=Chapter Fourteen=
•*•
Delivery!
=

Monday, 9th of September

Yesterday was an uneventful, yet productive day. Between May, Liz and I, we managed to deep clean the entire shop, leaving it sparking clean.

I was very proud of us, as the shop was becoming a bit spooky with all the dust and cobwebs.

Jason, quickly becoming a regular, as it seems, hung around the shop until about dinner time, when he packed up his stuff and headed out, but not before grabbing a cookie.

For some reason that felt like a compliment, but I wasn't sure why.

Today's tasks were rather mundane. As it was the second Monday of the month, we were due for the next shipment of books any minute now, and unloading would take all morning, and stocking would take weeks at best.

"Hey Percy, waiting on the truck?" May asked, coming in from the back, to which was where we would store all the boxes of books.

"Yup. I hope they're on time today. They've been getting slower." I rested my chin on my hand as I leaned on the counter.

May shook her head in amusement. "I don't think it matters much. We don't have much else to do, now do we?" She smiled with a wink.

"No, I guess not." I laughed, sighing and sitting up straight.

"My posture is awful these days." I commented, flexing my shoulder blades.

"Mm, Percy you've got some muscles there. You've been working out?" May asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh." I said sheepishly. "Yeah. Something like that."

"Hmm.. can't be surprised, I suppose. You just seem to be a one-of-a-kind kind of girl, hmm?" She reached over and patted my head.

"Girls work out." I stated with an eye roll.

May nodded. "Oh yes, I know dear. I only meant that there's a lot more to you than what meets the eye.
You've got a lot of experience in many things that I just don't find out from one interview.. I'm grateful to have you."

Her words bring a silly grin to my face, and I shake my head with an eye roll.

"You flatter me, May. But thanks. I'm happy to have you, too."

We both sigh and sit in relative silence, Mozart playing in the background.

Suddenly the door opened and a large muscled man walked in, holding a clipboard. "Hiya ladies. Got that book shipment for ya."

May nodded, "oh good, thank you."

He walked over to the counter and placed the clipboard down. "Just need a signature here.." he pointed to a line.

May leaned over the page and read through it before signing.

"Great, thank you ma'am. I'll help you both unload, these are heavy books so let's get to it."
I hop off my stool and follow the man outside to his truck, and we walk around to the back where he pulls up the hatch, revealing at least 20 boxes or so.

The man got up on the truck and pulled out a dolly, rolling it out and then pressed a button for the ramp to extend.

For the next 15 minutes we took turns rolling the dolly through the door and to the back, returning to the truck and letting the guy load another box on.

"Oh hey Percy." I turned to see Jason, backpack and all, and he had an eyebrow raised. "Books?" He questioned.

I nodded. "Yup."

"Can I help?"

"Please. That would be great." I said with a grateful sigh.

He went inside and put his stuff down in his usual spot, and came back out, not bothering with a dolly, and just took two boxes.

I gaped at him. "Jason?" I asked incredulously. "How the heck."

I mean, I could probably do it too, but I wasn't masking my extra strength for no reason.

He raised an eyebrow. "Well you see, there's this thing called: I'm a strong awesome man, and you know, I can just do this."

I rolled my eyes. "That doesn't explain the way you literally are carrying two very heavy boxes of books."

"It does. No further questions at this time." He turns and hauls the boxes into the store.

The delivery guy just blinks and stares Jason down, a spark in his eyes.

I offer the dolly and the man shakes out of his inspiration trance and sets one more box on the dolly.

•*•

"And we're done! In record time I might add." I smiled proudly at the stack of boxes in the back corner of the back part of the shop.

"Glad to be of help." Jason grins.

The delivery man pokes his head in. "Hey, kid." He says to Jason.

Jason turned and raised an eyebrow. "Hardly a kid but.. what's up."

"How'd you like to join my delivery team.. I sure could use those muscles.." he said with a greedy tone.
He also looked very passionate about his 'team'.

Jason chuckles uncomfortably.
"Uh.. no offense, but no. Sorry. I've got my hands full already.."

"Are you sure? I'll pay well!!" The man insists. "Only 10 dollars an hour!"

I snort, turning around to cover my face as I hold in my cackling giggles, coughing like mad.

"Uh, no. I'm good..." Jason scowls, unashamed to tell the man to go.

"Here. Take my business card-"

"I said no. And 10 dollars an hour is near minimum wage. Don't bother." He snaps.

The man holds his hands up and backs away. "Okay.. but if you-"

Jason glares, almost as fiercely as my wolf glares.

The man blinks and takes off, leaving us all in silence.

I start to giggle again, before blowing up into hysteria. "Oh my gods.. 10 dollars? You gotta be kidding me.."

He finally cracks a grin.
"I'm not that desperate to be scammed into a low paying job."

May walked in with two pizza boxes.

My mouth fell open. "That's where you went off to?"

"I can't let a nice young man help with no payment! And it's lunch time. Dig in, kids." May smiled.

"What'd you get.." I said more to myself, as I opened the boxes. "No, way. May you're a gem. MAC N CHEESE PIZZA!" I raved.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Interesting choice.." he opened the other box to find a classic pepperoni.

"I've been trying a lot of crazy pizza lately. I really like it." I admitted sheepishly.

He shrugged. "I suppose it can't be all that bad."

"No, it can't."

•*•

Oh, whoops? Accidentally wrote another chapter lol. Guess I'll let you guys have it. 😂

Just pretty much at the 1k words mark so.. yk.

Anyways, Toodles!

@CweedbrainWisegirl
How does one make tags work idk

Go away you didn't have to ruin my favorite word 🙄 :P

How wude.
(You're forgiven for now)
Byeeee
💙🍪

Edit: Oh!!! Also, alternate ending:

My fingers just moved on their own lol. Wasn't the plan but I typed it anyways LOL