He’s sick?

*Tak*

*Tak*

Calla's footsteps halted at the soft impact of something thrown at the back of her head.

''Oops! Sorry! Didn't see you there!''

''Liar! You totally saw her!''

''Haha….You caught me.''

Not feeling guilty about their actions, the two boys and girls giggled to themselves as they walked past Calla, still standing on a spot.

''...'' Glancing behind her, Calla eyed two balls of squeezed papers on the floor. Releasing a tired sigh, she returned her gaze back to the front and resumed her steps, leaving through the double doors.

'Childish…' she remarked in her heart, not paying attention to the harassment of the other students, following in Lacy's footsteps.

These people were looking for a reaction from her, and she wasn't going to give them one. Besides, giving a reaction would just make everything worse.

As for her stained hoodie from the cafeteria, well…Calla had no choice but to manage until the last academic period of the day. The stickiness was uncomfortable, but she had no other solution.

Stepping out into the warm air of late summer, the phone in the pockets of her hoodie suddenly vibrated, indicating that someone just sent her message. Her guess immediately went to the pet shop, since Lola and Jenna were the likely people who frequently used her phone number.

*Hey Calla. This is Vincent, by the way. Sorry this message is a little late but you won't find me in the university today as I am not feeling so well.*

*Enjoy the rest of your day. Hopefully, I will see you on Monday 😊*

Staring at the words in the two message bubbles on the lighted screen of her phone, Calla couldn't help but wonder how Vincent got her phone number. Before they parted ways yesterday, she definitely declined his request of her phone number yet, she was reading his messages on her phone.

'Is there something I'm missing?' She thought, highlighting down the short set of stairs. Pressing the button on the side of her phone, the lighted screen dimmed until her reflection could be seen on the blank screen. She put the phone back into the pockets of her hoodie. Not a moment after, a murmur escaped her lips, her soft voice drifting to no one's ears by the cool breeze.

''He's sick?''

****

''Thank you for purchasing from Lola's pet shop. We hope to see you around.''

''Babe, did you notice her face?'' As the couple walked out of the shop, the girl couldn't hold on her gossipy tongue and whispered to her boyfriend on the left. ''She looks so weird.'' Even though it was a whisper, her voice was definitely loud for the two ladies standing behind her.

*Ding* *Ding*

''Ugh...'' The small smile on one of the ladies disappeared after the couple fully left the pet shop. ''People are really nosy these days. Is this their first time of seeing someone with an injured face? Calla, you really need to tell some people off sometimes. Your gentle personality will bring nowhere in this disgusting society.''

''I am not as brave as you, Jenna.'' Calla tried to smile at the frowning lady at her side.

''That's because you give a shit about people's words.''

''And that will a dollar off your paycheck, Jenna.'' Miss Lola appeared out of nowhere with her wrinkled smile. ''You need to control that tongue of yours and don't taint my innocent Calla. Also, money does not come free girls, so get back to work.''

''I am trying to teach Calla how to talk back, Miss Lola.''

''No, you are trying to taint her innocence, Jenna. That's another dollar from your paycheck for arguing back at your boss.''

''Ugh!'' Calla watched how Jenna tossed her hands up in the air in frustration. Though her actions suggested otherwise, Jenna still did as Miss Lola said, and returned to her work without argument.

*Chuckle*

She couldn't hold back the chuckles threatening to spill from her lips. Miss Lola and Jenna were truly people who could make one laugh without trying to be funny on purpose.

''You think this is funny?'' Jenna threw a quick glare at her.

''Hm…Hm..'' Forcing herself to put on a straight face, Calla quickly shook her head with two short hums.

''Tsk! You weren't this free with me in the past.'' Jenna grumbled, while squatting and arranging new batches of canned products on the shelf.

'Yeah….I wasn't.' Calla reminisced about the past with a dazed look. Jenna's words evoked some memories of how they met through Miss Lola.

'Tsk! That mask of yours is cool. I hate that you seem to be bothered with your appearance.' These had been Jenna's words to herself. Perhaps it was from then that she started to loosen her guard and interacted more with Jenna.

Back then, it was the first time someone had bluntly appreciated her appearance with so much sincerity.

It wasn't her father or her mother.

But a stranger called Jenna.

'I wish I was more like you.' Calla's lips curved into a sad smile. Whenever she thought of Jenna's blunt personality, she sometimes aspired to love herself, just like Jenna did without qualms.

*Ding* Ding*

The door opened, its edges moving, the small bell hung above, and producing the ringing sound, signaling the arrival of a customer.

''Welcome to Lola's pet shop. How can I help you?'' Calla plastered a welcoming smile at the sight of the young lady in a simple gown. The empty look and sad smile she had on her face was no more.

''…...'' Not saying a word, the young lady surveyed the entire shop. Her attitude was as if she was deaf to Calla's words.

Receiving no answer from the lady, Calla calmly called out again.

''Miss?''

''Show me your pet's feed. The one for dogs'' The young lady finally faced Calla. Her eyes took in Calla's appearance, and her eyes flickered with disgust.

Calla noticed the familiar look, but paid no mind to it. What she deemed as more important was to quickly answer this peculiar customer. The quicker she does, the faster the customer goes away.

This was Calla's motto for some unusual customers.

Having worked in the pet shop for a long time, Calla had developed an instinct for the characters' customers, and right now, the same instincts were telling her to be quick with this customer.

''May I know more about your dog? Perhaps the breed or….''

''I asked for dog feed, not your knowledge. Who knows if your cheap dog feed is fake or not. Be mindful that if your dog feed is indeed a fake one, I will sue you and this entire shop to court!''

 ''…..''

''…..''

''…..!''

It seemed her instincts were right all along.

Calla and Miss Lola were the calm and cool-headed ones. Rather than making a small problem to a big one, they would calmly look for a way to solve without a fight or argument.

''You….!''.

Jenna, on the other hand, was an entirely different story. She had already stood up when noticing another customer in the shop. After she heard the insults, her feet were digging the ground all the way to the customer. If not for Calla blocking her way, an argument might have blown out between Jenna and the young lady.

''Yes, you can go ahead, and do what you think is right, Miss. Are you still interested in the dog feed?'' Calla's welcoming smile still remained on her lips.

At the sight of a frightening Jenna, the young lady flinched, wondering how she didn't notice such a scary person in the first place.

''Y-Yes…'' she replied, a little distracted. Her feet couldn't help but step backward a bit.

''Jenna, please assist Miss Lola.'' Calla glanced at Jenna pointedly before moving on to pack the same canned dog feed she had given to Vincent for the petrified young lady.

''Here you go, Miss. A free dog biscuit is given to our first-time customers.'' Before Calla could state the price of canned dog feed, the young lady threw a hundred-dollar cash in her direction and dashed out the store with the plastic bag in her hand.

''…..''

''…..''

''.....''

''I didn't do anything.'' Raising her hands in a surrendering manner, Jenna defended herself when two pairs of eyes landed on her figure.

''Oh dear.'' Miss Lola could feel the rising of her nerves. Before she exploded on Jenna, she looked at Calla in haste.

''Calla, quickly return the money to the young lady, and tell her the correct price.''

''Yes.'' Calla nodded, lowering her figure down to pick the paper money.

''As for you Jenna, another dollar from your paycheck, if you don't tone down that temper of yours!''

''But I did nothing wrong this time!''

''If you did not react, she wouldn't have left in a hurry!''

Calla heard the little argument between Miss Lola and Jenna. She wasn't worried about them as this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Jenna really needed to learn how to tolerate some customers, especially the ones with extra problems.

Besides that, Miss Lola and Jenna might look they were arguing, but it felt more like an elder reprimanding a junior to Calla. That was why she wasn't worried about them. If Jenna really hated how Miss Lola reprimanded her, she would have resigned and left the pet shop a long time ago.

*Ding* *Ding*

Calla did as Miss Lola said. When she got outside of the pet shop, she looked left and then her right. Her eyes lit up at the side profile of the young lady. Calla was about to yell for her attention, but her eyes then followed the young lady getting into a classy black car parked on the side of the wide road.

All of a sudden, the paper money left her hand, swaying sideways until it touched the ground. Her heart began to pound heavily against her chest, the pumping sound resounding only to her ears.

>>>Enjoy! Post soon!