by Renee Porter
“Yep. Just got an email today from the library.” My mom waited, impatiently, waiting for my answer. “They filled all their positions for summer already.” I shrugged my shoulder, not wanting the sting to get to me. The library always had the most positions but they filled up quickly. It was higher pay and less work, which meant that the kids in town applied there first. “So, it looks like it’s Now or Never, for me. Again, I didn’t let the sting get to me. I had a job, and that was a good thing. Even if it meant working at the Abercrombie and Finch competitor in the mall. I guess I could deal with folding clothes and dealing with snotty customers.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll like it just the same.” I nodded as I head up the stairs, my mom calling after me, letting me know that Dad would be home for dinner.
I closed my door and sighed.
Summer was finally here. My sophomore year was over and I was officially a Junior. Two more years and I’ll be in college where, hopefully, my life would really blossom and begin.
I sat at my desk and started to peruse the social media sites. I didn’t have many ‘friends’ but I didn’t mind much. I pulled up my feed and started to scroll. There was a picture of Mandy holding her internship acceptance to some company in Texas. I ‘liked’ her picture and continued. Charles held up the keys to a brand new Toyota, Larry put up an abstract picture of him playing an acoustic guitar. Justin updated his status from ‘Single’ to ‘In a Relationship’. I ‘liked’ that as well. Even though I wasn’t particular happy he was with Madison, at least he was happy. That was all that mattered.
I continued to go through the lavish lives of my peers. It was amazing to me just how lovely everyone’s life seemed to be. Maybe that’s just what they all want us to think though.
And then, a notification popped up on one of my icons. It was a friend request, which in all honesty, surprised me. I clicked on the icon curiously, and my heart stopped for a brief moment.
The person who wanted to friend me was Summer Bloom.
The picture was a dead give away. Summer was standing tall in her profile picture, bright smile and hugging onto her little sister, El. And that’s when I actually saw the name of the profile. Eleanor Bloom wants to be friends. I sighed as I realized that I was stupid for believing that Summer knew who I was, let alone be friends with me.
I accepted the friend request and started to look through El’s wall. A lot of her pictures were funny phrases and sayings, some, okay most, made me laugh aloud. A few were her and her mother, I guessed, and she was right. She did look a lot like her mom. With dark blue eyes, a lot darker than Summer’s, and darker blonde hair, they really could have been twins. Her mother was beautiful and it was easy to see that El would grow up looking a lot like her mom.
The few pictures she had with Summer made me smile. The one with her and Summer in their bikinis almost knocked me to the floor. What I would give to be holding Summer like that.
I closed my lap top lid and looked around my room. I had to get out of this funk of yearning after someone who would never see me. And I think that’s when I decided that this summer would be different. I would be different. Maybe, just maybe, I could grow up a little, get out of this awkward phase I was in.
I stood, took a step and tripped over my own foot. Landing hard, I heard my mom call from downstairs to make sure everything was okay.
Tomorrow. I’ll start tomorrow.
Chapter 3
Now or Never was already packed with bodies and it wasn’t even five minutes passed opening.
I watched from the back of the racks as kids started to file in, already sipping their iced coffees and flipping through the clothes. After a few minutes, they would exit only to have a new set of girls come in looking the same, with the same hair flips and same coffees. It was like a flaw in the matrix or something.
I kept busy, folding and refolding clothes. Then, when they were all nicely folded, I would fold some more. Because I guess people didn’t have the decency to put things back the way they found them. I caught my manager, Lacey, eyeing me from time to time, making sure I was working. She would smile when I caught her eye and it would make me feel proud. I guess my counterparts who chatted up the customers were already not working as hard. If it’s one thing my father taught me, it’s that a good early work ethic will bring you far in life.
It’s not like I wanted to work the summer but I knew that I needed to.
My college tuition depended on me getting school loans. And although I knew they’d be easy to get I didn’t want to be drowning in debt by the time I graduated. Most kids had a healthy college account that their parents had saved for most of their young lives. My parents, however, fell on hard times when Dad got laid off. It took him a year to find a new job, which meant that my college tuition helped pay the bills.
I was okay with it, even if they felt horrible for using the money. What were they going to do though? Save every bit of it while we lived on the streets?
“Excuse me, can you find this in an extra small for me?”
Becky Holmes held up a small black tank top in front of my face. I attempted a smile, knowing full well that the small would have fit her better than the extra small. At least in the chest area, but I know exactly why she wanted the extra small. The girls would be out all summer it looked like.
I quickly went through the rack, which was right in front of her and easily pulled out the extra small black tank. She flipped her hair as she handed me the small tank, not even saying thanks. I rolled my eyes as I placed the shirt back on the rack, you know, as if it was the hardest thing to do.
“You’re doing a great job, Jayce.” I smiled as Lacey patted my shoulder. She was only a few years older than me but she had worked here every summer since she was my age. After a while, she was promoted to floor manager. She was nice, which was weird, because I could tell she used to be one of the girls that would come in like a tornado, leaving nothing but a mess in their path. I guess people could change.
After lunch, which consisted of two hot dogs on a stick at the local food court, I continued to fold and do my work. It really was easy, just like my mom had said it would be. And then I remembered.
I checked my watch and started to get flustered. I knew exactly what time it was and I knew exactly who would be walking through those doors. And as if the universe had slowed time itself, Summer Bloom opened the large glass door and in slow motion, wind blowing in her hair, she stepped inside the store, looking every bit of a runway model during fashion week. I felt like standing and applauding in awe.
Time sped up again as I kept my eyes on my work as well as the group shuffling through the clothes. Summer would pull a shirt up to her and pose in front of the mirror, considering. Her friends would chatter something behind her and she would giggle, placing the shirt back down, unfolded. For some reason I didn’t mind it when she didn’t fold the clothes again.
“Hey, Jay…Justin’s cousin.” I startled as I looked toward my right. El had seemingly snuck up on me. Oh god, did she see me checking out her sister?
“Hey El, Madison’s cousin. Fancy seeing you here.” I wanted to smack my forehead. El chuckled.
“Yeah, I tend to be the little duckling during breaks.” She nodded her head over to Summer. I saw the blonde look around the store trying to keep an eye on her younger sister. When she saw El talking to me, she smiled and went back to looking through clothes. The smile made me melt, even though I know it wasn’t exactly for me.
“So, you work here?” I didn’t know why El wanted to talk to me. I hoped that Lacey didn’t see me talking with the customers. I decided though, it would be rude of me not to answer. I continued to make sure the clothes on the rack were in order as I spoke.
“Yeah, you know. Pays the bills.” Again, I couldn’t believe my stupid answers. Although I found it easier to talk to El than to anyone I had just met, I still seemed to stay stupid things.
“Yeah,” she sighed as she folded her arms waiting. I didn’t respond
as I continued with my task in front of me. To be honest, I just wanted stand here and eye El’s sister from afar.
“I guess I’ll see you around then?” El gave me a weird smile and I nodded. And then I looked up as my heart plummeted.
“Oh god,” I ducked lower behind the racks and El followed.
“What is it?” She peeked her head over the rack and I shook my head.
“Not it. Who.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
“Jay? Oh don’t you look adorable.” My mom’s voice was loud to overcompensate for the music playing over the speakers. It wasn’t lost on me though, that she spoke just as the songs were changing. So yeah, everyone started to stare.
“Hey, mom, what are you doing here?” I attempted to stay sweet, knowing my mom was just excited to visit me at work. She fingered my hair and I batted away her hands. I heard a small chuckle from behind me and I sighed.
“I was just in the area, is this your co-worker?” My mom looked over to El who held out her hand.
“Hi, I’m Eleanor Ms. Stevens.” I was surprised that El knew my last name, but then I remembered that she had friended me on social media.
“Nice to meet you, Eleanor.” My mom gave El a sweet smile and I tried not to roll my eyes. I think she got the gist of just how awkward it is to have your mother visit you at work, and she finally said her goodbyes. With her retreating form, I saw Summer chuckling and then waving El over.
“Looks like I gotta go.” El almost said sadly. I nodded at her yet again as I kept my eyes shifting toward her, the rack of clothes and Summer. “Your mom is sweet. Must be a Steven’s thing.” She waved goodbye and I didn’t know if El had just given me a dig or complimented me. Either way, I wasn’t sure why it affected me so much. Maybe because she did have a hint Summer’s smile or perhaps it was because she had prettier eyes. Or maybe it was just because she actually spoke to me and was actually friendly.
Why did she even want to talk to me in the first place?
***
The good thing about having a job in the mall was that the kids who didn’t have to work generally didn’t come to shop every day. That meant, I had large stretches of time where I didn’t have to watch out for Summer. In fact, I knew which days she would be in and at what times. She always went for coffee with Madison on Tuesdays and Fridays at one, which meant she would be at the store a little after two.
Don’t judge me. It’s a crush. Swear I’m not that much of a stalker.
My phone pinged with a message and I opened it. A picture filled my screen with a job requisition for “Expert in Ancient Alien Theories”. It was of course a gag but I still chuckled none the less. I wrote “LMAO” to El and closed my phone.
The girl had been sending me messages here and there over the last few weeks. She would come in with her sister and sometimes would talk to me. Other times she would stick to her side of the store as her sister attempted to find her clothes. A lot of the time, El would shake her head, take the shirt and fold it, placing it back to where it was originally located. I decided that El was actually really cool.
A curious consequence of working at Now or Never was that I was suddenly interested in the way clothes fit, how they looked together and which styles worked and didn’t…on me. I had always been a ‘shirt and jeans’ kind of girl, not really caring what I looked like on a day to day. Since I had to dress nice while working, I found myself buying work clothes from the store because I got a killer employee discount. It wasn’t lost on me that when I wasn’t working I still decided to wear said clothes. And for some reason it made me feel, I don’t know, prettier? Maybe that was just wishful thinking, though.
“Nice skirt honey,” my mom busied herself in the kitchen as I fingered the flower pattern coming to my mid-thigh.
“Thanks, Mom. Where’s dad?” She pointed to the back yard where my father was tending to the garden. I smiled at my dad who waved back to me. He was already darkening from the summer sun and it was only ten in the morning.
The summer was proving to be a hot one. More times than not, I had wished for pool in the backyard. Although our house didn’t have one, Justin’s did. Many days where I wasn’t working, I was hanging out by the pool with Justin – and in turn Madison.
I thought that maybe, just maybe, that the Madison and Justin thing would have fizzled out after a few weeks, but instead it seemed like it was only getting steamier. The happy consequence of Madison always hanging out at Justin’s pool was that Summer generally came to join as well. She brought El, of course, which meant I had someone to talk to when I was stuck ogling her sister in a bikini.
“Why do you always stare at her?” I almost fell out of my chair when El asked me the question. Hadn’t we just been talking about our college plans?
“What? Who?” El smirked at my obvious embarrassment but she didn’t continue with the inquisition. I don’t know why, but I think I had just been found out.
“I think I’m going to join the church choir when I get back to school.” She took a sip of her lemonade and leaned back on her chair. She was wearing a white tank top, her hair was up in the usual pony tail and her cut off red shorts exposed a long expanse of legs. El was only a few months younger than me, but already I could see her surpassing almost everyone here in beauty within the next few years.
“You sing?” I asked, thankful that she had decided to change the subject. Summer giggled at something Roy said and I forced myself to not look over. I kept my eyes on El instead.
She nodded and continued. “Ever since I was little. How about you?”
I laughed at the thought of my voice. “I sing, just not well.” That pulled a large smile from El and a shake of her head.
“Is that what you want to do when you’re older? Sing?” El stared out across the pool, her eyes landing on Roy and Summer. She tilted her head, considering my question.
“I think it’s a nice thought, but I’ll probably go into business administration, or something along those lines.”
“No aliens for you then?” I asked in jest. El chuckled and my eyes were pulled from her as a wave of cool water and shade landed on my body. “Oh. My. God! Justin!”
El chuckled as Justin shook the water off his hair like a dog. Then, he got that “look”. “Don’t you dare,” I threatened him with my finger, but it didn’t work like when his mother did it. Next thing I know, I was being flung into the pool. It’s not like the water was cold, but it wasn’t warm either.
The initial shock released in me and I broke the surface, gasping for a deep breath of air. I glared at Justin as he cannonballed into the pool as well.
“Boys are such jerks,” chuckled a breezy voice from my left. I turned, flinging my wet hair which whipped Summer in the face. She looked shocked for a second and then laughed.
“Sorry,” I said. I dipped my head under, trying to manage my hair while also trying to cool off my flaming cheeks. When I broke the surface, I thought she would be gone, but to my surprise she was still there.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Summer said to me. I smiled, and for a moment all was right in my world. Summer Bloom was actually talking to me. Summer Bloom was actually glad I was here. “My sister doesn’t have many friends when she visits. It’s nice to see her have someone who she could talk to.”
Okay. I’ll take it.
Summer and I surprisingly swam together and spoke for a while. We played chicken, and that was the first time I physically touched Summer’s hand. I let her win, of course, and it wasn’t because she was surprisingly strong, it was because I was a gentlewoman.
From time to time I’d look over to El, who I found out, didn’t like to swim. She sat there eyeing us, a look of curious understanding on her face. I tried waving her in a few times and she shook her head. I didn’t think much of it though, I was having way too much fun to think that anything was wrong in that moment. Because how could it be? Summer Bloom was talking to me. We were hanging out. We were friendly.
My summer
was starting to be fun. And I did believe that something within me was changing. I just didn’t know then who was helping me transform into who I actually wanted to be.
Chapter 4
“Jayce?! Can you come down here for a moment?”
I wrote a quick response to El and closed my laptop when I heard my Dad’s call. I checked my new watch that I had bought at discount from the store and realized that I had wasted the evening on Messenger. My smile couldn’t even be contained, not only was I talking to El for most of the night, but I had just accepted a friend request from Summer herself. Okay, that’s a lie. I reached out and friended her. But she had just accepted. It was a ‘win’ in my book.
“What’s up, dad?” I jumped off the last two steps and my dad laughed.
“You’re in a good mood, huh?” I shrugged my shoulders and gave him a hug. He tightened his grip and let me go.
“Your mom and I were thinking of going to Santa Barbara for the weekend. Thought you might want to come?”
“This weekend?” I worried my lip. The trip sounded fun but I didn’t think it was enough time to request the weekend off of work.
“You don’t think you could get it off?” He asked. For a second I thought that he looked a little excited.
“Wait, you look a little too happy right now.” And then the thought struck me. “You knew it would be too early for me to ask for it off.” My dad chuckled. “You want me to stay home alone? If I don’t go, you’re still going.”
“Well, it would be nice to have a weekend alone with your mom.”
I scrunched up my nose. They still didn’t do it, did they? “Gross dad.” My dad chuckled again. “I’ll be okay alone.” I was excited. This would be the first time that I would have the house all to myself.
“Okay, good. If you’re sure. Your mom and I think you’re old enough to be on your own for a few days. We’ll leave you some money for food but no parties.”