"Oh shit," I said to myself as I felt something hard poke me in the small of my back as I stood in front of the store, doing guard duty. The Super Store located near Baseline Road in the Nepean sector of Ottawa has a reputation for being quite sketchy, hence why the security company sent my six-foot-three, beefy and dark-skinned self to work there. I've stared down a lot of bad apples, and figured one of them might have come back to send a brother to Hades, if you catch my drift.
"Gotcha, Stefan, you so totally fell for it," said Kelly Coleman, and I turned around to see a five-foot-ten, bodacious and simply ravishing brunette with mischievous dark eyes looking me up and down. Damn this woman, I thought, as I smiled in spite of myself. When you have a well-deserved reputation as a prankster like I do, people tend to try to get back at you. Comes with the territory, I guess.
Usually, most people fail miserably because I can see their bullshit coming a mile away. Kelly succeeded because, well, prior to sneaking behind me and poking me in the small of my back, she sent me a picture text guaranteed to distract any red-blooded human male. Seriously, if you saw that picture of Kelly's spectacular ass in black Yoga pants, taken in front of a bathroom mirror, you'd understand.
"Blindsided by a booty shot, you sure know a Haitian brother's weakness," I replied, sighing deeply and Kelly looked at me, and flashed me that fearless smile that I liked, no, loved so damn much. I guess those psychology classes at Algonquin College really paid off for the lovely Miss Coleman. Kelly smiled back, and seemed about to say something when the sound of a throat clearing snatched us out of the, ahem, moment, as it were.
"Ahem, Miss Coleman, we're short on cashiers, could you please go to cash fifteen?" said one of the store's seemingly endless list of managers, a stocky, bald-headed white dude named Rod. The bozo looked at Kelly and I, and I swear, disapproval rolled off of him in waves. Lots of middle-aged white dudes seem to have a problem with brothers talking to white chicks, I guess.
"Sorry, Stefan, got to run," Kelly said, and she gently touched my arm before taking off. Rod looked at me, shook his head, and then walked away. Dude went to bug the gals working in the bakery, for it's part of his managerial duties to make people working at the Super Store feel bad. Nobody likes Rod, I swear. Since I'm a security guard contracted out to the Super Store by my company, I don't directly fall under Rod's command, and this irks him.
Why am I putting up with all of this? Well, I'm in my final year at Carleton University, and I can't tell you how excited I am to graduate. I've been at Carleton since September 2011 and I'm dying to get out with my Law degree. The only snag is that I owe the school a couple of grand, which I must pay before they hand me that glorified piece of paper.
Most students have like six months after their graduation day to start paying back their student loans, but since I'm a brother from the island of Haiti and not a Canadian citizen, I don't have that luxury. Long story short? I came to the City of Ottawa, Ontario, a few years back. The circumstances that brought me here were, ahem, on the dire side but I'm glad to be here.
My paternal aunt Martha Pierrot who lives in Kanata, Ontario, sent for me after the 2010 Earthquake which devastated the island of Haiti, where I was born. I'd like to think that I've adjusted nicely to life in Canada. I have a work permit and a study permit along with a social insurance card and a provincial health card, but I'm not a Canadian citizen. I've applied for permanent resident status, though. Wish me luck, eh?
Why am I telling you all this? Simply because I want you to understand the situation that I'm in. Years ago, I saw myself leading a very different life. Canada wasn't even on my horizon, but fate brought me to this place. I want to build something here. A new life. And I want Kelly Coleman to be part of that life. We met a few months ago at the Super Store, and while we butted heads at first, I found myself falling for her. Kelly, the tall, nerdy white chick who speaks fluent French, loves comic books and superhero movies, and has a soft spot for yours truly.