I Hate You Ch 04 Drive

{My thoughts} {Who's gonna tell you when it's too late?}

[Text] Craig [Who's gonna tell things aren't so great?] Nyla [What are you talking about?]

Chapter 4 Drive

My first day in produce at Everyday Earth started the next day. We needed to deep clean our produce section, and Miss Cheryl asked me to clean the top shelves of the coolers.

"It does seem dusty up there like it hasn't been cleaned in a while. Who was the last person to clean up here before?"

"Jerimiah, damn tall string bean, never really worked, but he did, heh." {Turned out}

"Do we have a ladder or something so I can clean up there.?"

"Yeah, I think Stephanie in the Bakery has it."

"Okay, I get it."

"Miss Stephanie, Hi. I'm here to get the ladder." I looked around the bakery section and couldn't see anybody's presence—just the smell of freshly baked bread.

"Well, I guess I'll look around then." Peeking around the counter into the Bakery freezers, I hear sounds. First, moans. The freezer doors are slightly jarred open; I crack the door open slightly as the clapping sounds increase.

"Right there, Tommy," said the female figure.

"Hush, girl here, put this bread in your mouth." The male figure behind her grabbed a piece of frozen bread from the walk-in freezer shelf. He was bringing it toward her mouth.

"But Mr. Tommy, It's froz... ugh."

"There ya go."

I look on in amazement as the Assistant Store Manager and the Bakery manager enter the cooler. I shouldn't look, but I couldn't turn away; damn, Keisha was right; I am a freak.

"Almost there, almost there."

"Ket it, Kaddy."

{Okay, I got to pull my eyes away from this before I get caught, and what the hell would even happen to me in this situation? You know what? I don't even want to know. Where is that damn ladder?}

"Bingo!"

"Is there someone out there!" Tommy shouts as a loud bang hits the floor.

"My bread!"

"Shit, sorry, Steph."

{Time to get the fuck out of here before I get roped into cleaning up bread and cum..ewe.}

I grabbed the ladder and stealthily moved back to the Produce section quickly. Miss Cheryl is waiting with me outside the produce refrigerator door, looking at her phone.

"I found it."

"Yeah, you did. Was it in the bakery?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Okay, let's get this done; I got to run home and let my husband in to get some of his stuff."

"Had the locks changed are something?"

"Yup," she says

"Do you need me to steady the ladder?"

"Sure, it is kind of wobbly."

"I got ya; this dang thang is almost as old as me. Told Ross he needs to get a new one gonna get someone killed."

"Oh, don't say that, heh."

"Just joking, say you butt clinched up there for a moment. Could crush rock with those cheeks."

"Thought never crossed my mind to that."

"Must got a lot of power in your hips, probably put me in a wheelchair."

"Oh, no, I mean, I wouldn't just go town like that. That could be dangerous."

"Dangerous is good sometimes, especially when an inch needs to be scratched."

"An itch?" {I mean}

"A deep itch." She says, pinching my butt.

"Ohh, you got me good there, might leave a mark."

"Something to remember me by, maybe."

"Hard to forget you; I see you most days. I don't need a permanent mark to jog my memory." I tell her while coming down the ladder. "I think I cleaned all the roofs; disgusting up there."

"Yeah, you got dust all over your uniform; take that shirt off so I clean it a little."

"My sh..my shirt."

"Yeah, your shirt. Come on. We don't get all day."

"Okay, you got it." I take off my shirt and look up at her, those brown eyes looking at me intensely. Her ruby red lips made a smirking smile as if it was dinner time.

"You must be workout every day."

"Yeah, I was a chubby kid, so you know I work hard to ensure I don't be a chubby adult." She grabs my shirt letting her hands brush against mines as she grips it. {You know, I don't mind all this attention, but man, I feel like she is terrible at this; she is trying too hard like I am already on board here.}

"You have beautiful hands."

"These old things."

"They're beautiful, just as the person is holding them." Her eyes lit up with compliments.

"Thank you, sweetie; if you keep that up, I might put something on ya."

"I'm all for that, as long as the something. You know good."

"Oh. She laughs. Okay. Let me wash this; you can finish up those shelves then we can start unloading some produce to the floor."

"Sure thing, Miss Cheryl."

"Oh, don't call me Miss Cheryl. Makes me feel old."

"But what if like calling you Miss Cheryl?"

"Oh. Oh my. I'm gonna go now before you get me fired. I already got two strikes from Keisha." {Two strikes?!}

Close to an hour goes by, and I finish cleaning the shelves. Finally, Cheryl came back inside with my clean shirt looking at me sad as I put it back on.

"Can you help me with this banana cart? It has a bad wheel; it needs a man's touch."

"Sure thing," I say to her, grabbing a corner and pushing. She wasn't lying. A dead wheel on this thing made the whole cart of bananas challenging to move back out of the refrigerator area. After pushing it sideways, I navigated it outside to the sales floor.

"Thank you, sweetie, now let's go over and make sure there aren't any old fruits, and then we take off for today. "

"Bet."

An hour goes by, and the sun starts to set on the day as we finish our shift. Cheryl waves me goodbye as she looks over at her phone. I waved back and ran into Keisha as she pulled some carts in from outside.

"Damn, I thought this was beneath sis."

"Don't get me started."

"Damn, Skyler called and said she was gonna be late, and now we don't have a bagger til she gets here."

"What happened to James?"

"He had an appointment he needed to make."

"It's 8 pm; what appointment? You know what, not gonna ask."

"Best not; I just want to say I didn't hire those two."

"You need some help?" She pauses for a second.

"If you don't mind?"

"I don't, and you should say something."

"I'm not going back in there because Cheryl is there."

"She told me something about her having two strikes."

"That bitch has nine strikes."

"But that..defeats the purpose of the reference. It..you don't care, do you?"

"No, Craig, I don't."

"Alright, what do you need me to do? Are there more carts outside?"

"Yes, get the carts, then come back, and I will get on register, please, and thank you."

"You got it, boss."

"Hey, wait before you go real quick. Have you heard from Megan today?"

"Me.no."

"I need to do a wellness check because it's been a whole week."

"Damn, Lance putting it down like that."

"Didn't think he had it in him; she said they barely. But, oh, you don't need to know that."

"I mean, I'm curious now, do tell."

"Go get those carts already."

"Shit, I was, but now I want dragon fruit passion tea."

"Craig!"

"Alright, Geesh. You did this, not me." I move as quickly as possible, gathering carts scattered all over the parking lot. {Still got it.} I speed back inside to see Keisha already at the register, with the new girl panicking as her service gets filled with groceries. Keisha looks at me and nods her head in her direction. I acknowledge her and move toward the Asian-descent coworker.

"Hi"

"Oh my god, thank you. Craig, did I say that right?"

"You did, and nice to meet you." She smiles at me, the worry melting off her face. I quickly grabbed and bagged the groceries as she picked up her past scanning items at a rate that was hard for me to keep up with.

"Damn, your quick."

"Sorry, do you need me to slow down?"

"No, I'm impressed you are like a machine."

"Oh, thank you." She removed some hair from her face and looked back at me with a smile as I finished placing groceries in the cart.

"Mr. Craig, can you come to help me over here, please," Keisha says mockingly.

"Sure thing Ms. Keisha, I remarked back to her." Finally, the rush died down, and Skyer showed up briefly after to clock in on shift.

"Sorry, I'm."

"No, we can talk in my office; just clock in and meet me there."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, I've never seen her like this before, the new girl remarked, looking over at me."

"Oh yeah, she can be Tyrant when she wants to be."

"Oh, she laughs. That's so mean; I like Miss Keisha."

"I hate her; she is always so bossy."

"Oh." She says, looking down at her cash register.

"I'm kidding. What is your name

"Naomi"

"Hey Naomi, it's nice to meet you; I'm Craig. I work to produce, but if you ever need me to come here to help, I am always down to help."

"Thank you, and I will take you up on that offer."

"Okay, I'm gonna clock out."

"Craig, come over here for a sec," Keisha shouts

"Sure, thing, boss. See ya, Naomi."

"Bye, Craig." I walk to the service counter, where Kiesha finishes her talk with Skylar. The girl's eyes are red as if she is about burst into tears. As soon I make it to the counter, she departs off to the counter over by Naomi.

"Jesus Keis, did you read her? Her rights are something."

"Something like that..she takes a deep breath. I'm gonna need you to train her."

"Me?" "Why do you do that? Yes you, dweeb."

"But I'm in produce with my Mistress Cheryl."

"Okay, so this is officially your first strike."

"Out of what?"

"Don't worry about that, that's for me to know and you to fuck around and find out."

"Okay, I've been here too long; it's time to go."

"Wait, one more thing."

"What's up."

"Did you and Cheryl clean your area today?"

"Oh, we clean, alright?"

"Leave, get the fuck out now."

"Alright, I'm going."

"The main road is closed due to construction right now," Keisha yells at me as I walk out the door.

Sure, the main road was closed, and I had to take the backroads to get home. There were other ways to get home, but they were more out of the way from our apartment. I can avoid Key City's early evening traffic. The road could have been better lit and finished. Very creepy to drive down, especially at night. Halfway to my destination, I saw a familiar car parked on the side of the road with the emergency brake lights on, blinking. I pulled over up to the side of the vehicle. It was, indeed, who I thought it was looking down with a sober look. Megan was gripping her steering wheel, shaking her head, and talking to herself.

"Excuse me, miss?" I say with my windows rolling down to show my face.

She turns with anger in her eyes and looks over at me. Her frown turned into a half smile as she saw who the person was in the car next to hers.

"Craig?"

"What's going on? Are you good? You a long way from your apartment; where are you headed?"

"Home, well. My mom's house. My tire blew out; just my fucking luck, right."

"You do be having bad luck."

"I'm not in the mood for your shit right now."

"You're never in the mood for my shit, so what's new."

"Fuck you, Craig! Drive off in your shitty van and leave me the hell alone!" She yells.

"Hmm, that time of the month."

"Dude."

"Okay, you know good, and damn well, I won't leave you here." I pull in front of her and walk over to the driver's side.

"If you need help, why didn't you call Lance." She grits her teeth and shakes her head.

"I don't need Lance!" She says, voice cracking.

"Ah, got into a fight, huh."

"No, I didn't even go in..."

"Why?"

"He's cheating on me; I saw him with this fucking floozy from church."

"Floozy?"

"Shut up...You heard me. To make matters worse, I left my jack in his car; he took it with him on the road. It was my stupid idea."

"Let's go get it back then."

"No, I don't know what I would do if I were near them right now."

"Good point. Well, lucky for you, I got a jack and tools in my car. So, I can change it."

"Craig... dude, I don't have a spare tire."

"Damn, you just aren't prepared for the wilds today."

"Thanks, Craig. No, thanks. You're a real Knight and Shining armor."

"A Black Knight."

"I wish my tire didn't pop so I could run you over."

"Kinky. Alright, I'll cut the shit, get in, and let's get a tire from Walmart." She looks at me, then her face softens and she exits the car.

She locks her doors and gets in the van.

"So, all that shit you're talking about, my car, and here you are riding in it."

"Don't remind me; also, when did you, of all people, learn how to change a tire."

"That's insulting."

"It's an honest assessment from someone who knows you."

"Maybe you don't know me as much as you think. You know, like you don't know Lance." She doesn't say anything and looks down in frustration forming fists in her lap. That comment was a step too far, especially this soon. {I'm so used to her constantly jabbing at me. She is so vulnerable right, good I just wanna}

"Sorry."

"No! Your right; you're an asshole but your right. It was right in my face this whole time. Maybe I felt like I deserved it, after all the shit..."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you feel like you deserve it?"

"Because I... I don't want to talk about it, okay?

"Look, Megan, you didn't deserve that. Fuck Lance; I never liked him anyway."

She sighs. "Thank you."

"Yeah, no problem. Oh, Where here paradise to the poor and middle class, The Wall." I say while finding a parking spot.

"So, you never liked Lance."

"Nah."

"Why."

"I have my reasons. I...can we drop it. Like how you just dropped, not telling me why you feel like you deserved to be cheated on."

"No! What didn't you like about him."

"Dude, I don't know. It's hard to explain; he has this pompous air."

"I got time; it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to go back to my apartment tonight."

"Why do you care about my opinion?"

"I value your opinion."

"Sure, you do; let's get this damn tire already." I open the door to get away from the broaching topic. Megan gets out behind me, and She starts to feel around her pockets.

"Fuck me."

"What's up?

"I... "She places her hand on her head.

"You what?" I press. She doesn't say anything; she just silently looks down.

"I ...I left my wallet in the car. I can't pay for the tire."

"Damn, Meg. And you have the nerve to look in your pockets. The small ass pockets, you can barely fit their hands in there, gurl."

"I'm sorry, okay. Let's just. I don't know. Can you take me to my mother's house?

"Hell No! There is no way in hell I'm going out to Thornwood tonight."

"Don't make me beg, Craig." {Beg}

"Not. I let out a big sigh. Come on. Let's go inside to get the tire."

"Are you deft? Didn't you hear me? I said I don't have any money to get the damn tire." She loudly shouts at me in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

"I heard you, and I got it."

"You got it?"

"Yeah, so let's go." The gesture takes Megan aback.

"You don't have to, and I don't want you to."

"I know I don't, but I'm going to, so let's go."

"I don't want you to." {The Fuck is wrong with you?}

"I don't care what you want, and I'm gonna do it anyway."

Her face scrunched in anger, and I could her seething. She turns her head and follows me inside to the store. We walk up to the service counter. Standing behind it on the computer is a black-haired, golden skin Latina girl. She looks like she is in her mid-twenties, around the same age as me. Pretty. I didn't want to look at her, although she did look familiar. {I swear she looks like, shit she tells me, she probably thinks I'm freaking creep.}

I turn my eyes back to the catalog and flip through, trying to find the right tire as Megan looks up at the clerk to the side.

"Is this your model of the car, right." I point to the book and look at Megan.

"Craig...Craig Turner?" The clerk says my name with familiarity.

"Yeah... Do I know you?"

"You better remember me." She says, looking, raising her eyebrow at me. "That look immediately takes me back to art class in high school.

"Oh shit. Angel?"

"Yes. It's so good to see you. I hardly ever see anybody from high school anymore. It's like I left and came back to a different country."

"Yeah, everybody got away."

"Yeah, I guess I didn't get the memo. So, you too are looking for a what type of tire. She turns her attention to Megan.

"Actually, two tires if you got it, and this is Megan. She is my sister's best friend. Megan turns and looks at me with a wild look. {Did I say something wrong.} "Alright, Uh Megan, this Angel, me and her used to make comics every day in art class high school."

"Oh my god! You remember, I still have those comics with me to this day. It's ridiculous to think you can take many art classes and still be so mid.

"Ouch"

"I try"

"I will admit, though, those little comics are a sort of an inspiration for me to go back to school. And I hi Megan."

"Yeah, hey," Megan says nonchalantly.

"Hey, can you show her what tire you need for the car? I'll be back. I got to grab something."

"Sure." I leave them and venture into the other part of the auto section to find a jack for Megan. I return after to see them conversing with each other about something.

"I'm back, here ring this up too. I show Angel the barcode for a floor jack.

"What are you doing?"

Megan asks me

"Don't worry about it." {I feel so cool right now.}

"I didn't ask." {Now I feel lame}

"I know you didn't. It's cool." Megan turns her head from me, shaking it side to side, annoyed at my actions. Angel rings up the two tires and the jack.

"Okay, here's your receipt; also, I put my number there. It's only if you want to get back in touch and maybe make some comics." She places the receipt out and smiles nervously at me.

"Hell yeah, I've gotten slightly better as a writer, just to let you know. I still suck at drawing, though." I say, taking the receipt and brushing my hands on her. Angel smiles at my tough.

"I, too, have improved, and I can't wait to show you."

"Cool, well. I will keep in touch. See ya, Angel. "

"You too. I will be looking forward to your call or text." I wave at her as we exit the store.

{Cool, another opportunity.}

"You're becoming quite the man whore, aren't you?" Megan says while walking next to me outside.

"Excuse me; I was talking about writing and creating something. It excites me."

"I know what excites you."

"Okay, Meg, you have my full attention again, just like you like it."

"Sure, and what the hell was that back there? I didn't tell you to buy me two damn tires and a jack. So don't try to look cool for your nerdy-like chica back there at my expense."

"Expense means you have money."

"Equity, which could be my time or my sanity."

"Geesh, sorry for helping you the fuck out, and I know you didn't need my help; I just wanted to be your knight and shining armor."

"So, you see me as vulnerable, and you're trying to take advantage of me?"

"Are you ever really vulnerable, though?" I place the tires and jack in the back of my car. We both get in the car.

"Here, take this" I hand her the receipt for the Tires and Jack.

"Why?"

"Because you need it for warranty if they lose air or go flat in the next thirty days. You can get a free one."

"Oh, right, but what about this number."

"Oh, Shit. Yeah, let me see it real quick, like." I grab the paper and put the number on my phone.

"You know she likes you right."

"I doubt it," I remark while driving out of the parking lot.

"Why do you doubt it?"

"Because she is"

"She looks like she wanted to fight me for your affection. She even got a little catty while you were gone."

"Would she win?"

"Heh, bitch doesn't stand a chance...Hypothetically, of course."

"Of course."

"Believe it or not. I was crushing on her hard when I was in high school. It was kind of hard not to. We had similar interests, and she was gorgeous. So, yeah, you weren't the only girl I ever had a crush on back then, for your information."