Lets Not Fall in love.

I woke up bright and early for my first day of work. Still thanking the heavens for how easy it was to get a job out here. I expected it to be much harder than it was. My mom drove me on her way to work and wished me luck. Then she told me. ‘’Keep your stuff on lock down and don’t lose your phone this time. Okay?’’ I smiled. But felt a little guilty.

I hated lying. But she so easily believed me. I hadn’t been living here that long, so why would she expect me to lie? I felt bad that I had already found my way Into some trouble. I felt bad that I hadn’t come straight out and told her about the crazy shit that had happened to me the night I was job hunting.

The lady behind the counter from when I first went in was behind the counter again. But her hair was a pastel blue this time. She looked up at me, her full lips in a friendly smile and she was wearing pink overalls over a grey shirt. ‘’So Punctual. I love it. Okay. I’m glad you’re here. I’m so excited to have you on our team.’’ She asked my name again. And after I told her she just laughed. ‘’That’s so hard to say, can I shorten it? Can I call you dolly?’’ She then reminded me that her name was Miu She was bright and bubbly, like someone you would see in a Japanese Harajuku magazine. I liked it.

She pulled me by my hand to the back, when a girl about my height with black hair and glasses sat taking stuff out of boxes. ‘’That is Juli. She is Su-Lin’s younger sister.’’ Juli jerked her head at me and turned back to her work. ‘’I’ll let Juli show you the ropes and then leave you to it. Su-Lin will be back later on to check on you.’’ And then Miu scampered back to the front. Juli looked after her and rolled her eyes.

‘’hey.’’ She said to me in Korean, she got up from her place on the floor and held out her hand to me. ‘’Like princess bubble gum said, I’m Juli, my sister is the manager.’’ She told me. ‘’But my hours will be cut short once the summer is over. I’ll be starting school again.’’ I nodded as she let go of my hand. ‘’Me, too.’’ She smiled and briefly started to go through the rules and such of the stores. ‘’It’s been a while since we’ve had a pretty face so they’ll put you out front.’’ She told me. I frowned a little and looked towards the door.

‘’Miu is pretty.’’ I said indifferently. Juli looked up at me and laughed. ‘’I go back to my previous statement.~~

I had found out that Juli and I would be going to the same school when the summer was over. We talked about life and plans after school. Food and music. Our siblings. Su-Lin was the manager and her husband was a photographer. She lived with her mom and new born brother. But wanted to work part time instead of staying home and babysitting.

She was quite funny, she made jokes about the people that walked by when we were on our break, and twice I had caught her staring at some random girls’ butt. But I liked her, she was funny. But I had gotten really flustered when she asked me if I had a boyfriend.
‘’Um… I’ve only moved here with my mom last week.’’

‘’So?’’ she said. ‘’That’s an excuse. I’ve seen girls come here have a boyfriend on their first day. And you’re half so you have the upper hand.’’ I felt my cheeks go hot and I turned my head away playfully.

‘’There’s no one. Just my brother.’’ I stated. I didn’t tell her about TOP because he was sort of irrelevant. I was just a gangster’s play thing wasn’t I? why would I go around tossing that he was like a boyfriend because we had kissed a few times? As far as I knew I was still pretty single. ‘’So… there’s no one?’’ she asked again. She had already gotten comfortable with me, so comfortable that she reached over and poked my cheek with a finger.

‘’No.. there’s no one.’’ I answered while looking her in her milk chocolate colored eyes. She considered for little while before deciding to believe me. ‘’Fine fine. But like…’’ She leaned in. ‘’Is there some girl?’’ when I didn’t answer, she laughed a little. ‘’I am screwing with you.’’ She said and nudged me. She looked at her phone and sighed. ‘’If we’re not back at least five minutes early, then Miu will come look for us.’’ She told me. The schedule would be easy to get used to. Simple and pay was so far fair. It was wonderful.. well for my first day.

I waited with Juli while I sat talking to my mom. But she only suggested that I wait around for her. I was going to take her up on her offer.

‘’Hey, Amy! There you are. I’ve been looking for your store for almost an hour now.’’

That was my brother Juniper’s voice. I turned excitedly to greet him. But froze when I realized he wasn’t alone.

Notes