Chemistry

The Fall

"This is bollocks, you know. Jeff calls in sick all the time," she said as she jammed the plastic bottle of pills into the paper bag and stapled it shut.

"I'm really sorry but there's literally nobody else available for the overnight and you're...uh...you're..."

"Perpetually available? Forever alone? So dull and boring that my boss knows I don't have plans...ever, so it's assumed I'll cover for the ones that can't or won't come in and do their damn job?"

"Bec..." She glared at him. "Rebecca, I'm not just your boss, I'm your brother. Please? You'll get time and a half...and it's only six more hours," he cajoled.

She checked the shop for customers and saw there weren't any so flung the packaged prescription at him. Hard. "I hate you John," she hissed as she tried to stop the grin from creeping across her face. They both knew she wouldn't say no, she never did. It had been just the two of them for as long as she could remember and they relied on each other heavily, for all things.

"Brilliant! Love you too sis," he smirked as he quickly snuck in and pecked her on the cheek before she had a chance to strike him again.

"Say hello to the little one for me."

"Sure will. Thank you, Rebecca. Seriously."

"You're welcome. You owe me," she narrowed her eyes and tried to be menacing. He just laughed as he shrugged on his coat and breezed out the back door.

She spun around in the office chair and tended to the small stack of prescriptions waiting to be filled. The pharmacy was just barely on the outskirts of London proper and was the only one open twenty four hours in that part of town. Friday nights in the summer were typically busy but that one was particularly quiet. Torrential rainstorms were fast approaching and rare so she didn't anticipate a lot of business. It was all the same to her, really. She'd either be reading her textbooks at home or at the pharmacy, so working extra hours wasn't a big deal. Rebecca was always happy to help her brother, she just liked to give him a hard time. She'd taken a job there to help him out and to make some money while she was at university. Being a pharmacist wasn't enough. She needed more. More knowledge, more skill, more of everything.

"One for Mister Hudson, one for Mrs Reynolds, one for little Emma," she rattled off the names as she deposited the scripts in their alphabetically labeled baskets. "Ciprodex again? That little lass just can't shake those ear infections," she mumbled to herself. Her pile of work decreased as the minutes rolled by until there was nothing left to do but sit and read her text.

Ding

The bell sounded and a young couple entered, scanning the shop nervously. Immediately Rebecca knew exactly what they were in pursuit of. Condoms. They couldn't have been far out of their teenage years, by her estimation. At least they're being safe, she thought. The girl kept her distance and hung close to the meagre cosmetics section while the young man cautiously approached the counter, a box in hand.

"Hello," she said plainly.

"Hey," he muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"Anything else?" she stuffed his purchase in a paper bag. He simply shook his head.

"That's five-fifty."

He deposited exactly that amount in front of her on the counter and the two of them scurried out like scared animals. All she could do was laugh and think back to an earlier time, a reckless time. Massive house parties, underage drinking, drugs and careless choices with no regard to personal safety were all par for the course in Rebecca Thomson's teenage years. She'd found herself in a number of unsavoury situations throughout her life but was lucky enough to keep herself out of jail and without an unwanted pregnancy. She'd crawled out of the muck and was on her way to a lucrative and steady career so she was doing okay by her standards and really, she kept her standards high.