2 AARON

"Here's your change, ma'am." I took out the extra cash from the drawer and returned it to the woman. "Thank you for coming!" The bell at the front door tinkled as the last customer of the day left the store. I flumped back on the stool, blood rushing back to my numb toes. It had been a busy shift and the other worker was on leave, as usual.

'Sorry, Aaron, can you cover my shift too? I got an emergency.' He had begged me this afternoon and he disappeared before I could even change out of my school uniform. But I knew better by now, that his emergency was just another date with his new girlfriend. It has become so frequent these days that it is a miracle that the shop owner has not dismiss him from the job yet. But I guess the shop owner was too nice to do that. After all, he was also understanding enough to allow a high schooler like me to work a part-time in his shop, at his own risk. My so called colleague was not a bad person, either, I mean when he is not skipping his shift and dumping his work on me.

I took a deep breath and dragged the stool closer to the counter desk. It was already way past the closing time. But I could not leave yet, not before I complete my homework. It was more efficient that way. I could avoid paying the extra electricity bill and the lights in the shop were much brighter than those in my apartment.

It was almost 10 pm by the time I finished my work, the assignment on calculus took more time than I had expected. Okay then, let me get back to my shop duty. I forced my stubborn legs to get up from the seat and went to the basement to get the goods for the next day. It was a small room behind the store with boxes stacked up till the roof and only a square feet of space to stand. I was exhausted by the time I made 6-7 trips to and fro the room. Carrying the heavy boxes was a work for at least two individuals, afterall. Well, no use complaining now. Without further delay, I sat on the ground and sorted out all the goods based on the expiry dates, keeping the expired goods aside. The owner allowed his employees to take the expired goods for free instead of throwing them away. Those goods were a luxury for me. 'Cup-noodles, soap, detergent... that will save me from extra expenditure for the week. Worth the hardwork, I guess.'

As I was restocking the last shelves, I heard the bell chime. What kind of person shops so late? "Sorry, the shop is -" But the sight of the customer made me forget whatever I was about to say. In front of me, stood a girl, in tattered black blouse and ripped black jeans, and she seemed badly wounded. Her right shoulder was soaked red and her face was covered in bruises.

"Wha... What happened to you?"

The girl ignored my question and looked around, making her long black ponytailed hair swing along. And her bangs barely hid the trace of dried blood from her scalp to the brow which was smudged over her left eye, as if she had tried to rub it off.

"Do you have analgesics?" Her voice was calm and composed as if the injury was nothing but some make-up.

"We don't sell medicines here. Were you attacked? Should I call the police?" I thought this area was safe even at nights. Could she have been mugged?

"NO!!" The girl sounded panicked for the first time since she stepped into the store, which took me aback. The word 'Police' made her face paler than it already was.

And the next moment, I could not help myself from asking something that had been in my mind since I saw the girl.

"Then are you some kind of criminal?"

The girl smirked, her eyes twinkling with humor I could not understand. But that was the last thing on my mind. Her eyes were like two black orbs pulling me into oblivion, sending a chill down my spine. And the voice that shook me back to the reality was colder than her eyes, if that could be possible.

"Is a criminal the worst thing you can imagine, boy?" I immediately hated the way she called me 'boy'.

"If you don't have an analgesic, you are not worth my time."

"Let me tend to your wound first." The words slipped my mouth. Though I knew nothing about cleaning or treating injuries.

She turned around and stared at me as if I had lost my mind. And then she suddenly started laughing, almost making me mistake her for an ordinary girl.

"You should not worry about a stranger, boy. I will survive." She called me a 'boy' again. The fact that she is treating me like a kid even though she seems about same age as me, was more irritating than her attitude.

But before I could retort back, she limped towards the exit, her left hand grasping her right shoulder.

The injuries seemed so severe that an adult would faint in pain, let alone a 16 years old girl. Moreover, the wound on her shoulder must have opened up due to her sudden movement as blood dripped on the floor where she stood.

"Wait, you are in no condition to move around. I will call the ambulance." Even she says not to worry, I cannot let an injured person be alone. 'What if she pass out from all the blood loss? I should stop the bleeding till the ambulance arrive. But how do I do that? Why were we never taught such important things in school?'

I rushed back to the counter to get my cellphone as the bell chimed again. I turned around only to see the door slammed shut. I chased after the girl, but the street outside was empty with the girl nowhere in sight. It was as if she vanished completely into the darkness.

I checked the alleyways and the neighbouring shops, which were closed by now, but there was no trace of the girl. I came back to the store after what felt like hours of futile search. The whole incident was so weird that it almost made me wonder if it was all my imagination. The mysterious girl showed up and disappeared as if she was never there. Except, that the floor where the girl stood was blood-splattered.

I sighed and got a bucket of water and a mop hoping that would be the final task for that night. I could not imagine the horror in the shop owner's face if he saw the blood. And it would be easier to clean it up instead of explaining everything. As I was erasing the last trace of the girl's existence, my eyes fell on something glittering under the closest rack. I picked it up, it was a silver chain. The chain held a blue locket covered in intricate designs with just one word engraved on it, "VIVIENNE".