12 years later.
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A ray of light shown through the slightly parted curtain of the window, shining brightly onto my pale face. The sudden burst of light woke me from my slumber, causing me to stir in the grey cotton sheets. My eyes slowly open to be met with the ceiling of the dull room. I stare at the ceiling for what seemed like hours, but it was only seconds as my eyes were slowly adjusting to the light that filled the room. I let out a rough sigh and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, my feet hitting the cold, wooden floor boards. I flinch at the feeling, but then it slowly subsided as my natural body heat adjusted to the coldness.
I rub my eyes to get rid of the groggy feeling and look around the empty room that was usually filled with screaming children. The once white walls were now more of a cream color and in need of a fresh coat of paint. Crayons and different arrangements of toys were sprawled across the floor from the children and waiting for someone to trip over them. There were 6 other beds in the room, all of them left a mess instead of being made nice and neat.
Miss Jane won't be happy about this. I thought. I stood up, away from the bed and made it, like everyone was supposed to. I took my time around the room, picking up every toy and making every bed the way it was suppose to be, then I made my way out of the room into the blinding light of the hallway.
A yawn escaped my mouth as I stepped out of the room to be engulfed by a sweet and savory aroma. "Oh, Jo," I heard a voice to my right and turned my head quickly to see Miss Jane. "I see you are finally awake. Care to join all of us downstairs?" I blink once then nodded my head in return and watched her waddle away, her short red curls bounced as she made her way down the hallway then down the stairs. Miss Jane was my caretaker, my guardian, and she has been for the past 12 years. She was a middle age woman, probably around her mid 40's, and was very spunky. She had this aura to her that always made me feel at ease with the world around me. Maybe it was the way her bright blue eyes sparkled, or maybe it was the way she smiled that always seemed to bring me back to reality. The way her chubby cheeks grew bigger as her smile grew wider, making her face light up like the sun. She was a gem that never dulled in this cruel world. Unlike myself.
I was brought back from my daze by the sound of my stomach growling, practically begging to be filled. The aroma that filled the hallway hit my nostrils once more, making my legs move towards the smell. The dark oak floorboards were smooth under my feet as I glided my way down the stairs into the open lobby.
If you were to walk through the front door you would find yourself in a comfortable yet dark place. The walls were filled with a deep, rich red color that was lined with bright white trim all along the the walls that were adorned with different portraits paintings. Directly in front of you would be the sofa, a black, leather one at that, with a dark oak coffee table to compliment it. To your right would be the front desk where Miss Jane would usually sit, sorting through papers and different documents throughout the day. To the left of the desk was an archway that lead straight to the kitchen and dining room areas. Then finally to your left would be the staircase, where I stood, emotionless and exhausted.
My feet moved forward towards the kitchen, racing towards the heavenly aroma that smelled vaguely like bacon and eggs. My mouth started to moisten as the smell grew stronger and I drew closer to it. I started to wake up a little more as the seconds flew by and the chattering of children grew louder.
The atmosphere changed as I finally stepped into the dining room area, immediately being enveloped in laughter and high pitched voices of young children. The excitement of the room seemed to have woken me up entirely as I covered my ears from a scream to my left, which sent everyone into an uproar.
"Alright! That's enough!" Suddenly Miss Jane emerges from the depths of the kitchen. In her small hands, she held a large metal tray filled with breakfast essentials. The children eyeballed the tray in anticipation and their mouths started to water. "Did everyone wash their hands before sitting their bums in the seats," she asked, eyeing each and every one of the children seeing how many would cave to her nasty glare. Everyone just smiled and nodded. "Okay. I'll believe you all." She smirks and turns her head towards the closest kid, making him jump back a little before giggling. "For now." With that being said she set the tray of food in the middle of the table.
I took the last available seat at the table, unfolded the napkin onto my lap, and began to eat the wonderfully made breakfast.
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"I packed you a tuna sandwich and some tortilla chips," Miss Jane shouted from the kitchen, then scuttling her way towards me. "Make sure you eat it this time." She forcefully put the brown paper bag into my hands and adjusted the red vest I was wearing to her liking. "And try not feed it to the ally cats like last time." I smiled a little remembering just two days ago when I was on my way home from work.
"I'll try to keep it down, don't worry." Miss Jane gave me a cock eyed look as if waiting for me to say something else. "And I'll make sure to get the day off for adoption day."
"Heck! You better." She pats me on my back. "You know how crazy it can get in here." She chuckles a little before letting out a sigh. It's silent for a few seconds, then she perks back up. "Well, you better get going. Don't wanna be late!"
Miss Jane ushers me outside as if it's my first day of school. She likes to do this everytime I leave, and it always puts a smile on my face. Miss Jane is my angel, and I don't know what I'd do without her.
I walk down the street a little ways and make a sharp left. Then a right. Then straight ahead is the cute little convenience store I work at. The cute store has everything you could imagine. Food, clothing, mini toilet plungers. You name it, we'll most likely have it. I've been working at the store for about 2 years now, and it's definitely an upgrade from my last job. The only downside is that not many people visit the shop.
I walk around to the back of the store through the employee entrance. There I am greeted by the store owner's son, Justin. He's my age, 20, and probably the most irritating person on this planet.
"Isn't it my lil Jo!" He exclaims with his booming voice. He walks over and envelopes me into a hug. Justin is a bigger guy, which makes him somewhat intimidating, but behind that tough exterior is someone who has the personality of a innocent child. Which can get irritating sometimes, but he means well. His dark locks bounce as he picks me up mid-hug and twirl me around.
"I feel like it's been ages since I've worked with my lil Jo." He fake pouts and put me down.
"Its only been two days." I say in the most monotone voice possible. I walk past him, ignoring his fake pouts, and towards the front of the store to clock in.
"That is a very long time to be away from me. Especially when you don't even text me back!" He follows me, fiddling with the keys around his belt loop.
"There's a reason I don't text you back." My face is emotionless as I focus on not to mess up my password. Ufosarereal.
"And what is that exactly?" The sass in his voice starts to show as he places a hand on the counter and the other on his hip.
"I don't want to talk to you." I turn my head to face him, and at that exact moment he makes a face that makes me chuckle. "Well actually, I don't like going out much. And I know you only text me to hang out." I say in all seriousness. "I'm not really a people person." I then start to fiddle with the buttons on the cash register.
"So what you are saying is.."He pauses for dramatic effect. " You like me." A smile immediately is plastered on his face.
"In your dreams, Dooger." With that said I hear the door open to the front of the store and greet the customer.
"I do dream." Justin walks back to the back room as I take lead of the front.
A few hours go by with a few customers here and there. The store is a little slow at the moment when I hear the bell on the door go off and some light chatter. A couple of guys entered the store, I didn't really pay attention to how many, but I keep an eye out just in case.
I continue to do my work up front, occasionally hearing sounds of laughter coming from the back of the store. I make my way through the isles, straightening the shelves as best as I could since they are barely touched.
"No. No. Put this one on," laughter fills that back end of the store when, I guess, the person put on whatever it was. I head towards the front of the store, avoiding as much human interaction as possible.
A couple minutes pass when finally the group of guys come to the counter to pay for what they want.
Goddamit, they're attractive.
"Did you all find everything alright." I ask as I start to scan the items before me, one of them being a hat in the shape of an eggplant.
"Oh yeah! We've never been here before, but there's so much in here." The guy with a big boxy smile exclaims. The others nod in agreement. I look at all of them for a brief moment as I give them their total. The one with the boxy smile had a smaller head than the other two. His hair was a medium brown color and it seemed to fall just at his eyebrows. He reminded me of a handsome monkey.
The other two were talking amongst themselves as I took the money from the handsome monkey man, not really sure what about, but I didn't really care. The taller man had a dark shade of brown hair, and straight but round nose. His smile was quite large, and at any moment I thought he was going to squeak like a rabbit. Lastly there was the shorter man, he was still taller than me, probably not by much though. His hair was the lightest of them all being a light brown, it was parted in the middle with a slight wave to it. His smile was..cute.
"Would you like the receipt in the bag?" I ask, already putting it in there when I didn't receive an answer. I hand them the bag and they start to walk out. I sigh out of relief once they are all out of the store, and turn back to what I was doing.
"I for sure thought one of them was going to ask for your number." I nearly jumped out of my own skin when I hear Justin's voice coming from behind me.
"Jesus!" I exclaimed, clasping my chest as if my life depended on it. Justin's eyes were wide as he stood there casually, staring at me as I have a small heart attack. "Next time you sneak up on me unexpectedly, I'm kicking your ass." He responded by laughing and snorting, unable to hold himself together to the point that his eyes started watering. He wipes away the tears that escape his eyes and calms down.
"Haha oooo. You know I wouldn't mind at all if you kicked my ass." He says in a cocky manner, one eyebrow raised and a smirk plastered on his face.
"You're disturbing my space right now, don't you have manager things to do?" I spit right back at him as I pick up a few garbage bags form the trash cans behind the counter, and place them right in front of him to take.
"You know what, I do! Thanks for reminding me, my sweet lil Jo." He boops me on the nose and skips gingerly to the back room singing a little tune. I chuckle lightly to myself at the weird man child.
"Fucking idiot." I say to myself as I laugh. "You forget the trash bags!"
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The last hours of the night move quickly as I slowly make my way around the store to clean and tidy it up, as well as cash people out. Once I finished the last thing on the closing list, I let Justin know that I'm leaving. I grab my bag from the back office and head out the back door into the dark ally that leads to the street.
I take it slow and easy on my way home, enjoying the nightly breeze. The way the air smells of fresh blooming flowers spreads a smile across my face. That is, until I here a car rolling up beside me.
My head snaps immediately to the road beside me and I freeze. The sight before was none other than..an eggplant?
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A/N:
Hiya there. So I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. It feels like ages since I last opened up Wattpad. But hey! I did it!
And I apologise that I didn't update sooner. I've been super busy with school and at home life..and work..well basically everything. BUT! Starting next week in holiday break! *Screams from excitement*. And You know what that means????
MORE UPDATES (hopefully)
And lastly if you guys have any questions or feedback, don't be afraid to comment.
With that said, I'll speak to ya next update!
-Unknown