Part Time Obstacles

The way Mike figured it he had two obstacles to overcome before he could drive his girlfriend to the movie theatre to watch the latest movie playing.

The first obstacle was that he didn't have a car. So he took the part time job at the local self-serve gas station that had been advertised. It didn't pay a lot, but it wasn't like the job was rocket science. You needed to be able to add and subtract and the cash register did most of that for you. He figured by the time the school year was over and through the summer, he could easily make the two or three thousand dollars it would cost to buy a half decent beater. As long as it ran, he knew he could keep it running with the help of Lucas and Max. Those two seemed to eat and breathe cars.

The second obstacle was the big one. He didn't have a girlfriend. And that had a big time suckage factor attached to it that wasn't going to be solved working at a gas station. Not a lot of girls to meet there. Well, there was a few, but they were getting gas in their Mercedes and were definitely not interested in the nerd running their credit card through the machine.

It's not like girls weren't interested in him. Once Mike had turned fifteen, his parents let him grow his hair longer. Now he had hair like an early version Paul Stanley from KISS, or closer yet to the corkscrew hair of Marc Bolan from the English band T . R E X. It was always a mess. The girls seemed to like it. But liked his nerdy demeanor a lot less. The disinterest was returned when Mike found out they could barely spell their name let alone the big words.

So part time at the gas station it was. Mike had the night shifts, and he'd be lucky to see ten customers total. He managed to get a lot of reading done. He was almost embarrassed to say he was being paid a little above minimum wage to read science-fiction books and computer magazines.

It was coming up on 11 o'clock. Closing time. An older model car pulled into the pumps. Last minute customers happened almost every night, all claimed to be running on fumes. The guy who got out had a buzz cut. Wel, maybe not a buzz cut, but really short hair nonetheless. Looked like he might have been military or something. He walked to the back of the the car as if he was looking for something. The guy threw up his hands, got back into the car and brought it around to this side of the pumps.

Mike went back to his magazine, waiting for the guy to actually figure out the whole gas pump thing.

A few minutes later the guy was still walking around back and forth to each side around the back of his car. Mike had no idea what the guy was doing. Mike wasn't supposed to pump the gas for them, and he certainly wasn't going out to help a guy who probably drove tanks for a living or something.

Mike went back to his magazine and waited for the ping on the gas console to indicate the guy was ready to pump gas.

It had to be five minutes now since the guy had pulled into the gas station. Mike's hand hovered inconspicuously near the alarm. Something wasn't quite adding up right.

Finally the door to the gas station opened up, and the guy came in.

Only it wasn't a guy. It was a girl. It was her who had the buzzed hair… and she was pretty. Really pretty. Mike's heart pounded. It felt like the air had left the room. He knew he was staring at her but he couldn't help it.

He was definitely making her uncomfortable because she was looking down shyly not meeting his gaze and her face was crimson. She ran a hand over her close cropped hair.

"This is a little embarrassing but can you help me?" Her voice sounded like wooden wind chimes softly jostling in a light summer breeze.

"Always willing help a damsel in distress. Did you lose something out there?"

"Sort of…" Her shade of crimson had deepened.

"I'm allowed to borrow my dad's car for work as long as I top it off with gas every night. But I seemed to have lost where the tank is. I don't see where to put the nozzle in."

"Let's see if we can find it." Mike would have given any excuse to talk to his girl. To hear her voice. He would have paid rapt attention to her reading the ingredients off of soup cans.

Mike followed her outside. He went to both sides of the car to see if she had missed a hidden panel for the gas cap, but he already knew where the cap was.

He went to the back of the car and crouched down. She crouched down beside him, there thighs almost touching. Mike found it hard to breathe again.

"Let's just see…" He said in a a higher pitched voice than he would have liked.

He reached for the top of the license plate and pulled it down on its hinges. She was watching his every move to make sure she missed nothing. He turned to look at her and her wide golden brown eyes where less than a foot from his face.

Mike thought he was going to pass out. He watched her full lips curl into a smirk.

"I know I'm just a girl but I should have figured this out." She did not sound happy with herself.

"Marie Curie was 'just a girl'. Rosa Parks was 'just a girl'. So was Susan B. Anthony. All girls, all women who changed the course of history, and science. And there are dozens more. Don't sell yourself short. Not knowing where a gas tank is, um, that's just small potatoes compared to what your potential is."

The girl looked at him in wonder. She didn't take his eyes off his face when she said, "thank you."

The sincerity in her voice was heartfelt. Mike didn't know if he had the strength in his knees to stand back up again, he managed without falling over and said, "no problem. You've got it from here?"

Her laugh was a short symphony. "Yes. I have to do this every night, so I think I've already mastered the process."

She came in to pay and he gave her change for a twenty. "You're new here?"

"To this gas station, but not to Hawkins."

She nodded. "I've just relocated myself. I used to live here… years ago."

Mike smiled. "Well, my condolences, you just did one of the most exciting things you can do in Hawkins... Fill up your car."

It made her laugh again, and that's what his intention was.

She backed away from the counter. She looked like she was stalling. She was about to push open the door to leave. She looked back over her shoulder, "so… I'll see you, um you'll be here tomorrow night? You have a shift?"

"If you're going to need my help, then I will definitely be here to find your gas tank tomorrow night." Mike gave her a an ear to ear grin.

Shit.

El was late getting off work. She had to fill the car back up before going home and she knew the only gas station that would be open was going to be closing soon. She was going to have to get her ass in gear.

She probably drove faster than she should have to the gas station. There was nobody at the pumps, and she could see the lone attendant reading a magazine behind the cash register.

Oh great, the grease monkey was probably reading a porno mag to pass the time and she'd have to interrupt him to pay for the gas.

She got out of the car and went to the back to take off the gas cap. It wasn't on that side of the car. She threw up her hands and shook her head, got back in the and backed it up manoeuvred it to the other side of the gas pumps.

She got back out to take the cap off, but the gas cap panel wasn't there either. Where the hell was it? The car didn't run on magic, it had to be filled up with gas.

This station was self serve so the attendant wasn't going to come out and do it for her, but maybe he'd know where to find it.

As she walked to the door of the station, she glanced in and saw that, the attendant wasn't really a grease monkey. He was a rockstar. His head of shaggy black hair looked like a tangled mop. El felt a little funny. She liked to think she wasn't this shallow, but this guy was doing something for her.

She walked in and his deep, gentle eyes were staring at her. Had he caught her looking at him from outside? She looked down embarrassed, ah, he's probably staring at my hair. Ok, she was used to that. He'd never take another look at her with those amazing eyes, but she'd get over that.

She asked if he could help her, and his soft spoken voice made her breath hitch. Not just hitch. She'd stopped breathing.

He called her a damsel, and her heart stopped, she could had a hard time hearing him with the pounding in her ears.

She managed to explain what the problem was. Just barely managed. His lanky body came around from behind the counter and she turned to lead him to the car.

She didn't really care if he was staring at her butt. Her jeans were tight enough that most guys did anyway after looking at her hair.. She hoped he was staring at it, maybe even interested.

El? Are you seriously hoping a complete stranger is staring at your ass wondering what it looks like without your pants? Her internal monologue answered her. Oh, yes I am.

She managed to look into the car windows at her reflection, he was looking away, but definitely not staring at her bum.

Oh, well. Not today. She didn't know whether to be disappointed that he wasn't, or that he was so polite he wouldn't think of doing something like that.

His voice sounded funny as he pulled at the license plate revealing the gas cap.

She felt like an idiot. She was self deprecating with her excuse. But then he told her, without an ounce of condescension in his voice, about famous women and that something as trivial as this was no judge of her true potential.

She just stared at him. His face was not more than a foot from hers. She could see his freckles. How thick that gorgeous hair was. Who was this guy? Sure, he was cuter than he had any right to be, but he was smart, he sounded smart. And he was kind. What was he doing working here? She thanked him in a voice she'd reserve for somebody who had just saved her life. He hadn't saved it, but he had definitely changed it forever.

After he struggled to stand up to head back inside, she stared at his ass. Touché El. You can never complain again.

She remembered talking to him as she paid for the gas, but she would need deep hypnosis to be able to recall any of the details of the conversation.

Her heart fluttered, she couldn't catch her breath. In an act of desperation she asked if he would be working tomorrow night.

His answer and his beautiful smile made her heart twinge. She couldn't wait to get into the car, to be in a familiar space so she could breathe normally again. And because she didn't think she look at him any longer without her weak knees giving out on her completely.

She sat in the car alone for a minute fumbling with her keys. She cleared her throat She couldn't help herself and she said, "Excuse me? Mr. Gorgeous Grease Monkey? I love you and I want to have your children."

She didn't laugh. Her heart jackhammered in her chest. Ok El, that wasn't too shallow.

El's life priorities had just changed. All she really wanted to do was see him again. Talk to him. Be in his presence. Ok ok. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair and kiss his face all over until his freckles wore off. That would suffice for now.

She wouldn't get to do that tomorrow night of course, but she really really wanted to.