Chapter 8
“You got a job?”
“Yup!”
“Where?”
“A small boutique called Sunny Lane. It’s really cute!”
“Oh, I heard of it. It’s not really my style.”
“I’ve noticed…” Janice and Carrie were chatting in the kitchen while Jeremy was taking a shower. Carrie had been right on time as the couple walked out of the mall. Janice had gotten the job on the spot. Sidney said that she would be leaving for a trip in a week or two and wanted to find a replacement so her grandson wouldn’t have to handle the store alone. Janice knew that her grandson was going to be a pain, it’s not like Janice could do anything about it.
“So what do you guys want to eat for dinner?” Janice only noticed Jeremy was in the room when he plopped down in the stool next to her.
“Can you put on a shirt?” Janice asked Jeremy once she noticed his lack of clothing. He gave her a look she couldn’t figure out right away.
“Why? It’s always hot in here.” Jeremy yawned. Janice rolled her eyes but mentally agreed with him.
“Yeah, how is it so hot in the house but outside it’s like the Artic?” Janice questioned Carrie.
“Well, if I open a window, then there would be snow inside the house and it would be too cold. And the air conditioner is frozen.” They were silent now. They each shared their personal thoughts to themselves. Janice found herself wondering about Sidney’s grandson. He was very attractive but rude and you couldn’t forget the cockiness that basically radiated off of him. It isn’t right for Janice to judge the boy by his first impression. These Earth human feelings were confusing her better judgment. “So, what are we doing for dinner? You want to cook or order pizza?”
“Can’t you cook?”
“Well, let’s just say if we order pizza, we will live to the next day.” Carrie gave them a guilty grin. They shook their heads in amusement.
~
Carrie had been right about the snowstorm. The two missionaries had never seen this much snow in one day. Janice stuffed herself in layers of clothes and stuffed her head into a bright red beanie. The clothes added about 10 more pounds on Janice’s shoulder, that was barely an exaggeration. As she waddled to the front door she saw Jeremy tucked snuggled in a pair of wind breaker pants and a thick sweater. She eyed him curiously. “Is that all you’re wearing?” She asked him. Once he spotted Janice, Jeremy was bent over in laughter.
“You look like a giant ball of material!” He choked out.
"I don’t want to get sick!” Janice cried to him.
“It’s not even that cold, Jan!” He chuckled. She glared at him before starting to take off her clothes.
“WOAH!” He gasped as she pulled a shirt over her head. “What are you doing?” Jeremy sounded surprised.
“I’m taking off my clothes.” Janice said in a matter-o-factly voice.
“But why?”
“It’s not even that cold, Jer.” She mimicked. He snickered. Once she was in her original work uniform, a long white blouse and black pencil skirt, Janice reapplied her outerwear. This time she only put on a pair of sweats and large jacket, which had been Jeremy’s until she stole it from his closet.
“Isn’t that mine?”
“Yeah, it’s really warm!” Janice gave him a flirty smile. He shook his head and stuffed his keys in his pocket.
“Let’s play in the snow before you leave for your first day!” Jeremy suggested. Janice quickly dismissed his suggestion.
“I don’t want to get my work clothes wet.” Before Janice could say anything else, Jeremy grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door. “No! Don’t make me go out there!” She cried as she clawed at his hand. “Carrie! Save me!” Carrie appeared in the doorway as Janice was pushed backwards into the snow. “Jeremy!” She screamed as she felt the snow soak into her clothes.
“Come and get me!” Janice screamed in frustration as she tossed her pumps on the doorstep and chased after Jeremy. She tripped over her feet but quickly regained her balance. She jumped on his retreating back and tackled him to the ground. He face planted into the snow and Janice scrambled off of him.
She ran towards the house but Jeremy caught her and pushed her in the ground. Janice’s back sank into the snow and Jeremy threw himself over her so she couldn’t get up. Janice squealed.
“Get off of me, you fatty!” Jeremy chuckled. Janice followed along. After a few moments they settled down and just settled to grin at each other. Jeremy’s eyes flickered to Janice’s eyes. When he started to lean forward Janice felt her breathing hitch. He’s going to kiss me! He’s going to kiss me! Janice thought to herself. She started to panic. There was only one thing that flashed in Janice’s mind when his breath hit her face.
Janice let her eyes flicker and tilted her head up, Jeremy’s eyes were closed, just as planned. Janice squeezed one of her hands in the snow and the other in Jeremy’s hair. Once Janice could feel his breath on her lips she reached her hand up and slammed her snow-filled hand into Jeremy’s face. Janice squealed and flinched back as some of the snow fell on her face. She peeked through her eyes as the wind started to pick up. Jeremy stared at her with his eyes wide. She sent him a sly smile.
“Aren’t you going to be late for work?” Janice had totally forgotten about her first day at work! She quickly nodded to herself, pushed Jeremy off of her, and thanked Carrie before running up the stairs to change her wet clothes. After stripping off her wet shirt and trading it for a new sleeveless shirt, keeping on her dry skirt, Janice jogged over to the car with her heels in her hand.
“Bye Carrie!” Janice waved before slamming the door shut. The wind was getting stronger, but did nothing to phase the car. Jeremy leaned his head on his hand while he drove to the mall. Even in this weather, Janice didn’t see a difference in the number of cars in the parking lot as the two pulled up. “I finish at 4.” Janice informed Jeremy.
He grunted in response. “Maybe next time don’t drag me in the snow!” Janice snapped in irritation. She slammed the door and waddled into the mall. Jeremy pulled out of the lot without a word. Janice twined herself into her jacket and shuffled into the mall entrance. She smiled into the warmth and headed towards Sunny Lane.
Hopefully this day would start to look up for Janice. How could it get any worse?
~
Janice was bored out of her mind. She had been in the store for 2 hours already and not one customer has shown up. Janice was mingling through the store, checking racks and sizes. “Hey, Janice!” Sidney popped out of the back.
“Yes, Sidney?” Janice called back to the woman.
“I’m going to step out for a second. Gonna grab some food. You want something?” Sidney asked as she pulled on her coat. Janice figured that she would be going outside of the mall.
“Can you get me a coffee? When you come back?” Janice asked. Sidney nodded.
“What do you take?”
“Whatever they recommend.” Janice replied simply. Sidney waved goodbye and walked out of the store. Janice went back to her rummaging. Janice heard the storage door close from behind the counter. Looks like J-Bear is here, Janice joked to herself. She watched as the teenager walked to the register and opened it. He took out the little money and started to count. There was silence, Janice didn’t know if it was awkward or not. She quickly plucked up a blouse and pushed it over to the smaller sizes. The metal rubbing against metal burned Janice’s ears.
“Why are you even here?” Janice looked at the boy suddenly.
“W-what?” She stuttered. The boy looked up from the register with a blank look. He cocked his head to the side. Janice watched his hair fall along his face.
“Do you have hearing problems?” He monotony asked.
“N-no!” Janice blushed. He gave her a you-should-explain-yourself kind of look. “I wanted a job.” Janice told him.
“Wanted or needed.” He perked his head up on his hand. He watched Janice intently. She began to fidget.
“Wanted.”
“So you’re rich or something.”
“I can get by fine.” Janice kept her answer subtle. He didn’t respond.
The boy pulled out a magazine from behind the counter. From Janice’s position, she could see the faces of some celebrities that she probably wouldn’t care about. He flipped the front page before shutting it again. He tossed the magazine on the side and grabbed a book from the counter. “So was that your boyfriend?” He asked.
“Excuse me?”
“The guy you came here with yesterday? Is he your boyfriend?” Janice hesitated to answer.
“Yes."
“I saw you guys fight outside of the car.” He told Janice.
“I don’t see how that is any of your business.” Janice instantly felt bad about how she said that. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it that mean.” She apologized quickly.
“Whatever.” He said before flipping half way through the book. Janice walked quietly through the racks of clothes. She finished skimming through the material and made her way to the chair. Holding the pillow in her hand, she started to fix the cushions. “Are you O.C.D. or something?” He asked.
“O.C.D.?” He gave her a weird look.
“Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?” Janice cocked her head. “Never mind.” She shrugged her shoulders and walked past the front door. Janice spotted a familiar blonde head just across the way.
“Penny!” Janice called. Penny turned around and looked at Janice. She raised her hand to wave and ran over.
“Hey!” She squealed and hugged Janice. Janice was frozen in shock. Penny was just so… friendly! “This is a cute little shop!”
“What are doing here?” Janice smiled.
“Picking things up from my mom. She works at this book store over there.” Penny pointed out the small bookstore before holding up the plastic bag.
“I’ll check it out sometime.” Janice nodded.
“Oh, this is cute!” Penny exclaimed before running to the first rack. The plastic bag hit her in the back of her leg, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“Hey! Can you, I don’t know, shut up?” The boy called from the counter.
“Woah. Is that Jurassic Park? It is! How are you Park?” Penny smiled smugly.
“That’s not my name, Penelope.” He shot back. They had a small stare down while Janice stood there awkwardly.
“Okay! Well, Penny, you seem busy. So why don’t you head on your way?” Janice finally said.
“You’re right! Bye, Janice!” Penny gripped her in a hug. “Bye Jurassic Park.” She sniggered. He rolled his eyes. “Oh, and don’t see that shirt. I want it. Bye!” Penny skipped out of the store, being flamboyant as ever.
“You’re friends with that?”
“Okay,” Janice began as she whirled around to glare at the boy. “Listen to me. There is nothing wrong with Penny. There is nothing special about my family affairs. There is nothing happening between Jeremy and I. So can you just drop it?”
“So your boyfriend’s name is Jeremy?” The boy smirked. Janice huffed and stormed over to the counter.
“Just drop it.” Janice said warningly. The boy held his hands up in surrender.
“What crawled up your butt?” The boy smirked. Janice couldn’t do anything but glare in frustration. There was something about this boy that pushed Janice’s buttons. She didn’t even know his name!
“J. Bear. Stop harassing Janice.” They turned to see Sidney stroll into the store.
“I wasn’t doing anything, gran’ma.” J. Bear sighed. She gave him a pointed look, which he faltered under.
“You are such a pain.” Sidney said as she handed Janice her coffee.
“Tell me about it.” Janice smiled.
A/N: I'm sorry for not uploading yesterday! But I woke up about noon and I had to do stuff that day... I only had about 9 hours of sleep :3 I'm just in this anime stage because I have nothing better to do because I have like, another week til school starts. :P If you find any errors you can message me! Thanks for reading! :D