AUTHORS NOTE: This is my first attempt at writing from a female point of view. Feel free to give me some pointers if I portray her out of character. Thank you, and don't forget to vote!
Armed with a coat and scarf, Katie battled the November breeze as she walked down the street. Her destination, a gas station, peeked up at her from a hill. A cold wind nipped at her, so she increased her pace a little.
She was but ten feet away when she fell on her ass.
The light snow had covered up the ice before her, and she hadn't noticed it. Her brisk pace made it easier for the ice to assault her, and she fell hard on her side. She groaned and sat up, holding her sore hip. Her purse had emptied all of its contents onto the street, and she forced herself to rescue them.
One by one, she collected her possessions. Cold, angry, and with a sore hip, she fortified her resolve to get a cherry coke, and opened the door to the gas station.
The first thing she felt was the obvious relief of the heat coming from the building. It comforted her, and cooled her nerves a little. She stretched, and walked towards the freezer where her prize lay.
There were no cherry cokes in stock.
"Mother fucker!" She screamed.
She heard a chuckle come from behind her, and she spun around. There stood a gas station employee, with his short black hair and slick name tag. He caught himself momentarily, and bit his lip, trying not to laugh.
If this asshole says anything, I'll kill him,
she thought to herself.
Sensing her intent, he straightened his face, and tried to make himself look professional. "Is there anything I can help you with mam?" He asked.
Trying to cool herself down a bit, she withheld the urge to punch the young man, and took a deep breath. "Do you have any cheery coke? I walked here from down the road in the cold, and if I don't get one, then one of us is not leaving here alive." Her serious tone shocked the young man.
"Hold on one second," said the employee, and he scurried off into the back, searching for her treasure. She took a deep breath, and set her purse onto the counter. She opened it up and started searching through it, making sure she had all of her possessions. Satisfied, she closed it, just in time for the young man to arrive.
"We don't have any, sorry." Said the gas station employee, obviously terrified of her. Katie took a deep breath, and tried to remember what her anger management counselor had told her.
In times of intense anger, just think of the bright side of things,
she had said.
This was not working.
All of her anger built up, and two years of anger management classes went out the window in half a second. She balled up her fist, and stuck the young man right in the eye. He staggered backward, tripped over a broom, and fell to the ground.
She stood there, shocked by her own actions.
God dammit, I always over react to this stuff,
she thought to herself. With a deep sigh, she bent over and offered a hand to the young man. He hesitantly accepted, and she helped him up off of the ground.
"Mam, I'm uh, really sorry we don't have what you want," he said, "but please don't hit me again. You aren't the only one to have a bad day ya know."
Katie was surprised at his rather calm demeanor, and nodded. "I really am sorry, I tend to overreact, if you get my drift."
He shrugged, and went back behind the counter to resume his work. After a few moments, he stared at her. "Is there something you want mam? Or do you just like a man in uniform?" He said.
She was taken aback, but realized she had in fact, been staring. "Smart ass," she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. He chuckled. Why was this man taunting her now? She had already hit him once, and now she was just tempted at just giving him an ass kicking.
But there was something about his stance, the way he walked, and talked, that made her question the young man.
She was attracted to him.
The realization hit her like a bullet, and she almost fell on her behind again, only this time, the ice took the form of a beautiful young man.
And he really was attractive, but she hadn't noticed until then. His jet black hair and startling dark blue eyes made a fine compliment to his broad shoulders and smooth skin. She wanted to reach out and touch him, like he wasn't even really there. Then she realized she
was
reaching out to touch him. She suddenly put her hand back down to her side, and looked at he shoes, turning a shade of red she didn't know was possible.
She looked up and saw the young man biting his lip, restraining yet another laugh.
He may beautiful,
she thought to herself,
but he's a jackass.
He held up his hands, as if he was surrendering. "Sorry if I'm making you mad again, but its like you went from angry woman to, well, not so angry woman rather quickly," he said. "So I guess it
is
the uniform huh?" He joked, flicking his name tag.
She forced herself to laugh a little, then nodded goodbye. She nearly ran out of the store, almost tripping on the same ice as before. She hurried up the street, not looking back toward the gas station, or her little crush.
What am I, thirteen?
She silently asked herself. Cold, tired, and still thirsty, she decided to answer this question in a warmer environment.
Her apartment was still a good three blocks away, and her resolve was lowering every step. If there was one thing she hated, it was definitely the cold. It bit her hands, and made her face feel as if it were made of ice.
She saw lights and turned around. Beams of bright light momentarily blinded her, and she almost didn't realize that a car had pulled up next to her. The window of the driver rolled down with a screech, and she stared into the eyes of her crush.
The man from the gas station chuckled again, causing Katie to fume with anger.
Keep your cool
, she told herself,
just stay calm
.
