Alright, this is a tiny little experiment of mine. I wanted to make a short story based on the universe of the Twilight series without necessarily having to use the characters from the book. I really didn't feel like writing a full story without some hint of attention, so I'll through this out there. This is a partial back story for the main character. Just so y'all know, he is male. Haven't decided on a name yet. Let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I in no way maintain any rights or ownership of the Twilight series or affiliated intellectual and material copyrights.
The time was 7:03 pm and twenty-six seconds, according to my cell phone. The old wall clock behind the counter said something different, but it was always a little slow. Usually by about four minutes. It was entirely pointless, seeing as every customer I've ever worked with here since day one had a phone on them and was usually adhering to some sort of busy schedule. Not that it really mattered, closing four minutes late according to satellite time never bothered me any. 8 o'clock, 8:04, who cared? What was I going to do with four spare minutes anyway? It made the owners happy at least. Squeezing in every last customer throughout the day seemed to be Mr. Werner's favorite pastime. Although my coworkers would beg to differ about finding uses for that four extra minutes after close every night. The time was 7:04 and three seconds now. I have no idea why I was keeping track. The customer on the phone has just asked about our hours, maybe that was it. Or, I was mind-numbingly detail oriented. Neither possibility was unlikely.
"We're open 10 am to 8 pm Monday through Saturday, and closed on Sundays" I replied in a pleasant but otherwise flat tone. He began asking whether or not we stocked specific parts, for a new sink or some other do-it-yourself plumbing job. I mindlessly assured him we had each and every part he mentioned available. So many people came in asking for the exact same thing, there wasn't even a need to go and check the selves for them. As he rattled on, I went back to focusing on the clock. In France, the time was 12:04 in the morning…
I set the phone back in its cradle and stared across the store towards the tool bench. Cindy and Jon were sitting next to each other on the stools behind the counter, watching something on the computer screen. I had been surprised to find out that when Mr. Werner had the computers and new registered installed that he knew enough about them to keep their ever finicky network up and running. The store was quiet enough; we hadn't had a customer in for a good twenty minutes now. The computer was playing what sounded like a news clip from the local news station. Something about a series of murders on the east side of the city. Bodies poorly disposed of, no suspects, police out in force. I stopped listening at that point. The news didn't surprise me; east Grand Rapids had always been crime heavy. Even though the student ghetto was right next to it, I had never run into anything. Rather impressive for being a resident of three years.
Cindy seemed rather upset by the news. She was talking nervously to Jon while they watched, her brow scrunching down under her glasses. That was completely understandable; she had children going to Grand Valley State. She always told me to be careful, like I was one of her children. Her oldest daughter lives a block down the street from me I believe... Such a nice woman, if not a little overbearing. She was a family friend of Mr. Werner, and made good money working for him. More than I made, but I suppose I don't need it as much as she does. Three children going to college at the same time is quite the financial burden. As an only child, I couldn't relate.
Well, not quite true. I would be an only child if my parents were still with us. A horribly traumatic thing it was to loose both of them at the same time. I never really got over it, and don't suppose I ever will. My parents were older than most, and being well of enough financially to be stable, they loved traveling. I was in high school at the time, so I never really minded the house being empty for weeks at a time. It was my senior year they never came back. I sold the house and left for Grand Valley State here in Grand Rapids as soon as I graduated. I suppose there is a backlog of money sitting somewhere with my name on it, but I never bothered to look. Dad's Apple stocks weren't something I wanted to go digging in the proverbial closet for.
There I went, thinking again; the clock read 7:41. I had a nasty habit of going through the motions while I daydream. As oblivious as it makes me sound, I rarely get in trouble for it. If people do often notice, they either assume I'm thinking about something important, or don't feel the need to interrupt. Regardless, it was a reoccurring flaw of mine. I have lost less time to sleeping than to my wandering thoughts. As I sat there thinking; staring off toward the back counter, I heard the bells attached to the front door jingle noisily to life.
"Welcome to Werner's Hardware" I spoke automatically. It took me a second to register that I had received no reply.
When this happens, it is usually a customer who is in too much of a rush to reply to the routine friendly banter. Baring a complete lack of courtesy, you learn to take that sort of thing in stride. That however entailed that said person would be walking away from the door, where as now I heard no movement. Curious, I glanced up.
The smoldering gaze of two blood red eyes met mine.