Our New Normal

  “Understood.” He paused. “Are you okay?”

  Chloe gasped, surprised that a teacher broached the subject. So far, Tori’s other teachers had remained silent about Tori’s personal life and given her the assignments without comment. “Um, yeah, I guess.”

  “I’m sorry for saying anything,” he whispered. “We aren’t supposed to interfere with any students’ personal lives. It’s just…I know that, sometimes, rumors can get out of hand, to the point that people may forget how much they may hurt someone indirectly involved with said gossip.”

  A tear rolled down Chloe’s cheek, and she quickly wiped it away. “I’m just trying to keep it together and ignore the comments; I have enough to worry about.”

  Mr. Thompson frowned. “Well, I hope that things get better for you both soon.”

  Chloe smiled weakly. “Thank you, Mr. Thompson.”

  “Of course,” he replied.

  * * *

  “Honey, I’m home!” Chloe called as she walked in the door after school.

  Tori sprung from the couch and rushed over to the hallway, wrapping her arms around Chloe. “Hi, baby!”

  Chloe embraced her and held on for several minutes. Tori’s hair was still damp from taking a shower, and she breathed in the fruity scent of the shampoo. “I’m so glad to be home,” she groaned with a sigh.

  Tori frowned. “Did they bother you today?”

  “A little during homeroom,” she replied. “I ate lunch in the library, so I avoided most of it.”

  Tori sniffled. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

  Chloe kissed Tori’s cheek. “I’ll be okay,” she insisted. “How are you feeling today? How has your day been?”

  Tori shrugged. “I vacuumed, washed the dishes, then researched a few jobs nearby—grocery stores and such. We’ll see; hopefully I’ll find something soon.”

  “I’m sure you will,” Chloe said as she walked into the dining room. She set her book bag down and retrieved a folder and textbooks from her bag. “I stopped by all of your classes and got your homework for you. I got your books out of your locker, too, so you have them.”

  “Thank you!” Tori exclaimed, amused that she was excited to have homework. “This will give me something to do tomorrow while you guys are out.” She glanced to the kitchen. “I know you don’t have much time before you have to go to work; would you like me to make you a snack before you go? You can rest up while I make you a quick sandwich if you’d like.”

  Chloe smiled and sank into the couch with a content sigh. “That would be wonderful.”

  “You got it, babe,” Tori said as she hurried into the kitchen, thankful for something to do.

  In the time it took for Tori to fix a snack, Chloe had already nodded off on the couch. Tori nudged her lightly and handed her a plate. “Here, Chloe.”

  “Oh, thank you,” Chloe said with a yawn. “So how are you feeling today?”

  “I’m okay, babe, I promise,” Tori said confidently. “I had a few rough moments, but getting some of the stuff taken care of yesterday helped. I also moved my bags to the attic and got an idea of what kind of furniture I want up there.”

  “That’s great!” Chloe said with a mouthful of food.

  Tori nodded. “Maybe on your day off, we can take a look at some thrift stores? I don’t need anything fancy.”

  “Absolutely,” Chloe answered. “I’m glad that you’re making plans to stick around.”

  “I’m so thankful that I have somewhere to go—and that I have you.” She kissed Chloe on the forehead.

  Chloe yawned and arched her back. “Time for work,” she declared, getting up to put her plate in the kitchen sink. She kissed Tori one more time on the cheek after slipping on her shoes. “I’ll see you in a few hours. Mom should be home pretty soon.”

  “Sounds good,” Tori said. “I hope this evening is better than your day was.”

  “Yeah, I hope so, too,” Chloe muttered.

  Chloe’s heart hurt on the way to work. She hated leaving Tori alone so soon after her world fell apart, and she wanted nothing more than to spend every waking moment with her so that she felt safe and taken care of. Logically she knew that she couldn’t stop working just because Tori was home alone; she had priorities, and keeping her employment in good standing was vital for their future together. She sighed, hoping that Tori knew how much she cared about her, even if she couldn’t be there all the time.

  * * *

  By Friday evening, Chloe was exhausted. Between dodging students itching to tease her, collecting Tori’s homework assignments after school, rushing home to drop Tori’s stuff off and get some of her own homework done, and then hurrying off to work for the evening, she felt stretched pretty thin. Thankfully her friends stayed by her side in between classes, doing what they could to protect her from others; being shielded from her peers’ comments made dealing with everything else in her life easier to manage

  With only an hour of work to go, Chloe was already dreaming of cuddling up next to Tori on the couch for a few moments before heading up to bed when she heard voices that sent a chill up her spine.

  Sabrina.

  Though Chloe was in the middle of stocking a rack of jeans, she rushed back to the register. “I have to go to the back, right now,” she declared, a hint of panic in her voice.

  Tracey’s brow furrowed. “Is everything okay?”

  She could hear Sabrina’s voice even closer to the entrance, and she was sure that she’d turn into the store at any moment. “I need to dodge the girls who are about to come in,” she replied. “I can’t explain right now. Can you please cover for me until they leave?”

  Tracey nodded. “There’s no one else in here, so it’s not a big deal,” she replied. “I’ll let you know when it’s safe.”

  “Thank you,” she said with a sigh.

  She felt like a coward, hiding in the back, but she just didn’t have the strength to face them; her nerves were shot as it was, and she wasn’t sure if she could control her temper if she was provoked. She didn’t want to put her job in jeopardy by telling Sabrina and her friends exactly how she felt about them. With everything going on at home, she just couldn’t risk it.

  Chloe kept herself busy in the stock room, arranging and unloading merchandise in preparation for moving it to the front of the store. She promised herself that she’d work extra hard to put away everything once Sabrina and her clique were gone; getting everything ready in advance may even put them ahead of schedule.

  “Chloe?” her manager called after a few minutes. “I need you in the front; it’s getting busy.”

  Chloe’s eyes widened, and her chest felt heavy with panic. “Are those girls still out there, Jean?”

  Her manager raised her eyebrow, a twinkle in her eye. “You’re going to have to be a little more specific,” she joked.

  Hopelessness washed over Chloe. Tears streamed down her face as the last week’s events weighed down on her and stole the breath from her lungs.

  Jean’s grin faded into a frown as she knelt next to Chloe. “Is everything okay?”

  “Some girls out there have been getting on my case at school,” Chloe explained. “I’ve been avoiding them as much as I can; I just want to be left alone.”

  Jean nodded solemnly. “I’ll tell you what, Chloe: go help Tracey, but keep your distance. I’ll keep watch. If any of them get out of line, I’ll handle it. Okay?”

  Chloe nodded reluctantly, her shoulders slumped. She draped several shirts of the same style over her arm and headed to the front. “Might as well take these with me, then.”

  Scanning the room for patrons, her stomach twisted as she noticed Sabrina and her friends on the other side of the store. Speaking in hushed tones, they took turns surveilling the store as they pretended to browse a rack of jeans.

  Chloe’s heart raced as she approached the counter. “Jean said it was getting busy out here,” she explained.

  Tra
cey glared in Sabrina’s direction. “Those are the bitches who trashed the fitting room a few weeks ago,” she growled quietly.

  Chloe scowled and nodded. “I guarantee that they’re in here just to mess with me,” she whispered. “I go to school with them, and I’ve been dodging them all day.”

  Tracey lifted the shirts from Chloe’s arm and draped them over her own. “You stay behind the counter.” She hurriedly hung the shirts on their corresponding rack—only a couple of feet away from the Frosted Flakes—and checked up on the other customers who were perusing the merchandise.

  Chloe knew the precise moment when the Frosted Flakes noticed her behind the counter by their excited voices, and she cursed under her breath. I hope you’re watching, Jean, she thought, glancing at the camera.

  “Chloe!” Sabrina squealed from across the store, her eyes narrow and glittering with malice. The girls behind her giggled, whispering to each other as they stared at Chloe. “So you are working tonight!”

  Chloe’s stomach lurched, and both hands started to tremble. She didn’t acknowledge Sabrina; instead, she intently focused on rehanging the returns and arranging them on the return rack.

  “How’s your girlfriend, Chloe?” Sabrina asked as she tossed a pile of clothes onto the counter.

  “Fine,” Chloe spat as she began ringing up Sabrina’s order.

  “Hopefully she’s kept herself busy since she’s not in school,” Sabrina sneered. “Maybe if she’d stop attacking straight girls when they turn her down, she wouldn’t get suspended.”

  Chloe’s face burned with anger. She wanted nothing more than to defend Tori—they both knew that Sabrina was lying about what had happened between Tori and her in the locker room—but she pursed her lips and continued scanning items.

  Tracey came behind the counter and tapped Chloe on the shoulder. “Chloe, can you go unlock the dressing room for those customers, please? I’ll finish this up.”

  Chloe nodded, hoping that Tracey saw the gratitude in her eyes, and followed the customers into the back of the store. Once she unlocked the door, she reveled in the silent tranquility of the space and the distance from Sabrina. Her pulse had nearly returned to normal until the Frosted Flakes blocked the entrance to the dressing room area.

  “What did you do to Tori?” Mandi demanded. “She was straight until she met you. Why did you have to mess everything up?”

  Chloe felt trapped. Knowing that she didn’t stand a chance of getting around them, her eyes darted around the room as she desperately searched for another exit. She was thankful for the customers in the stalls; she wasn’t sure what the Frosted Flakes’ plan was, but she’d have witnesses if things got too crazy. “Look, I don’t want any trouble,” she muttered, her voice quavering.

  “You destroyed our squad,” Mandi hissed. “You took away our best friend. You turned Tori into a dyke.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” Chloe insisted, tears welling in her eyes.

  “Oh, you did something,” Sabrina interjected from behind the mob, the Trend shopping bag hanging at her side. “You told Tori about me and Aaron. You saw us in the food court.”

  Chloe scoffed. “You were convincing Tori’s boyfriend to sleep with you behind her back and I’m the one in the wrong?” Her pulse pounded in her temples, and a bitter taste filled her mouth.

  “You don’t have a lot of room to talk, bitch,” Sabrina growled. “Exactly how long did it take for you to get into Tori’s panties after Aaron dumped her? Were you just waiting for them to break up so you could make your move?”

  Before Chloe could get another word in, Jean’s voice boomed from outside of the dressing room. “Can I help you ladies with anything?”

  Sabrina stood in place, glaring at Chloe, while the other girls fell silent and dispersed from the dressing room’s entrance. “What do you think about a lesbian working in your store?” Sabrina asked through gritted teeth. “Aren’t you worried about her sexually harassing your customers?”

  “You know what I think about a lesbian working in my store?” Jean repeated, a razor’s edge in her voice. “I think that my aunt, who has been with the same woman for 14 years, would feel safer here knowing that no closed-minded, ignorant girl is going to judge her while she’s trying to buy a new bra. And speaking of closed-minded, ignorant girls, you and your gaggle can get out of my store now.”

  Sabrina’s eyes went wide. “But—but—I’m a paying customer,” she argued.

  “Oh, you’ve already paid for your items?” Jean asked. “In that case, either take your purchases and go, or I’ll be happy to give you a refund.”

  Sabrina’s eyes darted between Jean and Chloe a few times before she turned on the spot and hurried to the door.

  “By the way, girls,” Jean continued, following them out, “if you ever come in here and harass my staff again, I’m calling mall security and making sure you have to go to the next town to buy your jeans. Understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” a few of them muttered as they walked out. Sabrina didn’t respond or look back before vacating the store, but she glared at Chloe from her periphery as she passed the glass storefront windows.

  Jean turned around and walked back to the dressing room. “You okay?” she asked Chloe.

  Chloe stared at the front of the store to make sure they were gone. “Um, yeah, I’m good,” Chloe replied. “Thank you.”

  Jean grinned. “It’s not often I get to put these brats in their place, so the pleasure’s all mine. I’m sorry you had to go through that, though. I hoped that they weren’t idiotic enough to bother you at work, but these kids always manage to prove me wrong.”

  Chloe sighed. “It was gonna happen no matter what,” she said. “I’m just glad you were here to help.”

  * * *

  Chloe slumped onto the couch next to Tori when she got home, wrapping her arms around her and nuzzling her shoulder. She sighed heavily, exhaling the stress of her day.

  Tori kissed Chloe’s forehead and pulled her closer. “How was your day, sweetie?”

  Chloe laughed exasperatedly. “I’ve had better days,” she replied. She gave Tori a brief synopsis of what took place at Trend.

  Tori sprang to her feet, her hands in fists at her side. “That bitch!” she exclaimed. “How dare they bother you at work like that!”

  “It’s fine, baby!” Chloe insisted, reaching out to touch Tori’s arm. “My manager took care of it. They won’t be back in my store, I promise you, and I’ve mastered the art of avoiding them at school. It’s going to be okay.”

  Angry tears streamed down Tori’s face. “I’m so sorry that I’ve made your life so difficult.”

  “You’re worth it, babe,” Chloe said, gently tugging on Tori’s arm to guide her back to the couch. “I have zero regrets about any of this, and I’m thankful to have you in my life. We’ll get through this.”

  “I hope so,” Tori muttered. She decided to change the subject. “By the way, I got a call today from Wyckid.” Wyckid was another store in the mall which was geared towards young adults with dorm accessories, band T-shirts, memorabilia and apparel from popular television shows and movies, and body piercing jewelry. Most of its patrons had a rebellious streak, listening to music and acting in ways that deviated from mainstream expectations.

  “What did they say?” Chloe asked excitedly.

  Tori smiled. “They want me to come in tomorrow for an interview.”

  Chloe’s eyes lit up as she instantly forgot the day’s problems. “That’s fantastic, babe!”

  “I know! I was beginning to think no one was going to hire me!”

  Cynthia, having heard the news earlier, walked into the living room. “I already told Tori that I’d take her,” she began, “but if you want to take her instead, you can.”

  “Well, what time is the interview?” Chloe asked.

  “Two-thirty,” Tori responded.

  Chloe thought for a moment. “I have work at three. We can ride up
together, then you can take the car home and come get me when I’m done.”

  Tori’s stomach fluttered with excitement, and she glanced at Cynthia. “Would that be okay?” she asked.

  Cynthia smiled. “Of course, dear,” she replied. “I put you on my car insurance for a reason.”

  Tori beamed. “Great!” she exclaimed, excited to feel the wind whip through her hair while driving with the windows open.

  Once they got to bed, Tori was restless. Regardless of how much she tried to keep her eyes shut, they would spring back open as she worried about her interview. “Chlo, do you think they’ll hire me?”

  Chloe turned to her, draping an arm over her chest. “Why wouldn’t they?”

  Tori shrugged. “I don’t know; I mean, I don’t exactly look like I belong in Wyckid. Everyone there looks a lot more emo than me.”

  Chloe chuckled. “You’ll be fine, honey,” she insisted. “Just make sure to dress professionally tomorrow; the first impression is super important.”

  “I’m afraid that I won’t be able to handle having a job even if I get it,” she admitted.

  “It’ll be difficult at first, especially since you’ve never had a job before,” Chloe agreed. “Your feet are going to hurt and you’ll be exhausted, but that’ll improve after a few weeks. You’ll get used to being on your feet and handling pain-in-the-ass customers, and your paycheck will give you incentive to deal with it all.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” Tori agreed, somewhat reluctantly.

  “And just think,” Chloe added, “You’ll get to see me more since I’ll only be a few stores away!”

  Tori smiled. “That’ll be nice,” she said. “I miss seeing your beautiful face all the time.”

  “You sure you’re not going to get sick of me when you get back to school?” Chloe teased. “I mean, you’ll be with me at school, home, and work! That’s a lot of time to look at me!”

  Tori chuckled. “Yeah, I think I’ll manage somehow.” In the dim light, they peered into each other’s eyes, and Tori turned to face Chloe. Before long, they were kissing passionately, their arms and legs entangled.