𝒮𝓉𝒶𝓇𝑔𝒶𝓏𝒾𝓃𝑔 (Stargazing)

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝟣

"I'm quitting Sunday; I found a better opportunity at another place. I'm sorry about the sudden news."

"Oh no, it's okay." My GM stated, looking down at her list of people to schedule. "So, you're not going to be on the schedule from July 4th through the 10th, correct?"

"Yes, An," I explained, fidgeting with my fingers as I sat there quietly.

"Okay, it's a shame you have to leave, Malcolm. I wish you good luck with your new job." Angela was always kind, despite the stress of being a general manager for some store with a bunch of high schoolers inside. How did the store function with all these slackers and lunatics? Honestly, I never knew, but Angela always possessed a leadership skill that few people had. For this reason, she was naturally my favorite.

She knew I was a hard worker, specifically asking me to do certain tasks, knowing I would more likely than not succeed. She understood that I was not the type to walk to the break room and sit on my phone for several minutes at a time. She was young, twenty-three if I remember correctly, with long brown hair that was too pretty to be real.

"Thank you, Angela. If you need me to come in at any time this week, I'm willing to do so."

"No, after Saturday, I think we should be fine. Thank you for offering and thanks again for all your arduous work." A bright smile formed across her face as she lifted her fist, forming a fist bump gesture. I couldn't help but grin at the gesture, it was something I did with all my friends and in a way, the fist bumps I gave to people were sentimental to me because of the joyful moments we had with one another. Following her lead, our knuckles bumped into each other before I walked across the lobby, changing from a relaxed, quiet world to the noisy, difficult mess of the workplace.

I returned to my work, unloading the truck and placing it in the freezer. Each box felt lighter as I excitedly moved them off the pallet and onto another box within the freezer. A smile crept across my face as I placed each box down, my mind filled with the thoughts of Saturday afternoon. I knew I would be scheduled to four, but I had a separate plan in mind. I was going to leave early to spend time with someone important to me.

Abigail. The girl of my dreams in a sense. She and I were close, and I figured that if there were a better time to tell her how I felt, it would be then. I wanted it to be special, for her to feel special, because she was special to me. As I thought about her, the smile grew wider across my face while my heart fluttered like a butterfly.

"What has you smiling like that?" I heard someone say coming from the front of the freezer. I looked over to see Cassey at the doorway, smirking towards me. I placed the box down before walking over to him, gesturing my hand to shake his.

"Only because I'm leaving this place," I stated, as we gripped each other's hands with a friendly smile.

"It's about time you left, we could finally have a day without you working," he joked, letting go of my hand. He was a bigger guy, with long, dirty blonde hair that rested on his shoulders. Although he was intimidating, he was kind and once you got to know him, he wasn't as scary.

"Yeah man, I can get a break from your idiocy," I stated, before lifting another box.

"I'm doing truck with you, Angela said that she wanted us to get it done fast." He grabbed a box of fries, following my lead as we placed them in their respective areas.

"I'm glad she gave me you to help me out," I stated sarcastically, snickering to myself.

"Don't get smart with me!" Cassey and I worked on the truck for around two hours, laughing and joking the entire time. He knew I had been trying to quit for a while now, but I never set a date on it. But today, everything had changed. With that change, there came a time when I had to talk to her. Cassey noticed that I was thinking about something as we began wrapping things up.

Pulling the pallet, we made our way across the parking lot and into the small dumpster area. It was a large box surrounded with brick; its center taken up by two ancient dumpsters.

"So, your lady?" I paused, my eyes going wide as he said that.

"She's not My girl, I just..." I paused, thinking to myself as I pushed the pallet to the back of the small square.

"You just look at her and think 'Man, I sure wish I were her dream guy'? Malcolm, now is the best chance to tell her." I turned towards him, still feeling nervous with the thought of telling Abby how I felt towards her. "I mean, you guys spend a lot of time together. It's obvious you two are close."

"Yeah, I know her and I are close but what if maybe she just doesn't want to... you know, be with me?" I looked up to Cassey, in which he smiled slightly.

"Malcolm, if she rejects you, you still have all your friends. You still have me, Angela, your best friend Ramira. If Abigail rejects you, then you won't be alone because you have everyone here to lean on when there are troublesome times." A slight smile formed across my face, in which I followed by raising my arm.

"You're right, Cassey. Everything will be fine," I stated happily, positioning myself to give him a fist bump. Cassey followed, our knuckles knocking into each other's before we broke out in laughter. I felt my black hair sway through the wind as we ran back to the restaurant, confidence flowing through my veins. Alongside this boost of confidence, I was overjoyed at the knowledge that I would be going home soon.

Today had been a long, tiring day. But in the end, it was one day closer to Saturday. It was one day closer to the moment I would tell Abby how I felt.