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Megan McMahon
2008
When the Girl Smiles
Matt ran around his apartment as he looked for his white dress shirt. He knew it was around somewhere because he wore it to the bar last night when he went out with his friends. He doesn’t remember much of last night, why did he go drinking last night when he knew that he had to go to the first day of work. That was the stupidest thing he did in awhile.
He stopped to rub his temple trying to rub his hang away without any success. That’s when his cell went off in his pocket; he quickly fished it out, “Hello?”
Josh was lucky enough that he didn’t go to the bar last night so he felt no side effects of a hang over. “Hey, you up for your first day of work?”
Josh’s voice seemed too loud for Matt to handle at the moment, “Dude tone down your voice. Why are you shouting?” Matt resumed his search for his white dress shirt.
Josh rolled his eyes at his friend he should learn to stop drink the night before big things happen. “Well one I’m not that loud and two you shouldn’t have gotten drunk.”
Matt didn’t have the time to deal with this; he had to find his shirt. He moved from his room into the living room to find his white shirt on the floor. “Whatever, What do you want?”
“Well I want to know if you have work tomorrow you’d want to go out to eat with me and my sister. She works there you know.”
Matt picked up his shirt to find a stain on the front, he sighted and threw it over his shoulder. “Sure I’ll go. I didn’t know your sister works there. What’s her name?” He went back into his room and just pulled on a black button up shirt.
Josh was insulted; he talked about her a lot. “Kari. Don’t you remember? I told you yesterday I couldn’t go to the bar with you guys because I was taking Kari out to dinner.”
That’s when it hit him like a hundred brinks in the face. That’s how he knew her. That’s why she looked so familiar.Matt hasn’t seemed her in person for years but he’s seem pictures of Josh and Kari together.
Matt looked at the clock it was eight twenty if he didn’t leave within five minutes he would be late. “I’ll talk to you later Josh, I got to go.” He hung up his cell place it back into his pocket. Matt stopped in front of the mirror in the bathroom to fix his hair. Then he was out the door to the first day on the job.
A boy with curly blond hair comes running in. Kari couldn’t believe it, it was that Matt guy she kept seeing. What was he doing here? Well it didn’t matter. She'll just act like she didn’t remember him, and maybe he'd leave her alone. He ran up to the counter were Kari was waiting for a guy named Matt. The blond hair guy said to her "Hi, I'm Matt. I'm the new worker." He smiled at her, she looked like her brother. He felt like a kid that just peaked at his Christmas gift, without anyone finding out that he did. He couldn’t believe he didn’t remember him.
Kari stretches her hand out to him to shake his hand. "I'm Kari nice to meet you Matthew. I'll be showing you the ropes today." Kari was mad now, why did this guy insisted that he is around her. She’ll just have to ignore him for the most part, at least.
"Cool." Matt smiles at Kari, he was very lucky today that Kari was showing him the ropes, just like he hoped. Maybe he could get to know her better. And maybe she’ll go out with him. Hopefully.
Kari stepped from behind the counter, ”This way follow me.” She waved a hand at him and walked into the back and walked up to a cabinet. She opened the top drawer and gave him an order from and an apron. “You need to order shirts. Fill them out by the end of the day and give them back to me.” She raised the apron, “This is what you wear over the shirts you will order. Keep it clean. And always wear black dress pants.” She handed both to him, “You got it?”
It was a lot for Matt to remember at one time but he knew he could. With a nod of the head and a salute “Ay, Ay, Captain!”
Kari rolled her eyes and kept walking to Matt’s register with him trailing behind her. Once she got to his register she handed him his key “This is your register key. You use this to take your tray with you when you leave your register. Don’t ever leave your register without your tray. Got that?”
Matt nodded again. Wow this might be a hard job to master. “Yes ma’am”
Kari walked into his little spot where he would stand at his register with Matt squeezing in with her, if she turned a little to her left she’d run right into Matt’s chest. “Good. You see that green button? That is used to ring up an order. The red, to clear and the yellow, to double an item. Got that?” She turned to look at him, and smiled up at him.
Matt nodded his head, “Green, ring up. Red clear, and yellow to double an item. Yeah I think I got it.” Well at least he hopes.
“Ok this is how you ring up things. I’m only going to show you two times and that’s it, so pay attention.” She grabbed a pack of gum, chips and a magazine. “You first scan them.”
She scanned them in, the she hits a couple of buttons then she turns to Matt. “You got that?”
“Ummm yeah I think.” You know it looked a lot easier when other people scanned his order in at the supermarket.
“Okay good enough for now. If you need to clear items you hit these button” She hit a series of buttons. “Got that?”
Matt took a step closer to her to look at the bottoms. “I think.”
“Ok well while I was waiting for you I wrote down a list of buttons and what they do for you.” She handed him a piece of paper.
Matt grabbed the paper from her and placed it on the ledge above his tray. “Thanks.”
“You’re going to work the morning shift here at this register and I’m going to bag for you so I can see how you’re doing, but tomorrow I expect you to be able to work cashiers by yourself.”
He saluted her, “Yes Ma’am.”
She looked at him for a minute but just shook her head; she turned all the way to her left and ran right into Matt’s chest. She looked up at him and smiled embarrassedly then continued to squeeze out of the tiny area where the cashier would stand. Kari went to her spot at the end of checkout 12. She stood there for about five minutes then finally said, ”You know you have to turn on the light if you want some customers.”
“Oops” Matt mentally scolded himself for that. He should have known to do that. No wonder no one was coming to his aisle.
He flipped the switch for the light and Kari just rolled her eyes. Within a couple of minutes they had customers. Matt was surprised how bold she was, usually that was Josh’s job, he guessed she got that off of her brother.
Matt only made a couple of mistakes that first day. Kari was impressed. Yet she didn’t noticed that Matt was one of Josh’s friends.
Matt smiled down at her, she had these silly big sunglasses on her face, “A friend of mine, we’re going to lunch.”
Kari nodded her head, he wasn’t that bad a person but she still didn’t trust him, “Well I’m waiting for my brother who is taking me to lunch. But no surprise here that he’s late.” Matt couldn’t wait to see her face when she found out that he knew Josh.
Matt sat down on the curb and patted the space next to him, which Kari sat down next to him. She had to admit he was cute. “I hope we go eat Chinese it’s my favorite!”
Matt made a mental note of that to keep tucked away in his brain until he needed it again. It was Matt’s plan to be able to swoon her by the end of the summer. “So how old are you Kari?”
Kari looked over at him “Well I’m eighteen soon to be nineteen.” Why did he want to know. “What about you hot shot how old are you?”
“Twenty-four.” So you’re a sophomore in college now?” It’s a good thing Josh is late, this gave Matt a chance to talk to her.
Kari shook her head and looked down at her hands. “Well, no I was sick when I was in first grade, I missed too much time so they held me back a year. So I’m going to be a freshman in college this year.”
Matt looked shocked, he never would have imaged that. “Well that’s cool, it wasn’t like they held you back because you were dumb.”
Kari gave him a strange look. That’s when a horn of a car honked “Are you two going to get in the car or sit there all day?”
Matt got up and open the front passenger side door of Josh’s SUV, but Kari sat in her spot confused how did Matt know her brother? “Kari are you coming?” Came Josh’s voice through the open car door.
Kari shook her head, she was confused, but she got up and sat in the front seat, after she buckled up Matt closed her door. He got into the back. Once Matt got in Josh drove off. “So what’s it going to be Kari?” Josh looked over at his sister from the corner of her eye.
Kari smiled she did always get what she wanted from her brother, “Chinese,-” She turned to the back and faced Matt “-I told you Matthew that we’d eat Chinese!”
Josh smiled; of course she wanted to eat Chinese like every Thursday they eat out. “So Matthew how do you know my brother?” Kari wanted to know, now.
Matt thought back on it, “I think I first met him freshmen year in high school.”
Josh laughed, “I remember how we met too, we where both at the principle’s office and mom bailed us both out.”
They continued to talk about old times and other things. About new movies out and bands while they ate at the restaurant. They all in all had a good time.
Matt walked back into the backroom of the supermarket with Kari when he asked, “Are your parents divorced?”
That just struck a cord with her. Now they were getting along great until he asked that. She snapped, “No.” How dare he ask things like this. It wasn’t his business. She hated when people talked about things like that. She would like to keep that time buried as long as she could.
Matt was confused then, if her parents weren’t divorced then why did he never see her around. “Back when Josh was in high school did he live in the same house as you?”
Kari stopped in front of Matt and whirled around to face him and said “Yeah he lived with my family. So what? What’s with the 20 questions? Just because you know my brother doesn’t mean you can talk to me like we’re best friends. I don’t even know you.” Kari turned to walk away when she felt a hand on her forearm she winced but turned to look at him her face had pain written all over it.
Matt asked confused, “What?”
“Don’t touch me!” She yanked her arm out of his hold and gave him a dirty look, then walked to her register. ‘How dare he touch me,’ she thought. He didn’t even know her that well. She had a bruise there on her arm already and he had to go and grab her arm like that.
This isn’t some romance book that when the leading man in the story grabs onto her after a fight that he expects her to jump into his arms. This was her life and he had no right to touch her at all. This is her life, not some stupid fairytale. She wasn’t going to let him barge right in a do whatever he liked. No. She was going to tell him off. Well the next time she gets alone with him, Kari angrily thought. What Kari didn’t know was she was going to get him alone a lot within the next of months.
Kari looked at him for a minute, processing what he said, and then said “Whatever.” She got up and walked away from him. Kari left him there baffled as she walked back to her register. She thought about how weird it was for Matt to apologize to her. No one really apologized to her except for Josh and David. It felt different to her. She wasn’t used to it. She didn’t get more time to think to herself because Matt must've cut his break early because he was at his register.
Matt said to her, “So Kari tell me about yourself. Since I don’t know you.” Matt was upset about her outburst yesterday. It was so weird she was fine and buddy, buddy one moment then scary, angry then next.
Kari looked over at Matt from checking out some old lady’s items who seemed to have a lot of cats. (Well at least that’s what Kari thought since she had so much cat food) “Well I’m 19, I’m going to be a freshman in college when school starts again. As you know already. I’m living at home with my dad, but I’m saving up to move out. Now what about you?” She didn’t like the fact he threw the comment she told him yesterday in her face, but at the same time she shouldn’t have snapped at him.
“Well like I said yesterday I’m the same age as your brother 24. I’m in college studying to become a lawyer. So I can work in my dad’s small firm. I own an apartment bout fifteen minutes from here” He was glad Kari was in a better mood now.
“You have someone waiting to be checked out Matthew.”
Matt turned to check out the person at his register. “So Kari you want to go for coffee after work today?”
“Sorry I can’t maybe some other time.” Kari glanced over to look at Matt and noticed the frown on his face. She didn’t mean to turn him down like that but she really did have plans.
While he was at his locker when Kari ran to her locker and quickly grabbed her things. Matt looked over at her then asked. “Where you going in such a rush?”
“I’m meeting a friend of mine. Bye.” And she ran out of the room, she quickly stuck her head back in, “We should go see a movie sometime next week. Sorry we couldn’t get coffee today.” She was back out of the room in a flash. Matt smiled at her as she ran to leave
He was walking to his car when he saw Kari and that brown hair boy she was talking to before, David, walking towards the next street. The boy seemed to be talking happily while using wild hand gestures. But Kari stood there nodding occasionally. He watched this 'til the pair was out of sight. Matt smiled at this. He remembered those lazy summer days just hanging out with friends. He wasn’t upset with Kari for saying no; he understood why she said no now. It didn’t bother him at all; he just decided that he would hang out with her brother instead.
They walked down the street to the street to the closest subway stairs.. Kari started to walk closer to David; she didn’t really like walking around in the dark at night. She never really liked the dark, something always happens when it’s dark. Well at least something bad always happens to her at night, especially when her dad comes home drunk.
“Kari! Why were you out so late?” He looked at her through half opened eyes and he was slouching over.
“Dad! I’m sorry. I lost track of time.” Which was a lie, but it wasn’t her fault that her bus was late.
His grip tightened around her already frail arm. “I told you to be home before midnight and it’s one now.”
“I know but-“ She stopped when her dad slapped her across her face. Then he threw her to the ground. Kari was backing away from her dad when he went to grab her. “I’m sorry Dad. Please stop.”
He kicked her in the leg, for what he seemed like good measure, then walked away. He left a sobbing girl on the floor, asking herself what she did wrong.
Kisses,
Everything to You