Josh leaned against the counter and stared at the clock on the wall. It was going to be a long day. It felt like he had been in the store for hours, but it was only 12:30. He groaned and started tapping his fingers against the counter. Give me a costumer, the owners with a job for me to do, anything! He sighed and started walking around the shelves of books, looking for something he hadn’t read yet.
Mai sprinted down the street and around the corner, her dress nearly catching on a fire hydrant.
She hadn’t meant to upset the gang of men, really. It wasn’t even her fault. She’d been pushed, causing her to crash into what she gathered to be the leader. The leader in turn tumbled to the ground, landing in a big mud puddle. What followed happened quickly, with the man spitting something along the lines of “Why don’t you open your eyes and watch where you’re going, fucking chink!” and Mai retaliating with “I close them so I don’t have to look at your ugly face!”. She hadn’t meant to upset them, she spoke out of irritation against the racist comment, but the men doubled back and she ran.
She ran, not risking looking back for she was afraid she’d see them following too closely behind. She turned another corner. This street was familiar. She raced toward the bookstore and quickly ran inside, jumping over the counter and hiding behind it. She smiled innocently up at Joshua as she breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath.
