Still Water

Assorted Nuts

A/N: Imagine the song from the video playing on a loop in Astrid's head during this chapter (especially the chorus). Hope you enjoy this chapter!

The heat was suffocating as Astrid began her quest to appease her grandfather. I'm going to have to shower again, aren't I? She groaned, noticing that her billowy, white sleeveless blouse was already beginning to stick to her skin. The girl frowned—she did not enjoy feeling like a wet rat. Fortunately, a refuge from the heat was only a few feet away.

Gene's Grocery Store was bustling with life that afternoon. To Astrid, it looked like everyone and their brother had run out of food that morning. God, I hate people, the teen huffed in frustration as she entered the store. Gene was at his usual place behind the counter and she hurried to reach him before any customers appeared.

"Mornin', Old Man," she greeted. "I've got a normal question for ya': how many cans of Planters's assorted nuts do you have?" Astrid queried. Gene looked as if he might ask the girl the reason for her inquiry, but shook his head, deciding it was best for him not to ask. "I promised good ole Alf a hefty sum of his favorite snack in exchange for his cooperation in my latest scheme," Astrid offered.

Her grandfather's love of nuts was no secret to the store's owner, and he hummed in understanding. "A shipment from Planters came in last night. Grab a cart, and I'll meet you in the back," the older man instructed, "You spoil that coot, you know?"

"Are you jealous, Old Man?" Astrid teased. "You're hardly starved for my affection, Gene. However, if you're feeling neglected, you and Barb should be on my porch at 6:00 tonight," the teen invited. Gene punched her shoulder before making his way to the back of the store. The brunette heeded the man's orders and arrived in the stock room with an empty cart.

Canned goods lined the shelves of the dozens of metal racks in the room. At the very back of the room, there was a designated space for unpacked boxes, and Gene made his way over to the pile of cardboard cubes. 

The teen had never been in this room before—she was surprised to find that it looked so clean. All of Gene's resources were organized and secured in their designated location. The walls were a honeydew green, but they looked much more yellow under the light of the dim, halogen bulbs.

"I'm assuming you want all of them?" Gene confirmed. Astrid nodded her head vigorously and the older man let out a hearty laugh before helping her place the boxes of nuts in her cart. There were six boxes in all, each holding twenty tins of Planters mixed nuts.

Gene had insisted on Astrid taking the shopping cart home with her; she could return it later. Now, the short brunette was strolling down Main Street with a shopping cart full of nuts. The teen had never cared much for appearances when she was in Portland, but pushing her purchases down the street, she felt very self-conscious.

Astrid kept her head down. Her loose chestnut waves fell over her face, obscuring her identity from passersby. The teen was moving as quickly as she dared to in the heat of the summer's day. She felt like mediocre mac n' cheese sitting under a cafeteria heat lamp, but she wasn't about to run home and risk getting heat stroke either.

Reaching the corner of Main Street and unable to bear the heat any longer, Astrid caved and pulled her shoulder-length hair into a high ponytail. The brunette had made the wrong decision; she was not out of the woods yet. Oliver Langley happened to be heading down the opposite side of Main Street. Unfortunately for Astrid, he recognized her newly revealed face.

"Oi! Dinwiddie, is that you?" The boy called as he jogged over to her.

"Fuck!" she cursed under her breath before turning to greet the boy. "Hey, Ollie, how are you doing on this fine day?" She asked in the hopes that he would allow himself to be steered away from his current train of thought. Don't look at the basket, she pleaded.

It appeared to be Astrid Dinwiddie's lucky day. Not. Oliver's attention was focused on her recent purchase. The teen scratched the back of her neck.

"Forget how I'm doing, Astrid. What the hell is all this?" The ginger gestured towards the shopping cart. The brunette sighed in defeat.

"Holiday shopping?" She offered, sounding rather unsure of her answer. Oliver flicked the shorter girl on the shoulder.

"It's the beginning of summer, you asshat! I'm not that stupid!" The boy chuckled, "Now, what's in the boxes?" It did not appear that the boy would be letting the matter go, and Astrid, not wanting to spend one extra moment under the glaring sun, caved.

With as much seriousness as she could muster under the circumstances, she declared, "Currently, I am in the possession of an obscene amount of mixed nuts, Langley." The ginger raised his eyebrows in confusion as if he didn't completely believe her. Why the hell would I lie about my impressive collection of canned nuts? Astrid shook her head, groaning in exasperation. 

"Oliver, I could not make this up—there are about one hundred and twenty tins of Planters mixed nuts. Please save all questions, comments, and concerns for our shift at The Wench tomorrow because if I pass out from heatstroke, you're going to be responsible for getting me home," she informed the boy with determination in her eyes.

He'd be rather stupid to cross her. Oliver Langley held his hands up in surrender before wishing her a nice day and continuing down Main Street. Oh, thank god, the girl gave a sigh of relief.

It took Astrid another ten minutes to arrive at her grandfather's doorstep. The girl was drained from exertion and in no mood to spend more than another minute on her feet. She unloaded the six cardboard boxes on her grandparents' doorstep, rung the doorbell, and retreated into the air-conditioning of her own home. 

The teen hadn't known what to do with the shopping cart, so she had brought it inside with her and left it in the entry. If anyone asked, she would say it was a part of the decor.

"Never again," Astrid muttered as she returned to her bathroom and prepared to shower for the second time that day. She chanced a look at her sweaty self in the mirror and found that her grandfather's hat still sat proudly atop her head. The teen tilted the brim and gave herself a sultry wink in the mirror before bursting out laughing.

"Sorry, Pops, but I won't be letting this go," she stated to the empty room before removing her previously clean clothing and walking into the shower.