The Old Tuck Shop

TWENTY

I was still star-struck; I couldn't move. My eyes were fixated at where she was, and my heart was still beating like a drum.

I slowly picked up my sign and backpack and walked into Cal's shop.

"You okay there, son? You look like you've seen a ghost," he chuckled, I smiled.

"Right, I know I said you could finish early and everything, but I had a phone call from my daughter saying she's back in town for a day. She lives in Manchester and I don't get to see her often so I was wondering if you could look after the shop whilst I'm gone. I'll only be a few hours-"

"Yes, of course, I'll look after it for you. No problem," I interrupted.

"I appreciate it. The till is over there as you know, if you run out of anything, just go to the stock room...and...um...the telephone is under the counter if you ever need me." He grabbed a piece of paper and pen and wrote his phone number down for me.

"Thank you! I'll see you in a few hours," I said.

I watched him walk outside the door to his grey Citroën Picasso. I walked behind the counter, sat down and waited. Only a few customers came at the start; mostly teenagers and old people. Occasionally I'd have to restock the jars and stack boxes, nothing too special.

About an hour into my shift, I heard the doorbell ring. I stopped fiddling and saw someone in a red, Wales rugby hoodie.

"Hello," the person said in a very deep voice.

"Josh, I know that's you," I said.

"Who is Josh? I've never heard of anyone called Josh," he joked.

"Josh, what do you want?" I sighed, rolling my eyes at him.

Josh pulled down his hood and stuck his tongue out at me.

"How did you know that was me?" he puffed.

"Well for one: you were wearing that manky, old Wales hoodie which you've had for years and-"

"Hey! That hoodie is worth a lot to me!" he interrupted.

"And two: you couldn't fool anyone with that cliche creepy person voice," I chuckled.

"Very in-depth analysis," he said.

"I've been best friends with you all of my life. I pick up on these things."

He smiled.

"Do you even want anything anyway?" I asked.

"Yes, I do actually. I would love a medium bag of your finest wine gums, please," he replied in his deep accent.

"Sure, but as long as you stop speaking like that." I grabbed the jar and set it on the counter.

"Oh but only the red ones," he added. "The other ones are gross."

"For god's sake," I muttered under my breath, scooping out only the red ones.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes. "You do realise I'm only doing this because you're my friend." He laughed as I put the jar back on the shelf.

"So...that will be £1.99..." I said.

"I seriously have to pay?" he asked.

"Um...yeah. You honestly thought I was going to give you it for free?" I laughed, crossing my arms.

"I just thought because we're best friends and everything-"

"Josh, give me £2!" I said, holding my hand out.

"Ugh, fine." He gave me the money and put the penny in the charity jar.

"Very generous, aren't you?" I giggled.

He rolled his eyes and put £1 in the jar.

"Thanks. I'll see you soon. Buh-bye," I joked, gesturing him to the door.

"Already kicked out! By my best friend! What has the world come to?!" he yelled, smiling.

I laughed. "No, honestly you have to leave."

"Ugh, do I have to? It's so shit around here and there's nothing to do-"

"Um...you coped pretty well for years without me," I chuckled.

He groaned and walked behind the counter making puppy dog eyes at me.

"Ugh. I'll grab you a chair. Don't say anything. You just sit there and munch on your sweets, okay?" I said.

"Okay. No problem, dad," he chuckled.

About an hour later, Josh got bored of sitting in the corner of the room and picking at the leftover treats.

"Finn, I need to piss-" he said.

"Seriously?" I groaned.

"Yes. Honestly, if I sit here much longer my bladder is going to explode!"

"Literally?" I laughed.

"Yes. Literally."

"Well, you'll have to go home then," I said.

"Are you serious? Can't I just go to his toilet?" he asked.

"Absolutely no way," I answered.

"But my house is miles away," he pleaded.

"Fine, just go before I change my mind," I said, shaking my head.

As he left, I went under the counter to check on the fudge.

I was startled by a voice and hit my head on the shelf.

"Ah, shit. That freaking hurt," I moaned, rubbing my head.

"Hello?" a sweet voice called out.

"Sorry Miss, I'm down here. I'll only be a second."

"Okay," she giggled.

I rubbed my head and stood up.

"Hi, sorry about that. How can I help you-" I stopped mid-sentence. I couldn't believe it. It was the girl from the street earlier. She'd found me.

She noticed me staring at her and she blushed, turning her cheeks into a cherry red colour.

I flustered. "Can I help you today?" I gave a half-smile.

"Yeah. Hello. Sorry about your head. I didn't mean to startle you," she joked.

"No, honestly it's okay. It was my fault. I'm the worlds biggest klutz," I chuckled.

She smiled, which now made me blush.

"How can I help you?" I repeated with a smile.

"Ah, yes. Sorry, I'm wasting your time. Could I have a small bag of giant strawberries," she asked.

"They're my favourite," I replied, reaching for the jar.

I filled up the bag. "And that will be £1," I said.

She handed me the money with a smile.

"Thank you, and if there's anything else I could do for you, just let me know," said.

"Yes of course. Thank you."

She stopped at the front door and looked at me.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Yeah..." she stuttered.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out today or something..."

I froze.

"Um...I mean...I could probably do something on my break in like 10 minutes. I mean I was thinking of going out with my friend, but I guess I could do that another time."

"That would be nice. I'll just be outside for you okay?" she replied, playing with her hair.

"Wait. I didn't get your name?" I said before she left.

She turned around again and smiled. "Poppy. Poppy Starr."