A/N: Well...hello there. I haven't done this in a whole minute, but I've had a rough couple of days, both mentally and financially. And one of the only ways for me to cope is to take my frustrations and create something. Even if it flops and this doesn't work out, at least I can say I tried. I've been creatively stunted for a long while, and today I think I needed this day specifically to let some steam out. This little story was sitting in my drafts, and aside from the last couple of paragraphs, has been unedited, unfiltered, and un-beta-read. I miss being able to just create and write and see where the chips fall. Hope you enjoy.

I didn't hate my job, but I hated everything about it.

The constant moving, pushing and pulling of racks. The monotony of moving merchandise from one place to another, only to see it come right back before your eyes. It's like a haunting ghost, haunting your every move. Why won't people just buy the damn material and go home? Why did everything have to take so much time to execute in this damn establishment?

Was it even an establishment if more people were leaving than staying? And even if new people came into the picture, they never stayed longer for more than a year or two. Because they realize that work is more than just this.

And yet, here I was, still hustling, still making my ends meet. Still wanting more but terrified to move forward.

Everyday was the same, never changing, never learning. Until today.

~oOo~

I wasn't even paying much attention when I heard her. Her family had come in the long line to buy some things in one of our store carts, and me not thinking anything of it, had let my mind wander.

My mind usually whirled on its own, trailing from both exhaustion of the long day, and pondering how soon my first lunch break was. However, inbetween my erratic thought process, this girl's voice stuck out the most. I didn't think she meant for me to hear it, but I did so anyway.

"Momma, why doesn't she look up when she's working?" her little voice called out, not loudly but not softly. Her comment carried on as if she was speaking in normal voice level. I peeked up from my movements of bagging clothes in plastic bags and met her wide green eyes. Her arm was outstretched in my direction, with a small finger pointed directly at me. Her small frame hid behind an older woman with chestnut brown hair and blue eyes.

The woman turned behind her, a slight frown forming on her brow as she looked down at the girl. "Alice! We don't point and ridicule people who aren't like us. That's not nice." She hissed in her ear. The girl named Alice quickly put her hand down, a slight blush coloring her white cheeks.

We don't ridicule people who aren't like us… what did she mean by that? Who was "us"? Weren't we all human and the same?

The buzzer that notified the next open cashier jolted me out of my stupor, sending slight shivers down my spine. The family in question towed near me, and my heart began to pound in my chest like a freight train coming down the tracks. I could feel sweat dewing my palms, my fingers starting to shake as I silently prayed for this family, these two (wait was that three? Who was that guy behind them?) people coming down the aisle to not stop at my register. I didn't even know them, had never seen them before in my life, but I knew people like them already. I'd already been outcasted in high school and my first year of college; I didn't want to feel that way here at work, 2 years later.

The family trotted up to my register, sadly in my case. The woman smiled slightly as she started pulling her things out of the cart. Three shirts from my Sportswear department; two Home department candles; a coloring book from the Baby department; a brown belt from Mens' department. Simple yet direct materials. Alice laid her hands on the surface of the counter of the platform, placing her head in between her hands. I started scanning the items and pushed them aside to not get confused with the next item coming up. A pair of pale white, male hands appeared with a pair of socks, which spooked me out of my mindframe.

"Sorry," the smooth, male voice said, and I looked up at another pair of deep green eyes. What was it about this color that made it stand out today?

I shook my head, looking down and away, hoping I didn't pee in my pants before my break. I cleared my throat and croaked, "It's ok." My lips curled into what I had thought was a smile.

I turned to open the bag of plastic bags next to me and began filling the bought materials with it.

"See, Momma, she only looked at Edward but not me. Is she ok?" Alice whispered loudly. The boy named Edward rolled her eyes at the little girl and away, slight annoyance coming on to his profile.

"Alice! Stop it. I could take back the coloring book if you keep this up!" Her mother snipped at her again in a rushed tone. She turned to me, an apologetic look tinging in the crinkles of her eyes. "I'm so sorry. My daughter is being incredibly observant today."

I glanced at the small child, who couldn't be more than eight years old, and smiled a small smile. "It's ok, apparently I do need to look up more." I scanned the coloring book and slid it to her. She took it quickly and smiled a widely, two tooth holes missing inbetween her gummy smile. "Do you have crayons too?" I asked her.

She shook her head no, looking up at her mother. "Can we buy some, Momma, please?" She asked, drawing out the 'please' at the end. Her mother sighed deeply, and Edward reached in the back of his pocket to draw out his wallet.

"I'll pay for it, along with my wallet." He remarked, fishing out a $20 bill. "They can't be more than $5, right?" He was asking me? I had no idea.

My mind ran through the options of first where the crayons were, and how much they could have been…. A small flat carton of Crayola crayons slid over to me from Kate, the cashier beside me. I looked over to her, where I'd just caught her mouthing, "They're $3.99." I nodded and scanned the crayons.

I pressed some buttons to Tender the items out and told him the total amount. He gave me the $20 bill, and I took it out of his fingers. Without looking into those deep green eyes again, I switched out his bill with the change needed, closed the cash register bin, and watched the receipt pop from the printer. I grabbed the receipt and passed it into his hands, they felt a little sticky from the hot, summer air but smooth at the same time. The palm of his hand brushed against the tips of my fingers, and a slight shock came from the contact. We both glanced up and looked away at the same time.

My face flushed hot, the feeling creeping down my neck as I folded all of the items into a plastic bag. I doubled-up the bag just in case it burst open, and Edward slid his fingers from under mine to take it. That shock came up again, and I gasped. His green eyes flashed to me, and I snatched my hand back.

"Come on, guys, your father is waiting outside." Their mother's voice jolted me out of the moment. The Alice girl took Edward's hand, pulling him away. His eyes never left my face, but glanced over to his sister quickly. His lips curled into a quick half-smile as he walked away backwards, finally turning forward. I gulped the large lump in my throat, and turned back to the computer screen, my hands automatically logging me out.

"Bella!" Kate hissed next to me. "He was so cute! The way he couldn't keep his eyes off of you! I'd keep my eye on him." She winked suggestively, which made my cheeks burn even hotter. I needed some air.

I smiled nervously, looking down at my beat up, old black Converse High Tops. "I can't really keep my eye on anybody right now…" I walked around the small island that separated the checkout line from the cashiers.

As I walked past Kate, I heard her add, "Nothing wrong with a little summer fling."