Hena drummed her fingers on the counter, bored once again. Nobody came to the store anymore, except for that weird boy in green, who broke all of her jars. Still, he didn't come a lot. Hena couldn't steer a boat anymore in her condition.
The bell on the door rang, making Hena jump a little. Could it be?
Iza, Hena's older sister, came inside. Hena sighed. Of course it couldn't be him. Iza scowled at her little sister.
"Don't tell me you thought I was him! He's not going to come back. I always told you he wasn't right. He ditched you when you needed him the most! He's nothing than a little…" Iza began her speech about how foolish her little sister was.
Hena twirled her braid. Yes, she should have listened to her older sister. But did she?
No.
Hena was in a delightful mood. She didn't know why, but she figured it was because she went on the boat the day before with that boy Shad. The water had always calmed her.
She was sitting on the counter, with her legs laid on it too. She twirled her hair, humming to a song she had stuck in her head.
The door opened, ringing the bell. Hena looked up, and saw Shad walk inside. He carried the book at his side that he had the day before.
"You're back again?" Hena asked. Shad's face flushed as he pushed his glasses back up. He was in a good mood too, but he didn't know why either.
"Is that a problem?" he asked. Hena shook her head, making her braids fly.
"Nope." she jumped off of the counter. "You ready to go?" Shad shook his head.
"Actually, I would like my clothes back, if that's okay." Hena felt a little disappointed. She wanted to be on the boat today. It didn't ruin her light mood though.
"It's not okay." she replied with sarcasm. Shad looked confused. He frowned and looked at his feet.
"Oh." he said. "I would really like them back." Hena sighed.
"I was joking, of course you can have them back!" Shad's face somewhat reddened. He wasn't the best at humor. Although, Ashei's teasing did help him understand sometimes, but not all of the time.
"I put them in the back." he said. He went to the back of the shop to claim his clothes. Hena stayed in the front of the shop, checking the inventory.
"Do you have something I could put them in?" called Shad. Hena sighed. She grabbed a nearby burlap sack. She tossed it at him, and he put his extra clothes in the sack. He sniffed.
"It reeks of fish!" he exclaimed. Hena laughed.
"What's wrong with fish?" Shad shook his head and headed towards the door. Hena felt somewhat alarmed.
"Already?" she asked. "Why?" Shad smiled, seeing her anxiety. His confidence went a little bit up.
"Oh, Ashei requires my assistance in helping her plot land regions on a map." Shad sighed. "She could have requested Rusl's help, but no, she had to choose me."
Hena felt confused. "Who's Ashei?
Shad shook her head. "She's a fellow fighter in our resistance." He smiled. "She's very sarcastic and likes to tease, I'm sure you'd be great friends."
Hena didn't laugh, however, but instead twirled her braid. Shad noticed this and tried to change the subject.
"But we're plotting out a map." he continued. Shad was somewhat lying. They never got to work. Ashei criticized him the whole time. She could be a good friend, if she would just stop making fun of him.
"I have to go." he said. "I'll see you soon." Hena nodded.
"See you soon." She put one hand on the counter and jumped over it. She went back to her regular shop keeping state and Shad went outside.
Hena picked up her book and continued to read. She stopped, however, when the bells for the door started to chime. She looked up excited to find…
Iza. Just Iza, her older sister. Iza walked over to the counter.
"I saw that kid outside carrying a large sack. So, how'd much money did we make?" Iza asked greedily. Hena's face flushed.
"Um, well, I kind of lent him the sack." Iza looked confused.
"But what did he buy?" she asked. Hena twirled her hair.
"Nothing really." she said meekly. Iza started to get flustered.
"So, you're handing out freebies? That is a horrible idea! You're just as stupid as Coru! Remember, he gave out all of those free lanterns?"
Oh yes, Hena remembered when Iza found out. Coru almost cried and they were both almost deaf for a week.
"You made money from the other day, right?" Iza asked. Hena bolted upright. He never paid for anything! So that was why he was so friendly! He didn't want to be nice to her, he was just trying to get free stuff!
"No." Iza's face got redder.
"Excuse me?! No, that is unacceptable. He is banned from this shop until he pays! Do you understand?"
Hena nodded.