August

August slipped away into a moment in time

The weather is hot. That stupid, sickly hot that makes you wish for a snowstorm in the middle of summer. Sweat lining her skin like a second layer, clothes sticking to her in the most uncomfortable way. 15 minutes feels like 15 hours as she walks from the train to work. Her uniform; black jeans and a cotton shirt, suffocating her. Trapping her in her own personal hell.

Someone passes her on the street, a pity smile thrown in her direction. She speeds up, the building in sight, reading to throw herself into the freezer for a few minutes the second she gets there. It's only been a few weeks since she started, only met a handful of the people there, but it's already started to feel like home.

It's a Sunday, meaning she's on prep. Getting to spend a few hours in the back getting everything ready for the evening shift. They're her favorite shifts. She'll be with Flynn, blasting music and chatting, making the most out of their 8-hour shift.

When she walks in she sees Mya, deep in conversation with a customer. She smiles as she walks past, heading into the back to drop her stuff off. Flynn's already there, tying an apron around himself. He waves at her, stepping out of the way so she can pass, and a small laugh escapes him as he sees the state she's in. "Hot out?"

She sends him back a glare, "No, feels like Antarctica. God, I can't wait till my cars fixed, I can't stand this."

She throws her bag into her locker, grabs her own apron, and follows Flynn to the prep station. They make a list of everything they have, then figure out how much they need to do before she grabs the speaker and hooks up her phone.

They get through most of the list before Mya comes back, asking Elia to follow her. She looks up at Flynn, a worried expression on her face. She follows Mya up to the front, palms sweating and heart beating fast. They stop just before they walk into the dining area, Mya turning to face her. "How are you? You doing okay?"

Elia swallows, nodding her head, "Yeah, I'm doing good. I really love these prep shifts. Is everything okay?"

Mya nods, "Oh, sorry! I probably freaked you out. I just want you to meet one of our supervisors, he usually works evenings but he came in early so I figured I should introduce you two."

She turns around and Elia lets out a sigh of relief.

"Karter! Come here!"

A second later she sees him, and time stands still. She notices his eyes first, they seem to gravitate towards her own. A sharp green color, almost matching hers, paired with his blonde hair tied neatly in a bun. She's done for, she knows it, just by the look he gives her as he smirks.

He holds his hand out to her, "I'm Karter."

"Elia."