Night Shift

Parker leans against the counter, phone in his hand. This normally isn't allowed, but there are no customers and he's been working at the convenience store long enough for the manager to let some things slide. As someone who hates social media, he scrolls through the news to see what's happening in the world when the bells on the door chime, signaling a customer's entry. He immediately drops his phone and snaps his head up, the customary, "Hello, welcome to our store" on his lips when he finally takes a good look at who walked in.

Her head is down, with her long hair falling down the sides of her face so she can't see him. She heads straight to the shelves on the other side without looking up once. But, that doesn't stop Parker from recognizing her.

Selena Chang.

How could he not, after all? They had been best friends since Kindergarten until his family moved away when they were still in sixth grade. By the time they met again in high school, too much time had passed. Although the years they had spent apart were still less than the time they had been friends, it didn't matter. Three years had been enough for each of them to grow into different people with different interests and friend groups; they had no reason to interact anymore. She made that perfectly clear on the first day of school, when she walked into his English class and made awkward eye contact for two seconds before half-running towards the furthest seat from his.

Pretending to wipe real dust off of the counter, Parker watches Selena quietly, thinking about all of this and wondering why she's even at the convenience store this late at night. From what he knows, she doesn't even live in the neighborhood.

When she turns around from the ramen shelf after picking one, Parker immediately drops his gaze. He stares down at his hand, which has accumulated with dust. Great.

Selena comes close to the counter and drops the ramen down. Her head is still down, though she's sniffling.

Parker pretends not to notice as he picks up the item and scans it. He doesn't know if she recognizes him or not, but it's probably not the best time to confirm. He unconsciously looks up as he usually does. "That'll be two..." His voice trails off when he sees her on the verge of tears.

"Actually, just take it." He pushes the ramen back to her, looking away again. "It's on me." He regrets it as soon as he does it. What if she really doesn't remember him? That would be awkward. Or would it be worse if she did remember him?

Surprisingly, Selena nods wordlessly. Before Parker can respond with the required "Have a good day," she picks up the ramen and walks to the side where there are tables. She places the unopened package down and sits, just staring at it.

Parker watches the whole ordeal with a frown, confused about a lot of things. Which makes it impossible for him not to notice when she bursts out crying.