- Sparrow -
The warnings come in mid-afternoon. My history teacher shushes the class and turns up the volume on the TV so that we can hear the news. Heavy snowfall is expected, and schools are dismissing early.
My desk is in the drafty spot next to the window. I look away from the TV and stare at the ground outside. The light snowflakes that have been falling on and off today have become fatter, lining the windowpane with crystalline bits of snow and thickening the layer already on the ground.
After class lets out, everyone begins rushing to their cars to beat the storm. I stand idly at my locker in the midst of the noise. I usually get picked up by my mom, but she's working right now. My attempts to call her fail. I decide to catch a ride with one of my friends. Oh, wait - I don't have any friends. Rather, the few acquaintances of mine have already left, and there's no way I'm getting in a car with anyone else from this stupid place. Unsure of what to do, I flee into the deserted library and hide among the shelves until most everyone has left. The hallways have finally grown silent, and the snow is falling quickly outside.
Curled up on one of the beanbag chairs, I try to decide what to do. I could spend the night here, but I don't like that idea. I don't want to have to talk to anyone. I'm not going to the principal, even though I can see from my vantage point near the library door that the light in her office is still on. I try calling my mom again, but she doesn't pick up. The storm must be affecting the phone lines.
I'll walk home.
My house isn't far from here. Only a few miles or so. I'm wearing my tallest boots and warmest jeans, and my coat is plenty warm. Plus, my favorite lavender scarf is here to protect me from the elements.
I'll be fine.
I'm so stupid.
Leaving the school isn't so bad. I'm used to this sort of cold weather. I stay away from the road and start towards the fields instead. Stupid Sparrow. Stupid, stupid. I can't make friends who actually care about me. I can't even muster up the courage to ask my school principal for help in a snowstorm.
I'm cold.
This sucks.
I'm so stupid.
After walking for a little while, the wind has begin to pick up. It stings my eyes so badly that I can barely see, and I try drawing my scarf up, but all that does is blind me. I wrap it around my cheeks and leave a space for my eyes, pulling up my hood and baring against the wind. This is getting dangerous, and I don't know if I'll be able to make it home.
Which is when I notice the lights of the halfway point not too far away - the Burgess Stop n' Save. I breathe a sigh of relief, which the scarf spreads up to my face, providing my cheeks with some warm air. I'll stop there for a little while. Maybe the storm will die down.
- Caspian -
Every day I hope I will see Sparrow, and every day she is not there. She must be running out of food. She hasn't come back here in two weeks. Maybe she and her mom have a basement where they stockpile edibles for a zombie apocalypse - weapons lining the walls, revealed with the touch of a button.
No one else is as exciting as she is. There's something about her - the way she smiles, maybe. The way she talks and how she always wears tights with interesting patterns, like lightning bolts or birds. Even though she didn't speak much those first two times I saw her, no one else who ever comes in this grocery store has such a crackling, gorgeous energy about them.
The weather is still suffering under a horrendous cold spell. Today the radios blare weather warnings, interrupting the music that usually plays from the tinny speakers throughout the grocery store. The weather people or whoever are advising that everyone try to get somewhere safe and stay there, because the snow is getting heavier and the wind is getting stronger. Half an hour ago there was no wind, but now I can hear it whistling as I heave boxes around in the storeroom. Several of my coworkers who live farther away have already left, but I live five minutes away from here, and the drive wouldn't be so bad in any situation, so I stay to take stock of our recent arrivals. What can I say? I'm a dedicated employee. And it's not like there's anything better for me to do.
I have just paused in my work to stretch my back when Necita comes in. Her dark eyes are always serious. "Go home," she tells me. "We're closing."
I do not want to go home. I am possibly the only employee of the Burgess Stop n' Save who has ever felt as such. "Drive safely," I call to her retreating back.
With that, she leaves, turning out all the lights save for a few in the front and back. She tells me to lock up. And then I am alone in the grocery store.
I leave the storeroom and head to the front to get out of the darkness, shrugging on my coat because it's so cold. At the doors, hazy light filters through the glass and lands gloomily on the floor. And I'm just walking past them when a form appears there - someone bundled up in a dark coat. I catch a flash of purple as they bang on the door and I start in surprise. For a moment I'm frozen in place, ready to defend myself if need be. But then the person tears off their scarf and hood, leaving their head and face exposed to the air. My gosh, it's Sparrow. Her light-colored hair stirs in the wind.
What is she doing out in this weather? Staring at her incredulously, I unlock the door and pull it open for her, shutting it swiftly as soon as she gets inside. "Sparrow! What the heck are you doing here?" I ask immediately, touching her arm. She's shivering.
I have just paused in my work to stretch my back when Necita comes in. Her dark eyes are always serious. "Go home," she tells me. "We're closing."
I do not want to go home. I am possibly the only employee of the Burgess Stop n' Save who has ever felt as such. "Drive safely," I call to her retreating back.
With that, she leaves, turning out all the lights save for a few in the front and back. She tells me to lock up. And then I am alone in the grocery store.
I leave the storeroom and head to the front to get out of the darkness, shrugging on my coat because it's so cold. At the doors, hazy light filters through the glass and lands gloomily on the floor. And I'm just walking past them when a form appears there - someone bundled up in a dark coat. I catch a flash of purple as they bang on the door and I start in surprise. For a moment I'm frozen in place, ready to defend myself if need be. But then the person tears off their scarf and hood, leaving their head and face exposed to the air. My gosh, it's Sparrow. Her light-colored hair stirs in the wind.
What is she doing out in this weather? Staring at her incredulously, I unlock the door and pull it open for her, shutting it swiftly as soon as she gets inside. "Sparrow! What the heck are you doing here?" I ask immediately, touching her arm. She's shivering.
- Sparrow -
"I'm so sorry, Cas," I say apologetically, struggling to regain some semblance of warmth. "They let us out of school early, and I my mom couldn't make it, and I figured I'd walk home - "
"Don't be sorry," interrupts Cas. "Just get warm." He keeps looking at me nervously, like he feels like this is his fault. One hand on my back, he leads me off somewhere away from the door, down by the cash registers. "There's this place my manager likes to go sometimes, but we're usually not allowed there. Hold on," he explains. We're standing at a door a little ways down from the pharmacy. Cas fiddles around with a lanyard that has a bunch of keys dangling from the end before choosing one and sticking it in the lock. He pops open the door and turns on the light. The room is like some sort of lounge - small, but crowded with couches against the walls and a coffee table in the middle. In the corner there's some sort of water dispenser and another door. It's warmer in here - I can already feel it.
"Cas, thank you, but I don't think I can - " I begin, feeling guilty.
"Sit down. I'll get you something to drink," he commands, already disappearing beyond the other door, which I now see leads to a kitchen. I hang up my coat near the door and sit down awkwardly on one of the couches.
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