CHAPTER 9: Chris

The man approached me, he was a husky kind of guy. He wore a wife-beater and khaki pants like he just woke up. The scent of tobacco lingered from his mouth. The man was balding, patch or two of hair above his ears. He said something roughly to me, hard to hear, but I understood, it was a number. I nodded and quickly began pressing buttons. He stared up on the screen, nodded. He took something out of his pocket and put it in front of me.

    A ten dollar bill. I took it and placed it in the cash register and handed him his change. 

I've been working as a cashier for about 5 months alongside my partner on the other cash register, Penny.

 Kevin, my boss walked out of the kitchen and stared at his watch.

"Shift's over, guys. Have a good day!" He said. 

Penny and I left the registers and two other workers filled them. We both grabbed a small cup of soda and left for the bench outside of the restaurant.

Penny was about 7 months older than me. Curly blonde hair that reached her shoulders, blue eyes and peachy skin. Super cute, like Dusty, also with a boyfriend. 

We went to school together in 9th grade but when she turned 16, she decided to quit school and become an actor, she ran from home and joined a modeling agency in New York, but her parents found out and took her back, so now she's working at McDonalds part-time. She still goes to school, but a different one so the kids wouldn't tease her about failing as an actor.

"Chris," she said, toying with the little pop-buttons on the lid. "are the kids at school still shittin' around with the fact that I ran out?"

I was silent, thinking about the right answer to not break her heart. 

"That was a long time ago, Penny."

"You didn't answer me."

I pondered at what I should say next. I knew the truth, but sometimes you had to keep it locked up to save someone.

"Chris. Tell me."

I sucked it up and spilled it out.

"Well, some kids think it's true, or that you just thought of something fake to cover up that you were moving, and then there are really sick rumors."

"Like what?" 

I slurped nervously on my Mountain Dew, girls are sensitive people, even though they don't like to hear it, or admit it.

Penny elbowed me on the arm, it didn't hurt though, but I gave a little "Auhg" noise. "Tell me! I can handle it. I'm not the pansy-a*s I was before!" 

I shrugged, "Wull, some say you ran away to join the circus as a 'Hairy lady', an' that you actually did become an actor, a porn-star that is. And, eh, the rest I forget."

I actually remembered everything, people wrote the rumors near her yearbook picture. 

Penny looked agitated, like she wanted to destroy everyone, even Santa. She gripped the side of her cup like a neck. 

"The damn things kids do these days, 'member when we had phones when we were in our teens? Now 'dem kids these days, getting phones at as early as 8!" 

"Yeah..." I agreed. "Listen, I gotta get home. See-ya Friday." 

Penny mumbled something and nodded.

 "Yeah, bye."