|| "Really? You're back already? Didn't you buy like eight bath bombs yesterday? Isn't that enough for one person?" Jeremy raised his eyebrows at me. He stood behind the main counter as I sighed.
"W-well yes, but I didn't buy any soap still..." Jeremy rolled his eyes.
"...You want to talk to Dory, don't you?" he sighed.
"W-why does it matter?"
"Jesse!" I smiled as Dory then quickly walked towards me. She was holding a soap and smiling widely. "We got a new soap, wanna smell it?" she then held up the soap towards me as I laughed. I gave a small sniff and nodded.
"It smells nice."
"I hate it." Jeremy spoke up.
"I love it! It smells like berries..." she then smelled the soap as Jeremy rolled his eyes again.
"Yeah. Poisonous berries." Dory then turned to Jeremy, putting her elbow on the counter as she rested her cheek in her palm.
"Jeremy, why do you gotta be so negative?"
"Because. That's just how I am. Why are you so positive?" she smiled a bit wider as I watched them.
"Because! It's so nice to be positive! The whole world is nice when you're positive!"
"The world isn't going to be nice just because I wanted to. I learned that at a young age..." Dory mocked him and rolled her eyes.
"I think you would like the world a lot more if you were positive." she then backed away and turned towards me. "So, what are you looking for today?" I blinked a few times.
"I-I-um--soap?" she nodded.
"Well first off," she then held up the soap. "This is my new favorite and I definitely recommend it--"
"Hey Dory?" we both looked over to see a girl walk up to us. I didn't know who she was, but clearly Dory did.
"Oh, yes?"
"Can you take my shift tonight? I'm not feeling good..." I raised a eyebrow and listened intently to the two of them. I was known to evesdrop.
"Oh yeah sure! No problem!" she then looked to me. "Jesse, this is Nicola. Nicola this is Jesse." I looked to the girl and held out my hand.
"H-hi. Nice to meet you..." the girl shook my hand and smiled.
"Hi. It's nice to meet you too. Now, I gotta go. Thanks again Dory, I'll see you soon!" she then walked around us as Dory waved.
"See you! Isn't she lovely?" she turned towards me again. "I mean, this is the fifth time in a row I've taken her shift but...anything for her right?" as she laughed and brushed her hair behind her ear, I raised my eyebrows.
"Wait...The fifth time you've taken her shift?'
"Yeah. She gets sick really easily I guess. Sometimes I think she goes out but I don't mind. I really like working here..." I tilted my head a little. I decided to approach the situation by being as gentle as I could.
"Don't you...ever worry that she's taking advantage of you?"
"No why would she?" she batted her eyes as I thought it over. Dory seemed...more nieve than I originally imagined. I didn't mind it as much as it worried me.
"O-oh I don't know, I was just wondering. Is...Is she a good friend of yours?"
"She's my best friend. I swear I've known her for forever, or at least since I moved to New York." I stuffed my hands into my front pockets and tilted my head.
"Really? Where did you move from?"
"Oh, I came here from London."
"Really? Why don't you have a British accent?" I laughed a little and smiled some more. I had never considered the idea of her being from London for a second, yet once she told me this it seemed so right. Maybe that was another reason why I liked her so much. She made anything random seem right. I had never met someone who could do that before...
"Well, I traveled a lot when I was really young. My father was always taking me from place to place and he didn't have a accent...So I guess I got it from my dad...He's American, so am I. He's a strange man actually." she then looked up a the celling a little and tilted her head. "He waited until I was five years old to move there..."
"Why do you think he did so? Has he given you a explanation?" she shook her head and smiled again.
"No, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I don't like to talk about myself too much...My name's Dory by the way." I then grinned and took a step towards her.
"I know Dory, I know. Are you nervous?" I chuckled.
"Oh no, I'm fine. Smell this soap." she held the soap up to my face again. I smelled it again before looking down at her.
"You repeat stuff when your nervous, don't you?" she nodded.
"Occasionally. I m-mean sometimes I repeat stuff when I'm really confident!" she smiled and shrugged. "Maybe you'll just have to figure out which is which...Anyways, soap!" I laughed as she grabbed onto my hand and began to drag me around.
... several hours later
|| I sighed and turned off the water. I had taken a shower, and thanks to the soap Dory gave me, I felt better than ever. That was until I got out of the shower, put on clothes, and walked into the living room. The first thing I could see was my couch. I almost immediately felt a bad taste in my mouth as I stared at it. Ariel had picked out that couch despite not actually living with me. I didn't like the design too much before but I now hated it as I remembered just what happened a few days ago...
That was were Ariel had cheated on me. In my own apartment, of which I and I only pay for, she cheated on me laying on that couch. I despised the sight of it and turned away from it. But then, I slowly looked back towards it. Ariel was no longer my girlfriend. Ariel was now a stranger to me. Ariel...had no power over me. No connections. No ties and no authority over my decisions.
"I could throw that couch away..." I spoke out loud and thought about it. I then opened the front door, walked back over towards the couch, and began to drag it to the door.
