𝕴 stared down at my nails. They were acrylics —pure black, not too long so they could be appropriate for the Primark I worked at. My pale pink cuticles peek from underneath, the fake nails being outgrown.
My mind was accumulating things, bizarre daydreams and reveries. Particularly, about the mysterious guy from the chicken shop yesterday. June talked about him during school hours but only to other acquaintances we both shared.
The things she said were completely different to the things I thought though. I just wanted to know more of him, who he was, why someone like him who seemed so professional and sophisticated was doing at a rundown chicken shop not too far from Central London.
Was he a businessman? Was he a CEO? Was he royalty? His hair gave off that impression. It was so... long. I imagined running my fingers through it. While he spoke to me with that... voice of his.
"Nkiru."
For a moment, it sounded like his voice. Speaking to me. That low, quiet rasp and Yorkshire hinge. I wasn't one to allow my mind to wander too far (especially on the job or at a lecture) but I couldn't fight it. His voice saying all things but appropriate while he has his hand caressing my cheek, gripping my neck, his thumb piercing into my thigh and dragging it higher—
"Nkiru, love!"
Looking up at my manager, Emma, she smiled awkwardly. She must've been requesting my attention for a while. Resting my head in my palm, I listened to whatever order I was about to get during my shift.
"You're done for the day, honey. Have a good'un, too, love," She told me which was always the best part of my day. Another thing about my daydreams were that they could be quite maladaptive. Half the day could be gone without me really realising it. That was the fun thing about them, I got to live another life. A better one.
I let the blue puffer jacket hug my body so it could protect me from the cold evening air before leaving out the back way of the building. It was quite a stroll from the shop to the metro so I plugged in my earphones.
My earphones did a good job of blocking out unnecessary sounds with Adele's voice allowing me to get whisked away from the real world once again. The night sky was misty, clouds like debris of cigarette smoke swirled onto the canvas up above.
