Ten minutes before her shift ended, Cinder scanned the last of her customer's purchases. She placed the carton of eggs neatly in the plastic bag, and spun the turn-around. After paying and collecting their groceries, they left, and the next in line placed their items on the conveyor belt. The single pack of gum was moved all the way down.

"Is this all?" She didn't bother looking up yet as she passed it over the scanner. The computer beeped and she rang him up.

"Yeah. Just felt like some chewing gum today." Recognizing the voice, Cinder froze and swung her gaze up to meet Kai's.

Kai, Mayor Rikan's son, and the most sought-after boy (technically young man, he was almost nineteen now) in the city. She wasn't affected by him like all the other wild girls—at least, that's what she kept telling herself. Almost three years older than her, she hadn't seen him in school a lot, but he was very handsome—and supposedly very kind.

Her heart thumped, and she pulled at her gloves, making sure her prosthetic hand wasn't visible.

"That'll be a dollar twenty-two, please." He handed her the change, and she placed them accordingly in the cash register. "Would you like a bag?"

He shook his head, "No, tha-" He froze, his gaze fixed just over her shoulder. Kai went pale, and he shoved the gum in the pocket of his grey hoodie. "Oh stars, do you mind?" He ran around the counter and jumped behind Cinder and into the semi-cubical former by the two back-to-back check-out counters. Luckily the other was currently unoccupied.

Cinder gaped down at him. "What on earth?" He shushed her, putting a finger to his lips frantically.

"Just pretend I am not here. And whatever you do, do not look behind

you, or you might draw her attention." This of course made her extremely curious. She tried to catch a glimpse of his subject of panic from the screen's reflection. Her mouth went cotton-dry.

"Oh, no."

It was Levana Blackburn, Kai's ex-girlfriend. Levana was a older than Kai, a few years into college at the time they were dating. Cinder didn't know why, when, or how they started dating (the rumors were crazy), but she knew their break-up was nasty. Levana became even bitchier than ever, and she was still furious with Kai. People said whenever the two came into direct contact, things got messy.

She prayed Kai wouldn't bump into her left leg and feel the hard metal limb. She was very self conscious about it, and the last thing she wanted right now was for Kai to look at her with the usual unease, and in some cases, disgust.

She watched the reflection as Levana came closer and closer and finally, passed her counter. Both released their held breath with relief. Kai remained crouched.

"Is she gone? Like, gone gone?"

Cinder nodded. "Yep. She turned around the corner and started heading toward the back." Kai rose from his crouch and brushed off his pants.

"Thanks, by the way." Her looked at her name tag. "Cinder. I hope you don't get in trouble for this."

Cinder bit her lip. "Maybe, maybe not."

Kai groaned. "Sorry."

Cinder shook her head, her ponytail swinging. "Eh, don't worry. I'm sure the manager will let it slide. Wasn't thank big of a deal, really."

"Well if you do, I'll come and I'll tell him it was my fault."

Cinder gave a small smile. "Alright."

They stood there, staring at each other before Kai blinked and said, "Oh, right, I should get out now." Cinder moved aside as he reappeared on the other side of the counter. Luckily there were no other customers in her line. She checked her watch. Only a few minutes before her shift ended.

Kai was still there, leaning against the counter.

"Can I ask you something?"

He looked at her. "Sure."

"What's up with you and Levana?"

He sighed, shaking his head. "You haven't heard?"

"I don't listen to rumors. They all sounded farfetched."

He laughed. "The truth sounds pretty farfetched itself." He paused before continuing, "A few weeks before the split, this girl from school, Cress or something, told me that she had overheard Levana talking with her friend Sybil Mira that she was using me to glean information about my father's campaign for Mayor. The next election is next year, and she was planning on running."

He laughed at Cinder's horrified expression. "I know, Levana as mayor?

Insane. But it was true, though, I discovered. I confronted her about it, and she was furious. We broke up, obviously, but she still hates my guts. Sometimes I imagine she's plotting my death, even as we speak,"

Cinder laughed. "I've heard about some of your encounters afterwards. It must have been horrible dealing with all the aftermath."

"Yeah, well, I guess that's what I get for dating Levana."

Cinder chose her next words carefully. "Why did you date her in the first place?"

Kai shrugged. "I don't really know, to be honest. It was like she had me under some kind of spell. She seemed so nice at the time, despite everything I heard about her. I don't even like older girls, but with her, I don't know. It wasn't even that bad at the beginning."

Cinder's watch alarm went off. Kai jumped back, startled.

"Oh, sorry," she turned off the alarm. "My shift is done."

Kai nodded. "Hey," he began, stuffing his hand in his pocket. "Do you want to grab a drink or something? I like talking with you. You're easy to talk to."

Cinder blushed furiously. "I, um, yeah, sure. Why not?"

"Great." Kai smiled, and it melted her heart. "Come on, I know a great coffee shop."