the cornerstore (h.s)

one

the bell from cee's cornerstore chimed as the door flew open letting in a breeze of cold air. a young girl stood behind the counter licking a light pink lollipop and twirling her long blonde locks while reading a gossip tabloid she picked from the front counter.

she didn't look up to notice who had walked in but i sure did notice her. i walked towards the back of the store frequently looking back at her while she continued to flip through the magazine. i poured my usual coffee order into the cup and continued to look towards the front of the store at the girl as i stirred the drink. i walked closer to her growing anxious at the confrontation we were about to have. was she new? i haven't seen her in here before and i was an everyday customer in this cornerstore. i had lived in this small town for six years now and not once had i seen this sweet girl. i needed to know who she was.

i was three feet away from the young girl when a voice interrupted my thoughts and movement.

"naomi, you can go on break now." a sweaty bald man stepped out from behind the curtain that lead to the stockroom of the store. she looked up from the magazine towards the man and smiled at him, walking away from the counter and farther from me.

a teenage boy came from behind the curtain brushing shoulders with little naomi, making her let out a sweet laugh. i internally groaned at the boy, jealous of his interaction with her. he replaced her spot at the counter as i made it to the area the same time as him.

"hi sir, find everything alright?" he looked up to me, as i looked down at his name tag that read anthony. "yes quite fine." i mumbled wanting naomi to come back out already.

"anything else i can get for you?" he asked ringing the coffee up, pressing buttons on the cash register.

"get me a pack of marlboro's and the newspaper for today." i answered, pulling out the rolled up wad of cash i had in my pocket, flipping through it for the bills i was looking for.

he widened his eyes at the amount of money i had in my hand, but quickly snapped out of it to grab the items i asked for. he placed them next to each other on the counter and waited as i pulled the money out from the wad.

i gave the kid a ten dollar bill and waited for my change, silently hoping he'd take his time and little naomi would come out from behind the curtain.

"$4.23 is your change, have a nice day sir." i nodded at him still staring at the curtain disappointed she didn't come out. 

"you too." i replied walking to the door, ready to leave. i'd be back tomorrow, hoping little naomi would be back.

**

thank you for choosing to read this book, i hope you enjoy! ♡