Chapter 1
Johnny Kirby walked down the street with his head bowed. Despite Spring being just around the corner a chill still hung in the mountain air. He kept his hands stuffed inside the pockets of his jacket. His mother had spoken last night at the town council meeting about a newcomer to town. A young woman, the granddaughter of Mark Nelson, the recluse who lived on the edge of town. Mom warned for people to stay away from her; she was a trouble maker, a hooligan who had spent time in jail. The townspeople had all nodded their heads in agreement. Johnny had stayed silent. Mark had always been nice to him, and his dad had apparently been good friends with him too. Yet Mom's word was law in their town. Nobody ever challenged Martha Kirby, nobody.
Johnny unlocked the door to the market and walked inside and towards the back office. He hung up his jacket and tied on his apron before clocking in and getting to work setting the market up. He had been working at the market since he had been sixteen. Eight years later and it felt like he would be here forever. Other workers had come and go but he could always be found here. The door opened and Mitchell came in leaning heavily on his cane.
"Already here Johnny?" he said "We don't open for another hour."
"Figured I would get a head start," Johnny said stocking a nearby self of canned goods.
"You sure are one hard working man Son, I appreciate it," Mitchell said hobbling towards the office. Johnny nodded as he went back to stocking the shelf. Eight years... most kids who graduated with him had gone to college, moved away from the town. Not him though... he had stayed. Mom wanted him too, so he did. Yet sometimes he lay awake wondering what life would be away from all this; new and exciting, full of possibilities. His portfolio lay hidden in his desk back home, filled with years or sketches and illustrations he had shared with nobody. Sighing he got back to work, finishing with the stocking before going to balance the register.
An hour later Mitchell hobbled out of the office and sat down on his stool at the register. People started to trickle in each of them waving and saying hi to both him and Mitchell. One thing about small towns is everyone knew each other, like one big family. They all accepted Johnny greeting him like a nephew or for the kids a big brother. He would smile and greet them warmly, occasionally slipping kids sweets while their parents were not looking. He settled into the familiar rhythm going through the motions of the day. He knelt down checking barcodes on items when a pair of black hi-top sneakers came into view next to him one of the laces untied. His eyes floated up slowly, taking in the fishnet leggings and the short black skirt. Finally he looked up to see a black AC/DC shirt and a loose pink hoodie. A young woman with short spiky black hair sticking out of a beanie looked at him with green eyes. She had piercings on her lip, ears, even her nose her head cocked to the side as she regarded him.
"Where do you keep your smokes?" she said.
"Uh...our what?"
"Cigarettes," she said.
"Oh...um over here behind the register," he said walking over. Mitchell had stepped off for a quick break though thankfully nobody was waiting. Johnny grabbed the keys from the drawer and fumbled a little as he unlocked the cabinet."
"I'll umm...need to see your I.D." he said turning towards her. She shrugged and reached into her pocket for her wallet. His heart thumped loudly in his ears as he watched her. This had to be the girl his mom had talked about... nobody else would dress like her in this town. She pulled out her I.D. and he glanced down at it checking the birth date. She was only a couple months younger than him. Jacklyn Bright...
"Umm which ones would you like?" He said.
"Don't matter," she said. He grabbed a box and slid them over to her with her I.D.
"Anything else?"
"A pack of donuts and a couple candy bars."
"R-right," he said grabbing the snacks from a nearby rack. He noticed a woman walk by and give a nasty look at the back of the girl's head. He rang her up and then bagged her items for her.
"Here you go ummm..."
"Jackie," she said.
"Right... I'm well..." he said but Jackie had already turned to walk away only to fall forward and disappear beneath the counter. Johnny leaned forward looking down at her. A few other customers turned and laughed as Jackie got up from the floor, she glanced down to see the laces on her sneakers tied together. One of the nearby kids hid behind a shelf stifling a giggle. Jackie brushed herself off and knelt down undoing the knots in her laces. She retied her shoes and then quietly walked out of the store. Johnny's eyes followed her and without thinking he walked through the door and outside. He watched as she walked down the street bag in hand. Turning he started back inside but stopped when he saw Jackie kneel down in front of a homeless man. She gave him the bag of groceries which he took with a nod of thanks. Jackie smiled at the man and kept on walking one of her sneakers already untied again.
Johnny walked back into the store, Mitchell already back on his stool as people started lining up at the register again. He walked over the office, his stomach in knots again, his heart drumming loudly in his chest. Once in the office he sat on a chair trying to catch his breath. Though it had been years since his last one, he recognized a crush right away. He also knew that if his mom could read minds, he would probably be dead already.
