"That comes up to nine dollars and thirty cents," Asha Strauss beamed at the lady as she bagged the last can of pineapples, and set it aside with the rest of her groceries. She raised her hand, getting ready to receive payment. The lady handed her the money, and she struggled to hide her irritation as her palm was filled by a pile of fifty, twenty, ten, and five-cent pieces. Ooohh boy! She had no choice but to lay them on the counter and carefully count the loose change.
The customer wrinkled her nose in embarrassment. "Sorry. Trying to lighten my purse," she apologised, waving her purse in front of her.
Asha remained smiling, looking as if she was enjoying the task. She could hear the impatient huffs and puffs of the other customers waiting in line. Like grunting will make the transaction go any quicker! "No problem!" She finally finished counting. At least she got the exact amount. She deposited the payment in the cash register, and completed the transaction with a printout of the receipt. She waved at the lady politely. "Thank you for shopping with us! Enjoy the rest of your day," she sang the words that sounded more like a scripted recording. I swear! Bills and coins should be faced out! She turned to the next customer with a smile that seemed to have been plastered on her face since she started her nine a.m shift, which was seven hours and fifty minutes ago. Ten minutes more, and I'm out of here!
Her hand slid the groceries across the scanner like an automaton. The non-stop beeping from the barcode scanner was constantly pulsating in her ear. She has been working at the Rosedale Supermarket for almost three months now. She had regular shifts after school, weekends, and school holidays. The only time she had time off was during exam week, when a major assignment or project was due, and every second Sunday. She was turning eighteen in a few days, four to be exact. She was looking forward to that, even though there was nothing special planned. Probably she'd get a card, and a little birthday package from her Uncle Nigel at the most. What she really looked forward to was getting a pay rise because she would fall under a different wage bracket due to her age.
Asha had been working since she was fourteen. She realised that since high school, her life was just between school, work, and home. She began feeling sorry for herself. That would have been the climax of teenage life. Girls her age would normally hang out at the mall with friends, go to parties, sleepovers, and indulge in superficial conversations about boys or the soap opera that is other people's lives. Her eyebrows twitched slightly together, questioning when the last time she set had foot in a movie house was. Ages! Oh that's pathetic! Then she shrugged, dismissing the shallowness of her self-pity. With the money spent on watching one movie these days, she could rent out six movies on a thirteen-dollar package and have have all the munchies and drinks she wanted in the privacy of her own room. Alone. Then she wondered how old she was when she started being frugal with money. Anyway, her three-month probationary period was almost up and she hoped that she did well enough to stay on. She couldn't afford not to work now that she was living on her own, shouldering all the school fees and all.
"Oh, I have a loyalty card," the customer interrupted her thoughts. His shaky hands offered the blue plastic for Asha to scan. She gladly took it from him and swiped it across the scanner. He nodded to her as if to say 'thanks'.
"That'll be eighteen dollars and fifty cents, please." At least this time the man had a plastic card. She swiped the card and pressed buttons on the machine before handing it to him to punch in his PIN. The screen flashed, signaling a successful electronic payment. She printed the receipt and stuck it in the bag before handing him his groceries. "Thank you for shopping with us! Enjoy the rest of your day."
Asha dreaded how time slowed down just when it was close to the end of her shift. To make matters worse, her last transaction decided to wheel in a full trolley of groceries. What's more, the lady wanted to make separate payments on certain items. One transaction was paid partially on her savings card, credit card, and whatever cash she had in her purse. She had to stay back an extra fifteen minutes! Because of that, she missed her bus and had to wait for another half hour for the next one to come.
She slumped herself on the wooden bench at the bus stop, feeling relieved to finally sit down, and rest her feet after standing for more than seven hours. She twisted her back from left to right, giving herself a stretch. She was tired. She made a mental note on what she would be doing when she got home. She'd have dinner and pamper her exhausted body in a nice warm bath. She groaned at the soothing thought of that. Afterwards, she'd probably read a book, if sleep didn't get to her first.
"Hey, Asha!" a voice bellowed from behind her.
A cute girl with pink streaks highlighting her blonde hair was walking towards her, with each stride like a light, happy gallop. It was Cat Baines. She went to the same university and also worked at the news agency from across Asha's work. "Heya!" She moved across the bench to make room for Cat.
"My god! What's with today?" Cat exhaled, relived to finally get the weight off her feet. She was a short, petite girl–barely reaching five-two. Although what she lacked in height, she made up for in cup size. Knowing that those particular curves were her asset, she didn't have any qualms in showing off a little cleavage. "It's so busy at the shop! Was it busy at your work too?"
She nodded. "Hell, yeah!" She rolled her eyes, and let out a heavy sigh of exhaustion. "Can't wait to get home! Have a soothing bath. Get some rest." Then she grimaced at a sudden reminder of an assignment due on Monday. She slapped her forehead, making her black-rimmed glasses tilt off towards one side of her face. "Ooohhh! I have to finish a paper!" she groaned as she adjusted her eyeglasses back in place.
Cat studied her friend's face and couldn't help but feel frustrated. "Have you ever thought of–" She paused to correct herself. "I mean do you know what contact lenses are?"
Asha wrinkled her nose. "Yeah!" she exclaimed tersely.
Cat widened her big brown eyes at Asha, jerking her head back as if she saw something disgusting. "Have you ever thought of using them instead of those"–she wiggled her finger at the unflattering pair of glasses that looked like saucers on Asha's face–"goggles," she ended.
With pouted lips, she scowled at Cat. "Hey! They're not that bad!" She took the glasses off and cleaned the lenses with the bottom of her shirt, then propped them back on her face.
Cat put a hand over her mouth. "Sure! If you're auditioning for the role of Sybill Trelawney," she muttered.
She tilted her head to the side. "Who?"
"You know the Harry Potter professor who was like psychic?"
Asha was obviously not an avid fan. "Oh," she said nonchalantly. She only knew the major characters. She suddenly gasped upon realising who Cat was talking about. "You are so mean!"
Cat burst out laughing. "It's true! Your glasses are horrible!" She stared at the round, thick rims that rested on Asha's perfectly shaped nose. With the spectacles in the way, no one would ever notice the high cheekbones. The frame did a thousand and one injustices to Asha's face. No one could see the sculpted eyebrows that other girls had to pay pain upon pain for through waxing, plucking, and threading just to achieve that perfectly arched shape. Her eyes–the transitional lenses totally obscuring the image of her sparkling blue...Is it blue? Cat couldn't work out the color of her friend's eyes. It was like a shade of blue with hints of grey. She found it hard to pin down the exact shade. She told Asha many times that she was beautiful. In fact, Cat would never admit it, but she always envied how beautiful her friend was. The ugly glasses had some advantages after all because if they were the only females left in the world, the boys would make a beeline towards her instead of Asha.
She turned beet-red. "Oh! Stop it!" she whined with a little chuckle. "These were the only ones I could afford since the lenses are rather strong and expensive." Asha bit her lip at the longstanding lie. Ever since she got the letter of acceptance from Irving University to do her Bachelors Degree in Journalism, she hadn't thought twice about leaving her home in Sydney. She completed her application and sent it off, booked a five-hour plane ride, and got accommodation at a cheap backpackers' inn. The decision allowed her to kill more birds with one stone. She gained independence from her overprotective Uncle Nigel. She got the opportunity to travel, and get an education. Best of all, she was leaving her old life of misery. Coming to Perth was another chance to make a fresh start. It was a place where no one knew who she was. It was a chance for her to meet and make friends. Here, she had a chance to be accepted, and not be treated like a walking freak show because she was different.
Asha was special, and rare. She hid the very jewels that would draw anyone's attention in an instant, and have them staring. A stunningly beautiful face was just the frosting. The real deal were the gems underneath her fake eyeglasses with the photochromic lenses. Those glasses were obviously not enough to hide the treasure. As soon as she bade her uncle goodbye at the airport, she quickly disappeared into the ladies room to slip on a pair of blue contact lenses to conceal the true color of the windows to her soul–a pair of scintillating, purple eyes.
"Well, if you scout around, you might find better, but affordable, frames that would actually suit your pretty face," Cat pressed on.
Touched by the compliment, she smiled. "You think I'm pretty?"
Cat gawked at her in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? Get rid of your saucers, you'll be hot!"
That meant a lot to her. The acceptance. When she was a child, her parents and relatives always praised how beautiful she was. Growing up wasn't too bad. She had friends and cousins to play with. However, she didn't escape the scorn of the jealous mothers who wished the glowing blush on her fair skin on their daughters. Still, she was happy.
When she was young, her mother introduced her to Elizabeth Taylor. She let her watch all her movies. She told her that when she grew up, she would be just as beautiful, or even more–typical for a mother to say. Rare as she was, she knew that she was not alone. She was confident about herself, but still well-grounded. Then the age came where she and her friends were starting to notice the opposite sex. She was twelve when the closest of friends started to betray her. Most of the boys were attracted to the girl with the violet eyes, framed by lusciously long lashes that matched her long, raven black hair. Then the teasing started. The words still echoed in her head like a haunting memory.
"You're no Elizabeth Taylor! You're nothing but a freak mutation!"
"Beauty doesn't last forever! One day someone will throw acid at you!"
"Eeww! Don't look at me? You're grossing me out!"
She lost all her girl friends for the shallowest reason: jealousy. Even the ones who weren't her friends either joined in the taunting, or didn't want to have anything to do with her. It was almost close to impossible to even talk to the boys when rumors started to spread, putting malice into the most innocent interaction.
"Elizabeth wannabe is flirting with the boys!"
"Don't be fooled by her beauty...That face has been around!"
Many times, she begged her parents to move her to another school but she was encouraged to soldier on. "They're just jealous because you're getting the attention," they would say. That's what Asha did. Woke up, and kept a brave face. Kept herself busy with schoolwork. When she was alone, she'd cry to comfort herself.
High school was even harder. She became a loner. Even though it seemed that those who despised her got tired with the verbal attacks, the hushed sound of their whispers as she walked past still made her feel anxious and depressed. The comforting words from her family kept her going until she lost both of them to malaria. She was fourteen then. It wasn't fair. They all enjoyed their holiday in Bali. Why was she the only one who didn't get it? Everyone in school gave their condolences. Her stomach churned every time she felt someone pat her back, trying to sound sincere. Trying to sound as if they cared. It was difficult, but Uncle Nigel, her mother's younger brother, became the sturdy wall she leaned on. He helped her cope. However, she didn't really need much comforting, consoling, counseling and all those other things that were all the same. She was coping just fine. It was sad, yes, but she was coping. She accepted it. Most people would have found grief and loss incapacitating but Asha moved on; quicker than anyone expected for someone who has lost both parents two days apart from each other.
It took her a great deal of effort to muster up the courage to socialise. She was lucky enough to get the job at the supermarket, just days after the new school year had started in March. She was still staying at a cheap backpacker's hotel at that time when she met Cat during her lunch break on her first day of work. She was so easy to talk to. Very friendly.
"Oooh! I know this guy who has a vacant unit!" she said when she learned that she still hadn't found any place to stay. "The apartment building is just a couple blocks away from my house."
. Even before Asha could breathe a word, Cat was on the phone, and scheduled to meet up with her friend that same afternoon. She owed Cat big time for that. She was a true friend–something she hadn't had for a very long time. She wondered how Cat would react if she learned her secret. Would she push her away just like the others? Or would she stay loyal?
"What are you doing tonight again?" Cat asked.
"I have a paper to write. Hopefully get some rest."
Cat sounded disappointed. "Oh really?"
"Why?" she asked back as she craned her neck, looking for any signs of the bus.
"Miranda Lane is throwing a party tonight," she beamed with her voice pitching higher with excitement. "Her parents go on a trip every year. Therefore," she paused for suspense, "when they're away, she throws the most wicked party!"
"Oooohh," she nodded slowly. Asha wanted to go. She had never been to a party. Children's parties don't count. Miranda was one of the most popular figures at the university. She was in her third year, and a member of the student council. Asha had heard of her reputation of throwing the wildest and most exciting parties. It would be fun to go for once, but her discomfort was telling her that she wouldn't fit in.
"Why don't you come," Cat smiled widely at her. "Come on!"
Asha wrinkled her nose. "I don't know. For one, I'm not invited. Second, I'm really tired and–" She jumped as she felt Cat's elbow nudge her sides. "Hey!"
"Stop being such a recluse! Everyone is invited. Come to the party," she pushed. "Dad's letting me borrow the car tonight so you have a ride to and from the party." Asha bit her lip, and her forehead wrinkled in thought. "Don't think! Just come!" She leaned closer towards her friend, and flashed a wheedling smile. "Zach Larson will be there," she sang.
Asha's face turned bright red at the sound of his name, which sent Cat laughing harder. "Stop it," she whimpered. She bowed her head to hide her embarrassment. Cat knew how much she liked Zach Larson, the guy who personified perfection. His smile showed a straight row of white teeth, framed by thin, rosy lips that she knew she wouldn't be able to stop kissing if she had the chance. He had the most handsome face she had ever seen. The moment she set her eyes on him, her heart kept pounding hard against her chest. In her dreams, she thought that it was fate that she had met him, but it ached her terribly, knowing that he was beyond her reach.
"You are completely hopeless, Ash," Cat giggled. "You are so into him!" she squealed. "Well, he is so hot and all, I know!" She pretended to swoon and fanned herself with her hand as she leaned against Asha's shoulder. "I don't know any girl who wouldn't want to eat him alive! I mean, I had a crush on him before. Practically imagined him with nothing but a sash cloth to cover his–"
She pushed Cat off her, and craned her neck towards the busy road. "Hey keep an eye out! The bus should be coming soon," she exclaimed, cutting her off just at the right time. Now, images of Zach's bare, perfect V-shaped upper body flashed in her head. Strong pectoral muscles that invited her to rest her head on while she listened to the music of his heartbeat, and her hand rested on the ripples of his washboard abs. The veins in her face were swelling, flushing her skin blood-red.
"Don't change the subject!" Cat pointed. "Oh my god! Look at your face!" She shook her head in sheer amusement. "If you're already blushing this badly just talking about him, wonder how you'd be if he even came close to you?" Asha looked like she was going to collapse. "Would you die?"
Her shoulders slumped forward in defeat. "Most probably," she laughed. "I don't know why, but he's just...just..." She threw her hands up in the air, "I don't know." Then an image of his deep blue eyes flashed in her head. Every time she caught a glimpse of those gorgeous marbles, it was like staring into the ocean that was inviting her to dive into its depths.
"Gawd! How do you hold yourself up in French class?"
She gave out a defeated smile. "With great difficulty," she admitted. She spotted the bus coming their way. Asha swung her bag over her shoulder as she stood up from the bench.
Cat took the her cue and followed. "Come to the party anyway...So you can have your dose of the Zach ecstasy pill."
Asha was really itching to go. She would love to see Zach again. She was missing him even though she saw him exchanging a few throws of football with his friends the day before. She walked past the field on her way to the library, and she thought she might have broken her neck as it craned to follow his every move. "I-I can't." The bus stopped in front of them, and the doors slid open. She quickly hopped in, swiped her bus ticket on the scanner, and found herself a seat. "I need to work on my paper."
"Okay then," Cat shrugged dismissively. "I guess you could resist a chance to ogle your boy...Understandably, you're highly attracted to him, but what exactly do you see in him?"
Asha knew exactly what Cat meant. Zach was a total jerk. He had the head of someone who was very much aware of what a god he was. "Many things...He's hot, sexy, gorgeous–"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Cat waved disdainfully. "Any substance?"
She met Cat's challenging gaze with a frown. "He's smart and...and–"
"And an arrogant prick," she ended. Asha opened her mouth in protest but nothing came out because it was true. "What he did to you on your very first day at uni wasn't really very welcoming. I thought that that would actually turn you off. There are better guys out there who actually have a heart. Zach is the guy who's going to break your heart....that is, unless you're a masochist."
Asha just leaned back, feeling crushed. "Well, it's not like I'm going to end up being his girlfriend...There's no way in hell that's going to happen. Therefore, no chance of heartbreak." She raised her hand above her head. "He's like up there and I'm–" She put her hand back down on her lap. "I'm–"
"You're way too good for him."
She let out a laugh. She'd never had anyone say that to her. "You're just saying that because you're my friend."
"And as a friend, I have every right to wring your neck for your lack of self-esteem!" Cat's voice was stern. She straightened up and switched to a very calm facade as though she were getting ready to meditate. "But I won't." The ride was quiet for a few minutes until they hit the next set of stoplights. "The offer still stands," she interrupted the silence between them. "I can pick you up." Her elbow prodded into Asha's elbow. "It'll be a win-win situation. You get to have fun, perve on your dream boy, and meet new guys who might sweep you off your feet!"
Asha pursed her lips, restraining herself from giggling. "Tempting, but no, sorry," she sang.
"I know you really, really want to!" Cat sang.
Impressed with Cat's persistence, she let herself laugh. "Sorry, Cat. Not tonight," she declined again. "I promise I'll go to the next one."