my bad. Do you remember me?"
Toryn looked at him, trying to figure out if he was playing or being serious. She definitely knew she didn't know him, she would remember a face that handsome. Then again, she did feel like she'd seen the face somewhere and for him to ask that, meant he must have seen her somewhere before as well.
"No." Toryn mumbled.
"You were at my house once."
Now she knew he had the wrong person, because she didn't go anywhere. "I don't think so." She said.
Samir raised an eyebrow, "You walked into my bathroom...you saw me naked?" He tried to recall.
Then it hit Toryn like a ton of bricks. Naked boy. She couldn't believe she forgot his face. It hasn't been that long. Her schizophrenia was under control for now but she still suffered from dementia. If someone wasn't around frequently enough, she wouldn't remember their faces that well. She couldn't even remember the name of Takashi's friend's house they were at that night and he went to school with them.
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I didn't look or anything..." Toryn said.
Samir smirked, watching how hard her hands gripped a book on the shelf until the ends turned yellow. She was so awkward and he found it funny. He was also surprised she was working. She barely looked twelve. He watched her thick glasses that was almost sitting on her lips. Her shirt tucked into her pants and her high ponytail swinging every time she moved. He saw she had some kind of gold necklace on but it was tucked into her shirt. It looked weird that way but he guessed since she was an employee it as a rule that no flashy accessories could be visible.
Samir snapped out of his hard gaze when he saw her push her glasses higher up on her face. She was still standing there, nervously scanning the books as if trying to make sure the shelf was perfect.
Samir began browsing for his own books. It was silent between them as Toryn figured a way to excuse herself. She would feel rude just walking away. They weren't even talking, but that's just how she was.
"Yes!" Samir said, startling Toryn.
She glanced at him and saw him quickly grab a book from the shelf. He already had a couple books in his hand she was assuming we're from other parts of the store, but she could tell he was also an Urban lover. She saw him pick up two more books before they both took a step forward toward each other at the same time, ready to go.
Toryn took a step back and put a hand behind her neck, "S-sorry. I'm trying to get to the front. I have to go to the registers now." She said remembering what Lenard said.
Samir smiled, showing off his beautiful white teeth. "Okay, that's perfect. I'm ready to check out, you can lead me to where they are. I always get confused on where they are."
Toryn gave a tight lipped smile and walked off with the boy behind her. When she got to the front she quickly gasped, seeing how long the lines were. It extended all the way down into an aisle. She got behind the counter and walked down, leaving two cash registers between her and Mickey.
Toryn signed in to make sure her name was set up as the cashier and immediately half the line was chopped in half as people began to swarm on her line since there were now two lines. Toryn felt butterflies when she saw naked boy get on her line. He ended up way at the back, but he was still on her line. She was hoping Mickey ended up getting him, she's been working registers for a long time so she was much faster.
It was quiet for a really long time as the sound of items being scanned in places in bags sounded. Occasional 'next in line' and 'your total' was said by Mickey and Toryn as they bagged people's items. The lines were getting shorter on both ends and naked boy was coming up closer to her. She wanted to go slower so it would be guaranteed he ended up on Mickey's line, but she was scared of getting cursed out and embarrassed by a customer for going too slow.
"You're change ma'am," Toryn said, placing the receipt and the few dollar bills in a woman's hand as she gave her bag to her.
Toryn glanced up at naked boy. He wasn't even looking at her, he was just standing there holding his books in one hand, on his phone with the other and moving up when everyone else in the line did.
"Next in line." Her and Mickey called at the same time. Toryn noticed Mickey's line was much shorter and she felt like naked boy would end up on Mickey's like because of that, but when Mickey's next customer looked like he had picked up the whole bookstore, she knew she was gonna be checking him out for a while.
Toryn blew out a breath, You know what Toryn? Calm down...he's just a person. No need to go crazy. Just relax and do your job. "Next." Toryn called out. She hurried and checked out the last couple people on her line.
"Thank you for shopping at Renown." Mickey said with attitude to her last customer, patting her weave as she slid the bag over the counter. She then punched in a few things into the computer system, signing her name out. "Aight I'm on break, so I'm out."
Toryn looked up and was left with naked boy. He hadn't even noticed because she was still on his cellphone. Toryn watched Mickey walk off swishing somewhere out of sight. She sighed and looked back at the boy. "Next."
Samir looked up and looked around, noticing he was the only one left. He walked up and placed his books on the counter. He had a good set, which surprised her. She wasn't trying to be ignorant but he didn't look like the type that read books. She wasn't judgmental, he just looked like he was on some 'too cool for school' stuff.
Samir watched her, ringing his stuff up and purposefully avoiding eye contact. "You scared of me, girl?"
Toryn pushed her glasses up and looked at him with her mouth agape. "Huh?"
"I asked if you were scared of me. Why you acting like that? Mumbling, being all shy and stuff."
"Oh, s-sorry," She said, scanning a Non fiction book. It was silent between them as she just picked up books and scammed them, watching them come up on the screen. She got excited when she noticed one of the Urban books he picked up. Toryn loved books and that was one thing she could talk about with anyone no matter how nervous she was.
Toryn smirked and pointed at the book on the counter, "You got lucky...this one is never in stock. When I tell you never I mean never. People buy it out constantly." She said.
Samir playfully jerked his head back, looking at the book she was speaking about. Soft: Cocaine Love Stories by J.M. Benjamin, T. Styles, Caroline McGill and Boston George. He looked at her with a playful scowl. "What you know about these type of books girl?"
Toryn chuckled. "A lot...I'm surprised you found it in here."
"Yeah, that's why I got hype back there in the book aisle. It was literally the last copy sitting there. I came here two days ago and last week and it was out of stock. So when I saw it I was like finally. I read all her other books and heard a lot of good things about this one so I had to get it."
"Yeah," Toryn smiled, "I read it, it's really good. I feel like I could make better plots to some of the stories though."
Samir raised an eyebrow and looked at her funny. "Uh oh, you sound like you hating over there girl."
Toryn laughed and pointed at herself, scanning another book of his. "Who me? No, I'm just saying."
Samir chuckled, "Nah, I'm just teasing you, baby." He said, making it quiet between them again.
"You're total is seventy-three dollars and sixty eight cents," Toryn said, "if you have a Renown store card or a gift card—"
"Nah I don't."
"Would you like to sign up for one? I would need your email, address and—"
"Nah I'm good."
Toryn was getting so nervous again and Samir realized. He thought it was cute. He looked at the little items sitting right in front of him. They were little items like key chains, magnets, colorful pens and pencils and small pretty notepads. Samir met her eyes all of a sudden and caught her staring. She looked away while he dug into his back pocket, taking out a one hundred dollar bill.
Toryn punched in some things and opened the register. She collected his change and receipt and extended it over the counter to him, placing it in his hand. "Thank you for shopping at Renown."
Samir took his change and put it in his back pocket. He narrowed his eyes, "How old are you?"
Toryn made a quick glance behind him just to make sure he wasn't blocking a line. There was nobody else there but him, though. In Renown, talking to customers was usually encouraged. The store said it made customers more prone to buy something else before they left and it gave the store good ratings. Because when some people went online to leave a review they would say that the employees were really nice and customer friendly.
"Fifteen..." Toryn confessed. He made her nervous, but she didn't feel threatened by him. So she was fine with telling him that sort of information.
"Really? Okay, I thought you were younger," He said. He smiled and Toryn felt a warmth in her chest. He reached over and extended his hand. "I'm Samir."
Toryn took his hand and felt like a bolt of electricity went through her body. "Toryn."
"Okay...you welcome to come back to my house next week. Our parents not there so I'm letting my little brother throw a party."
Toryn just nodded her head and Samir chuckled, "So that mean you gon' come?"
Toryn slowly shrugged. It was a 'hell no' in her mind but she didn't have the courage to say that. "I'll think about it."
Samir smiled and Toryn had to admit he had a really nice smile. "Aight. If you do come that mean you coming for me though, okay?"
Toryn went to fix her glasses but her nervousness made her jam them too hard. The frames flew off, falling on the ground somewhere. She quickly got low, disappearing behind the counter in search of it. She felt around but saw it really quickly, as she grabbed it and put it back on her face. She stood back up and was really embarrassed as she saw Samir staring with his lips pressed into a thin line. She was so goofy; this was maybe why Takashi didn't like always being around her.
"Sorry," She mumbled for no reason.
Samir shook his head to himself and reached across the counter with his hand out. Toryn stared for a second but got with the program as she realized he was asking for a handshake—again. She took a step forward and placed her hands in his. She was caught off guard when Samir raised her hand up, his plump lips softly kissing her knuckles.
They made eye contact and he winked at her before leaving the store. Toryn's little heart hammered in her chest. Butterflies flew around dangerously in her stomach. It made her glad Laura was the one picking her up, because she didn't know if she would be able to walk home on her wobbly legs.
She knew she was being a little dramatic. Her and Takashi did do much more than that on a daily...but there was just something about that boy that had her mind drawing blanks.