Lexa looked up from behind the counter and glanced at the clock on the wall. 5 minutes until the store opened. She sighed, knowing full well that this was the last quiet moment she would have until her shift had ended for the day. She had taken a retail job at a department store over the holiday season hoping to make a little bit of extra money, where she was assigned to the candle department. Lexa loved candles, so the idea of being surrounded by them all day appealed to her greatly. However, she had not anticipated how busy the world of retail could be.

Her days were a constant rush of activity. She was tasked primarily with setting up the candle displays and helping customers, but since Christmas was right around the corner she also had to wrap a fair amount of gifts. Lexa had just finished stacking an assortment of candles in a tier - they were part of the shop's new 'Winter Wonderland' collection and so they were to be prominently displayed - when the lights of the store flickered on. She picked up one of the candles, smelling it, and smiled to herself. Time to go to work.

"You're forgetting something, Miss Woods," she heard a voice say from behind her.

Lexa turned around to see one of her managers, Indra, holding a Santa hat out in front of her.

"Season's greetings from the management."

"Do I have to wear this?" Lexa asked as she took the hat.

She thought it to be a little silly, and it clashed somewhat with her uniform.

"Yes," Indra replied. "In the spirit of the holidays."

Lexa sighed. She reluctantly placed the hat on her head, then went back to her position at the counter.
And so the day began. The steady stream of customers came through the store, as per usual. When someone needed to find a candle, they were sent to Lexa. The majority of her customers that day were frantic Christmas shoppers looking for last minute gifts. She helped them find the candles they were looking for - typically lots of aromatic holiday scents, such as gingerbread and apple cider.

Suddenly, Lexa heard a loud crash. She glanced up and saw that the display of candles in front of her - the ones left over from the fall, which were now on clearance - had been knocked over. A little boy who couldn't have been more than five years old stood sheepishly in front of it.

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking at the floor.

"It's okay," Lexa said with a sigh as she went to fix the display. She knew he hadn't meant to ruin it.

"What's your name?" she asked kindly, crouching down to the boy's level.

"Aden."

"Don't worry, I'm not upset. But you might want to be a little bit more careful next time, Aden... candles are very delicate, you know."

"Okay!"

Lexa smiled warmly at Aden and watched as he ran over to his mother, who she could tell gave him a bit of a scolding. She returned to her task at hand, setting the candles back in their place and examining them to make sure they were still intact. Fortunately, none of them had been damaged. Lexa breathed a silent sigh of relief as she stood back up, dusting her hands off on the hem of her long black skirt. She looked at the display and smiled. There. Much better.

Lexa returned to her counter and slightly adjusted her hat. Her eyes wandered across the room, searching for nothing in particular, when suddenly they landed on her - the pretty blonde who was over by the front of the store. Their eyes met, and Lexa found herself unable to look away, as if there were some kind of magnetic force drawing her towards her. She must not have been in the store for long, Lexa thought to herself. Otherwise, she felt that she would have surely noticed her sooner. A few more seconds passed before a loud voice snapped Lexa out of her brief trancelike state.

"Miss? Miss? Would you be so kind as to tell me where the housewares department is?" a lady asked.

She had been unaware of the customer who stood in front of her, patiently awaiting an answer.

"If you go up the escalator and take a left, it's at the end. You can't miss it," she said.

The customer nodded a 'thank you' and walked off in the direction that Lexa had indicated. Once she had left, Lexa began restocking the display of candles behind her. She picked up one she hadn't seen yet - as the new shipment had just been unpacked this morning - and smelled it. It had a woodsy scent to it, but also hints of some kind of spice, maybe cinnamon. Lexa decided she liked this one. After smelling it, she placed it delicately on the counter in front of her, then glanced up only to find herself face-to-face with the blonde from earlier she had been so captivated by. Lexa was so startled, she knocked the candle off the counter. Fortunately, the girl caught it just in time.

"'Cinnamon Spruce'?"

Lexa blinked in surprise, as it took her a moment to register the question. She could see the colour of the girl's eyes more clearly now. They were a vibrant blue, and looking into them made her feel warm inside.

"Oh! The candle. Yes, we just got this one in," Lexa managed to say.

She hoped that the pretty blonde didn't notice how flustered she was.

"Mmmmm, it's nice," she remarked after smelling it. "But I was wondering, do you have anything more... floral?"

The girl carefully placed the candle back down on the counter, her painted pink nails gleaming in the reflection of the glass. Her voice was husky, and Lexa decided she liked hearing her talk.

"Well, if you're looking for a floral candle, we have one here called 'Hibiscus Breeze'," Lexa offered. "It has undertones of rose and melon. Or maybe you'd prefer 'Sky Flower'? That one smells like a floral bouquet, but it has slight hints of bergamot and vanilla."

"You sure know a lot about candles," the girl said, smiling. Her long blonde hair - which was pinned back in a braided half updo - fell down just past her shoulders in loose waves.

"It comes with the territory, I suppose," Lexa replied. "Plus I find them interesting... I flip through the catalogs sometimes when it's quiet."

The girl raised an eyebrow at Lexa in curiosity.

Lexa felt her cheeks grow hot. She hadn't considered her keen interest in candles to be anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly she felt even more conscious of the silly hat she was wearing.

"Yes... well, I read about other things too…"

She crossed her arms somewhat defensively and kept her gaze fixated on the blonde girl, trying to judge her reaction. There was somewhat of an awkward pause as their eyes locked.

"I came to the right person then, because I need a very special candle." She took a brief moment to contemplate her options. "Can I see the second one you mentioned? 'Sky Flower'?"

"Of course," Lexa replied.

The girl seemed genuine, which made Lexa feel relieved. She had been worried for a brief moment that she had made a bad first impression of herself - why exactly that mattered to her, she wasn't sure.

Lexa walked out from behind the counter to look for the 'Sky Flower' candle for the girl, which happened to be on the table right beside the display Aden had knocked over moments earlier. It was one of the more expensive candles, but judging from the girl's fur coat, money wasn't an issue. She found the candle and handed it to her.

"Here you go," Lexa said.

The candle was light blue and contained inside a frosted glass jar. She couldn't help but notice how it was a strikingly similar colour to the girl's eyes. The girl carefully took the candle from Lexa, smelling it. She closed her eyes and smiled.

"Ahhhh, this one's perfect." She paused. "I'll take it."

"What's the occasion?" Lexa asked as she rang in the purchase.

"There isn't one," the girl said. "I just needed a new candle for my studio."

"Studio?" Lexa inquired.

"Well it's not a full studio or anything like that yet, but I'm an artist," the girl explained while taking her wallet out of her purse to pay. "And I find that there's something really calming about having a nice scented candle in the room while I work."

Lexa nodded, intrigued. She found herself wanting to know everything about this girl, who she had never even known existed until just minutes ago.

"Oh, what kind of art do you do?" she asked.

"Landscapes, mostly. Sometimes portraits."

Lexa was just about to ask her another question when she realized that the line of customers had grown significantly.

"Sorry," she said apologetically. "I'd love to hear more about your work, but I need to continue with mine."

She nodded in the direction of the line that had formed in front of her while they had been talking.

"Don't worry, I understand."

The girl offered her a sympathetic smile. Lexa handed her the candle, which she had put in a little bag.

"Here you go," Lexa said. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" the girl echoed in response, smiling as she did so.

Lexa watched her as she walked away from the counter. Right as the girl was about to exit the room, she turned around to face Lexa once again.

"I like the hat," she called out, gesturing to her head. Then she winked at Lexa.

Lexa couldn't help but smile. Maybe it wasn't such a silly hat after all. In fact, she was glad she had worn it.

And just like that, the girl was gone.

Lexa sighed. She hoped that she would come back to the store again so that she would be able to talk to her some more.

She was just about to help the next customer when a flash of something bright blue on top of the counter caught her eye. It was a business card. She picked it up and glanced at it quickly, curious where it had come from. Clarke Griffin, it read. Freelance artist. On the bottom there was a phone number. Lexa realized that it must belong to the pretty blonde girl who had struck her interest.

Clarke Griffin. She repeated the name in her head as she pocketed the card, memorizing it. There was no doubt in her mind that once she had the chance, she was going to call the number to see if her suspicions were right.