Five Years ↣ D. DOBRIK

ii

Ausha sighed as she dropped her luggage on the wooden floors of her new home. The house was empty, just for now, Scotty would be back later with friends. He told her to help herself to the food in the fridge, and he gave her twenty dollars if she wanted to order something else. Ausha looked over at the mattress on the floor, knowing she was better off going out and finding a job instead of eating.

Ausha unzipped her luggage and tossed all of her clothes on the bare mattress, scrummaging through to look for a semi-professional outfit. She found a nice pair of jeans, and a black blouse, and slid on her shoes before she headed out. She took the twenty dollars from the couch where she had originally set it, and headed out, locking the door behind her. She had no luck finding a bus, so she decided today was the day that she'd walk to town and look for any place that was hiring.

The town was noisy, something she expected. While she was in the same state, it felt like L.A. was a whole new world compared to Newport, she didn't mind however, she just needed a job, and she needed sheets for her bed. Ausha eventually came across a small bakery, and she happily made her way inside after seeing the hiring sign on the door.

The bell rang as she entered, and a man behind the counter looked up with a jolly smile on his face. Ausha smiled back and waved, before looking at the food displayed in front of her. She pushed her dark hair behind her ear so she could admire the beautiful treats.

"How may I help you today ma'am?" the gentleman behind the counter asked her.

"Are you hiring? I'm new to L.A. and I saw your sign and decided to come in and ask." The man nodded, his smile only getting wider as he slipped behind a curtain. He came back and handed Ausha a small packet with a pen. Ausha nodded her head gratefully in the mans direction as she took a seat in front of the counter.

She slowly began filling out the packet, careful to answer questions. She didn't need to screw this up, it'd be wonderful for her to work in such an amazing place. Ausha finished filling out the packet as her phone began vibrating. She ignored it and handed the man his pen and her packet.

"I'll give you a call back in a few days! It was nice meeting you miss!"

"Likewise!" Ausha shouted as she exited the building. She checked her phone, and was greeted with ten missed calls from Scotty. His texts messages were just him freaking out over where she was, so she decided to call him back.

"Hello?"

"Hey! Yeah I have one question! Where the fuck are you?" Ausha laughed at the desperation in his voice. "I'm not fucking around Aush! No note, no fucking text, no nothing. I get home and you're gone, not even answering my fucking calls."

"I'm sorry for worrying you Sire, I'm in town looking for a job, but I would appreciate if you sent me your address so I know how to get back!" Ausha smiled in embarrassment, it was getting late and she had no clue how to make her way back to her new home. Her friend sighed and hung up the phone in anger, but Ausha wasn't phased, he did it often and he would probably end up calling back within ten minutes.

Ausha wandered until she found a Target within her sight. She crossed the busy streets and walked in, greeted with the smell of
popcorn and pretzels. Ausha strolled around the store with an empty cart, looking for bedding so she could be warm as she slept. Loud laughs brought her cart to a slow stop as she glanced slyly at the two boys a couple yards away.

Ausha pretended to look at the comforter as if it was interesting, but she listened into the conversation, wondering what was so funny. One of the boys held a camera in his hand and filmed the other as he knocked some items off the shelf. She rolled her eyes and swiped the comforter into the basket of her cart and she walked away. The boys looked at her as the cart squeaked away, and while she was quite annoyed with the two, she only managed to smile at the two with her red cheeks. The two boys slowly travelled until they were by her side.

"Hi I'm David, nice to meet you!" The boy with brown hair held his hand out to Ausha and she snapped out of her daze. "I noticed you had been staring for longer than a normal person would so I came over here to say hi!"

"Hi I'm Ausha," she said as she shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you, but I have to go, my friend is out front waiting for me!" David offered to walk her out, and Ausha watched as his friend and threw his hands up in betrayal.

"Hi I'm Ausha who are you?" The boy look away from his friend and smiled.

"Alex," he mumbled. Ausha smiled at the shy boy and gestured for them to follow her to check out. Ausha put her comforter in Alex's arms and put her cart away, thanking Alex for holding her thing. The two boys trailed after Ausha as she made her way to the parking lot. Ausha pulled out her phone and thrusted it into David's hands.

"Put your number in my phone," she demanded, leaving no room for either boy to object. David entered his number in her phone and tried to hand it back to her, only for her to turn around and give it to Alex. While Alex was creating his contact in her phone, David handed his own phone to the girl, allowing her to enter her number. "I'll text you later!" She slipped away from the two boys and into a small truck.

David watched as the truck disappeared from sight, his eyes full of admiration. Alex hit his arm and pulled him toward their own small car, ready to go home after the long day.